“It looks sexy, wild,” she assures me, which catches me off guard. Most of my life, I have been surrounded by women who are quick to cut you down or give a backhanded compliment. But there was no malice in her eyes when Ashlyn spoke. I’m getting the feeling the Mayson’s are all just very good people, and I really need good people in my life right now.

“Thank you,” I say for what feels like the billionth time in the last seventy-two hours.

“Just speaking the truth, girl.” She grins then looks at Hope, who is laughing at something Jax said. “She’s really adorable, and seems to have already wrapped big, bad Jax Mayson around her tiny little finger,” she whispers, winking at me.

Looking at Jax talking softly to Hope, I wonder how often he does this kind of thing. For all I know, he could have women with kids over all the time, I think, while something I don’t like settles in the pit of my stomach.

“Who’s ready for pancakes?” Jax asks.

“I am!” Hope yells loudly, making him chuckle.

“What happened to my little mouse?” I ask her, and she wiggles her nose at me over his shoulder.

“Inside voice, Angel,” I remind her softly.

“Okay, Mama.” She sighs.

“Do you have a table?” I ask Jax, looking around and trying to remember if I saw one last night when he showed us around the house.

“No. Shit,” he mutters, setting Hope back on the counter.

“You said a naudy word,” she tells him.

“I meant crud,” he says, trying to look mollified but failing.

Her head tilts to the side, studying him, then she looks at me. “Mama, is crud a bad word?”

“No, Angel.” I shake my head at her, pressing my lips together to keep from laughing when she starts mumbling “crud” under her breathe over and over again, making Jax grimace. One thing I learned early on is never tell a three-year-old not to say something, because suddenly that becomes their favorite word.

“I don’t have a dining table.”

“It’s okay; we can eat here,” I assure him, watching as Ashlyn goes to one of the cabinets and pulls down plates.

“I’ll pick up some stools for the island today while I’m out with my dad,” he says then looks around, his eyes going to the stuff on the floor. “And I’ll get this stuff cleaned up too.”

“Jax,” I say softly, waiting for his eyes to come to me. “It’s really okay. Please, don’t do anything. You’ve already done too much.”

“Ellie—”

He starts to say something, but is cut off when, “Honey!” is yelled through the house.

“Fuck, I need to take everyone’s keys back,” he grumbles, making me laugh, causing a smile to twitch his lips.

“You said a naudy word,” Hope pauses then adds, “again.”

His chest expands on a deep breath and his face softens when he looks at her, muttering, “Sorry, sweetheart,” as his parents walk into the kitchen.

“Ellie,” Lilly says in greeting, giving me a warm hug.

“Hi.” I smile then turn slightly to receive a hug from his dad, Cash, whom I met in the hospital before Jax took me to get Hope.

“How are you holding up, honey?” he asks gently while Lilly moves to Jax, kissing his cheek.

“Good,” I say sincerely then pick Hope up off the counter. “I would like you guys to meet Hope. Hope, this is Jax and Ashlyn’s dad and mom, Cash and Lilly.”

“Hi.” Hope smiles shyly, leaning her head on my shoulder.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Hope,” Lilly says with a soft look on her face while reaching out, running her hand down Hope’s cheek.

“Hi, Hope.” Cash wraps his arm around his wife’s back, pulling her closer to his side.

“Ax said naudy words,” she tells his parents, and I pull my bottom lip into my mouth as Ashlyn starts to laugh at my side and Jax groans, tilting his head back.

“He did, did he?” Lilly frowns over her shoulder at her son.

“Two times,” she says, holding up three fingers, the third one coming up because her little fingers are so chubby.

“Are we supposed to tattle?” I ask her, and she frowns while shaking her head. “Good, now are you ready to eat?” I lift a brow and she nods, so I set her back on the counter, since there is no table, and cut up her pancake, placing it next to her.

“Here, sweetheart,” Jax says, giving her a Solo cup with orange juice in it.

I give him an appreciative look, and he shrugs then asks, “Are you going to eat something?”

“I’m going on a diet, so I’ll have a banana or something,” I tell him absently, watching Hope eat.

“Why are you going on a diet?” He frowns, checking me out and making me blush as his eyes get darker. “You look perfect.”

“I realized how out of shape I was when…” I stop and look at Hope, not wanting her to hear what happened. “I just need to get into better shape,” I whisper.

“I can teach you some self-defense stuff,” he says quietly.

My eyes run over him and I feel my cheeks heat again. He’s not just in good shape; his body is perfect. I doubt he has an ounce of fat on him. Pulling my eyes from his abs, I look into his eyes.

“I just want to be able to run without feeling like I’m having a stroke,” I say, watching his jaw clench.

“You won’t need to run again,” he growls.

“That may be true, but I need to know for myself that I can,” I tell him, reaching out and squeezing his bicep. His eyes drop to my hand and his body relaxes.

“I’d still like to show you some stuff,” he presses.

“All right,” I mutter then look around the kitchen, seeing everyone watching us. My eyes stop on Lilly, whose eyes are on my hand, which I didn’t realize is now against his chest, over his heart. Pulling it away quickly, I mumble an apology and step away from him, going to Hope’s side.

“Are you finished, Angel?” I ask her, needing to get away from Jax.

“Yes.” She smiles with chocolate around her mouth.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” I laugh, pulling a paper towel off the holder and wiping her face.

“Can I have a baff?”

“Tonight,” I tell her, picking her up off the counter and turning to face the room of people, who are still watching us. “We’re gonna go get ready.”

“Sure, honey,” Lilly says getting a coffee mug while Cash nods, and Jax just stands with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face.

“It was nice meeting you, Ashlyn.” I smile as I pass her.

“We’ll have coffee sometime soon.”

“I’d like that.” I nod and head up to the second floor, where I get Hope ready first, in a pair of leggings, a sweater dress, and her ballet flats. Going to my room, I dig through the garbage bags of clothes until I find my trusty black jeans that always look perfect, a black t-shirt that scoops in the front just enough to give a hint of cleavage, my black ankle boots, and a chunky silver and turquoise necklace that makes the outfit look more dressy.

“Let’s go brush our teeth and hair.” I hold out my hand to Hope, who is sitting on the bed, playing with her favorite doll.

Walking across the hallway, I notice Jax’s door is closed, but I can hear him talking loudly to someone on the other side. Closing the bathroom door, I give Hope her toothbrush while I fix her hair into a French braid. Once she’s done, I brush my teeth while looking myself over, seeing sleep has done wonders. The bags under my eyes are gone, and Ashlyn was right; my hair actually looks good with crazy waves. Taking my hair serum, I squeeze some into my palm, using it just on the ends to tame them a bit. All I use on my face is some mascara and a little blush.

“Can I have makeup?” Hope asks, watching me.

“How about lip-gloss?”

She nods, pulling one of the pink ones from my makeup bag and putting it on herself, so I bend to her level and let her put some on me as well. “What do you think?”

“You look pwetty.” She smiles, patting my cheek.

“So do you.” I tell her giving her a kiss.

When I open the bathroom door, Jax is standing in the hall leaning against the wall with his phone in his hand, frowning at something on the screen. When his head lifts and our eyes meet, I look down at Hope.