The delicious aroma of eggs, waffles, and bacon greet me as I walk down the hallway, and my stomach growls angrily. Fuck, I’m hungry.
The music gets louder as I get closer, and then I hear the modge-podge of voices singing along. I stop at the entrance of the hallway, taking in the scene before me. Now that I’m closer, I realize Louise is dancing where she stands at the stove, spatula held up so that she’s singing into it like a microphone.
Chloe is standing in the middle of the couch, bouncing on the cushions as she sings along to whatever song is playing on the Bluetooth speaker beneath the tv.
To my utter shock, BaileyandAbigail are dancing and jumping around, singing along as well. “…Pressure that’ll drip drip drip that’ll never stop. Whoa. Pressure that’ll tip tip tip ‘til you just go pop!”
“Give it to your sister, your sister’s stronger—”
“Whoa-ah-oh!” my girls sing-shout together, giggling all the more.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean my shoulder against the wall and watch the show before me, pulling my lips in between my teeth to keep from laughing out loud and interrupting.
Louise goes back to stirring the eggs in the pan in front of her, but her shoulders don’t stop moving while she sings along. At some point she must have snuck over to her place to change,because—to my supreme disappointment—she no longer has on that teeny tiny pair of sleep shorts or barely-there tank top.
Although, I’m not entirely sure the pair of black leggings that she has on now are any better for my sanity. They mold to her ass like they’re paid to do so. A fitted, cropped long sleeve top in a pretty pink covers her upper body, but every time she moves, a strip of tanned skin peeks out between the hem of the tank top and the top of her leggings. She’s barefoot.
Her hair has been re-braided and falls clear down to her ass, but a baseball hat is on her head. She looks so fucking adorable it physically aches in my chest. I rub at my sternum, but that ache isn’t going away anytime soon. Goddammit.
“Daddy!” Chloe screeches, bouncing toward the end of the couch closest to where I’m still standing propped against the wall when she spots me. “Sing with us! Lou is making waffles!”
Louise spins on her heel, startled by Chloe’s outburst, her hand flying to her chest, spatula clattering to the stovetop noisily. Her eyes find mine across the space between us, and I get my first look at her since last night.
“I can see that.” My words come out far more husky than intended, and I clear my throat as I push away from the wall. “It smells delicious.”
“Are you hungry?” Louise asks, dropping her hand from her chest, where I’m sure her heart is fluttering wildly. She’s all jittery and nervous, and it’s endearing as fuck. She reaches for her phone, hitting the button on the side, and the volume of the music drops.
“Starving,” I say honestly, and that damn kissable mouth drops open, her breaths coming out in puffs.
“I have coffee ready for you if you want any,” she whispers, swallowing hard, before spinning and picking up the spatula. “I wasn’t sure if you were a coffee kinda guy, but Bailey assuredme you’re a brute without coffee in the morning, so I thought it would be safe to make a pot.”
I glare over at my middle child, and she just goes wide eyed, raising her hands and saying, “What?It’s the truth!”
Rolling my eyes, I step into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot and pour myself a cup. From where I’m standing, my shoulders are very nearly touching Lou’s where she’s standing at the stove. A waffle iron I’ve never seen before is set up on the counter, steam billowing out of it as it cooks the batter inside it.
Leaning close to Louise, I whisper for her ears only, “Do you take your coffee withcream, Princess?”
Her cheeks turn a delightful shade of pink beneath the brim of her hat, her teeth clamping down on her bottom lip as she concentrates on flipping the bacon in the pan.
Before she can come up with a response, I hear the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle engine outside and back away from the temptress next to me. Thirty seconds later the door opens.
“Good morning fam!”
Fuckkk.
The girls screech in excitement as Joel walks into the living room, arms outstretched wide as he waits for the three of them to barrel into him for hugs.
“It smells amazing in here,” he says, but I can’t see him yet. “I know your dad doesn’t know how to cook—”
“Lou is making us breakfast! Come on!”
“Who is Lou—” I hear just as he comes around the corner and I watch him freeze in the process of taking off his leather jacket.
I give him my most lethal death glare, but of course he’s completely unfazed. A slow grin spreads across his face as he steps forward, just as Louise turns from where she’s pulling the first waffle out of the iron and placing it on a plate.
He drapes the black leather over the back of one of the barstools and steps around the counter toward her. “Hello, beautiful. Are you lost? Blink twice if you’re here under duress. My brother can be a beast at times, but holding a beauty like yourself hostage is new even for him.”
Louise laughs, her smile wide, and I grind my molars together so hard my jaw aches. My brother holds his hand out toward her, and she places hers in his. I damn near growl when he raises her hand to his mouth and kisses the back of it. She giggles and I hate that my fucking brother is the one making her laugh.
