Muttering a curse, I snatched the frying pan off the burner and switched the stove off. I looked down at the burnt pancakes. Why I had promised Maxi pancakes was beyond me, I couldn’t even boil water without burning it.

How was I to raise two girls to adulthood if I couldn’t even feed them? And they had quite a few years left under my guardianship, the poor little humans.

Suddenly, I was swamped with emotions, thinking about my sister, Beth, her husband, James, and the life I was sure I couldn’t give my nieces. A life that they deserved.

Topping off my cake of misery, my fiancée, Julie, had packed her bags and left. I felt like my life was crumbling. My world had tilted so much off its axis that I was losing it, my emotions had me spinning out of control. What else could explain away my ludicrous desire to stick my tongue down Lucy’s throat? She was my best friend’s sister. I couldn’t go there. But, it had nearly happened. I needed to get my shit together, starting with breakfast.

Just then Maxi appeared, dragging Lucy behind her. “Uncle Ryan, you left Lucy in the hallway.”

I grinned. I couldn’t help grinning when Maxi was around. The six-year-old could disarm anyone with her charm. “So, I did. I’m sorry, Lucy. I had to rescue the pancakes, but I was too late.”

“Oh, no. Are we going to starve, uncle Ryan? Lucy said we might starve because you can’t cook. I think she might be right,” Maxi said with a loud, exasperated sigh.

Lucy snickered and coughed lightly. “Thanks for giving me away, kid,” Lucy said and squeezed Maxi’s hand.

“I think she might be right too. What do you say we go out for breakfast? Again?" I said as I looked at the burnt mess in the pan. We’d been eating out and ordering in for months. Julie wasn’t much of a cook, and my culinary skills were less than zero.

Maxi smiled. “As long as we can have pancakes with syrup! And no burnt bits,” she added quietly.

“Alright, we’ll wake your sister and go out for pancakes.”

“Or, I can make all of you pancakes right here?”

Both Maxi and I looked at Lucy, wide-eyed as if she were our savior. Maxi gasped. “Lucy, you know how to make pancakes? My mommy knew how to make pancakes too. I love you even more now.”

I watched Lucy melt before my eyes. Both of my nieces had taken a liking to her. Who wouldn’t love Lucy with her gentle nature and the warmth she exuded? That was how she had been growing up, and she hadn’t changed one bit. I frowned, thinking about Julie. She was the opposite. The girls detested her no matter how hard I tried to make them get along. Shaking my head, I decided it wasn’t the time to think about Julie. First, I had to ensure my nieces were fed before sinking into despair.

“Do you have the time? I wouldn’t want to keep you.”

Lucy shrugged. “Nothing much happens on a Tuesday morning. I’ve got time. There’s a little girl here that desperately need her pancakes, stat! Right Maxi?”

Maxi beamed and nodded.

“Alright, Maxi get back to your cartoon until breakfast is ready.” She took off, skipping excitedly and I gave Lucy a grateful smile. “Hey, thanks, you just saved the day. Well, the morning at least.”

A blush seeped into Lucy’s cheeks, which I found adorable. I didn’t remember the last time I was with a woman who still had the ability to blush.

Sweet Lucy Wells. I met her when she was ten, and I was thirteen. Her family had just moved to Manchester, Vermont from California and her brother Eric was the new kid in my class. Eric and I hit it off instantly. He invited me over one day, and that was when I saw a tiny girl with jet black hair and porcelain skin twirling around the living room in a pink tutu. I thought she looked like the Disney character; Snow White.

I still called her Snow White from time to time, mostly to tease her now. Hell, that day, I even expected to see birds and squirrels singing and dancing with the little girl. She had smiled at me, and I was lost. I’d always had a soft spot for Lucy, but had always treated her like what she was; my best friend’s kid sister… I was a surrogate big-brother that was all.

To think I nearly kissed her. I couldn’t deny that Lucy was a stunner. With all that luxurious raven hair that hung to her back like a silky curtain, her sweet heart-shaped face with wide blue eyes and thick lashes that gave her an innocent appeal, and then there were her lips that curved so sensually with the prominent cupid’s bow, just begging to be kissed.

Lucy’s movements pulled me from my lustful haze. She removed her coat, throwing it over the back of a chair and I had to stifle a groan. She wore fitted jeans that hugged her hips and a sweater that molded her shape to perfection. At that moment, I wondered why I usually went for the taller, thinner type. Lucy was gorgeous!

She’s my best friend’s sister, she’s my best friend’s sister. I figured if I chanted enough, my inappropriate thoughts about Lucy would disappear.

“Alright, just show me where everything is.” She was in front of me, and her floral scent filled my nostrils. “Are you okay, Ryan?”

I realized that I had been rooted to the spot, staring at her. “Um, yes. I’ll get you everything and let you work your magic.”

Minutes later, I sat on a stool at the massive island in the center of the kitchen, watching Lucy work. Every time she moved, my gaze followed, admiring her grace and culinary skill. The way her jeans stretched across her ass each time she bent over was very admirable too. I hadn’t realized that I let out an expletive until she glanced over her shoulder.

“What was that?”

I coughed.

“Just saying how glad I am that you showed up and save the morning.” I shifted in my seat, glad that she couldn’t see my growing boner. What was the matter with me, lusting after Lucy?

“If I had known you needed help I would have been here, Ry. Although, I thought...”

“What?”

She nibbled her lower lip, drawing my attention to her mouth. God, I wished she wouldn’t do that. Growing up, I never allowed myself to see Lucy as anything more than a friend that I cared about, deeply. It wasn’t until I came back to Manchester for the summer holiday that things changed.

Eric and I were both in college then and decided to spend summer vacation at home. And when I saw an eighteen-year-old Lucy, I knew I would get myself into trouble if I didn’t stay away. Out of nowhere, the attraction had hit me like a ton of bricks. It was then I realized that perhaps my feelings for Lucy weren’t purely brotherly as I had thought. So, I stayed away after that—far away—buried my strange feelings and even got engaged.

Lucy, in my kitchen, making me breakfast was digging up those buried feelings. And that shouldn’t be because I just lost my fiancée a few weeks ago.

“Maybe I shouldn’t bring it up,” she murmured.

Oh, right, we were having a conversation. Dragging my eyes away from Lucy's ass, I said, “It’s alright, Luce. I know you want to ask about Julie. Go ahead.”

She removed the last pancake from the frying pan and turned to me. “What happened?”

Drawing in a puff of air, I let it all out. I needed someone to talk to, and Eric wouldn’t be home for another week.

“Julie made it quite clear that she hadn’t signed on for raising children, let alone someone else’s… She packed her bags and went back to New York.” I sighed and looked around. “I brought her back to Manchester, bought this enormous house with the intention of getting married and starting a family. I thought that was what she wanted. I presumed too much. We never really had that talk, you know? And I guess having two kids thrown into her life so suddenly, brought the realities front and center, and scared her off.” The pity on Lucy’s face killed me.

“I don’t know what to say, Ry. I’m sorry. I know you loved her.” She averted her gaze, then busied herself whipping eggs.

“No need for your pity, Luce. I’m fine.”

I really wasn’t and Julie dumping me was only the tip of the iceberg.