I didn’t believe him when he said he was fine. His eyes darkened when he was upset or hurt. They twinkled when he was excited about something. I knew Ryan. I paid so much attention to him growing up, being head over heels for him and all. His eyes were positively dim. He hadn’t had time to recover from losing his sister before he lost his fiancée.

Was Julie crazy? She had the perfect man, and she left? Because of Maxine and Becky? The girls were adorable; they were everything. They had stolen my heart since I’d first met them years ago. Beth, Ryan’s sister,, and I were acquainted and when she introduced me to her precious girls, I had fallen in love. There was a time when I would have killed to be in Julie’s position, to have a family with Ryan. Okay, I had to admit that I would probably still kill to be in that position. I had wanted to off Julie since the day Ryan returned to town with her, and I’d never been a violent person by nature. Jealousy was an ugly thing.

“If you say so, but I don’t believe you,” I finally responded. “You can get the girls. The eggs will be finished in no time.” I watched Ryan jump up and scurry out of the kitchen. He couldn’t get away fast enough.

By the time he returned, an adorable curly haired baby in his arms, the table was set. “It smells great in here, like a real kitchen,” Ryan said.

“This is how pancakes are supposed to smell, Uncle Ryan,” Maxi chirped.

I let out a laugh. “Your niece low-key insulted you.”

Ryan grinned. “She’s so damn cute; she’ll get away with it.”

His smile nearly knocked my socks off. If I weren’t wearing jeans, maybe my panties would have dropped as well. He’d had women fawning over him since high school. I had to suffer through my teenage years watching Ryan with different girls on his arm practically every day. And college had been his playground. The women he was into were the direct opposite of me, tall, leggy, and big breasted. I wasn’t his type, meaning I never had a chance in hell. Yet, I continued to pine over him. The thought crossed my mind that I must be a masochist.

“My work here is done. I’ll leave you guys with your pancakes.”

“You’re not staying?” Ryan’s brows crinkled.

“I don’t want to impose.”

“You just made us breakfast, Luce. We want you to stay.”

“Stay with us, Lucy,” Maxi pleaded. Even Becky wiggled in Ryan’s arms and reached her chubby little hands out to me. It was a bad idea. I really shouldn’t get too close. But, I couldn’t refuse, they were all so adorable.

“Alright, I’ll stay for breakfast.” It wasn’t like I had anything to do anyway. My catering business was slow, very slow, as in no business coming in at all. I shoved the troubling thought aside and plastered on a bright smile.

With his free hand, Ryan pulled out my chair like a gentleman. Maxi climbed into her chair then Ryan placed Becky in her high chair. Seeing him with the kids, so domesticated made him hotter in my eyes. I nearly sighed at the sight of him with the baby, wishing that baby was ours. Oh no. I glanced around the table. That was precisely why I shouldn’t have stayed. All I ended up doing was daydreaming about having a family with Ryan. I fell silent, listened to Ryan and Maxi chat about cartoons. But I couldn’t help but smile. He was so good with the girls. He'd make a great father… in fact, he was a great father. A single-dad extraordinaire, and apart from his lack of cooking skills, I believed Beth and James would be proud.

By the end of breakfast, I had dreamed up an entire life with Ryan, two more children along with his nieces, a lovely house with a white picket fence and even a dog or cat.

“I’ll clean up,” I volunteered, shaking my off my fantasy.

Ryan shook his head. “No way. You’ve already done so much. Breakfast was delicious by the way. Thank you.”

“Yeah, thank you, Lucy. You saved us.” Maxi launched herself at me, and I caught her with a giggle. “Can you come over and make breakfast every day?”

“Maxi, Lucy is busy. She can’t come over every day.”

I glanced at Ryan then at Maxi, still in my arms. A snort nearly escaped. Busy my ass. I had absolutely nothing going on; I could spare a few hours in the morning to help out. It was the least I could do to help my old friend Ryan. He’s just a friend, I told myself.

“Tell you what, Max, I will come over and make you guys anything you want as often as I can.” Which might turn out to be every day, I refrained from adding. “Deal?”

“Deal!” The little girl bounced in my lap. “Now, go ahead and read until uncle Ryan and I clean up. Then, I’ll help you and Becky take a bath.”

“A bath?” she pouted, not fond of the idea.

I tickled her. "You're a messy pup; you have syrup in your hair."

“And practically up your arms too,” Ryan chimed in.

“Okay,” Maxi said and was about to sprint away, her sticky fingers about to touch everything in sight.

“Wait,” I called and grabbed a baby wipe from the side. “Hands, please.”

Maxi pouted again but held them out, and I got them cleaned up in no time. "Okay, now you can play."

“Yay!” Her little arms wrapped around my neck, tugging at my heartstrings and then she was gone.

“Lucy, are you sure you have the time?” Ryan inquired. “What about work?”

“I have the time today. My assistant can handle things until I get back. Besides, the entire day was booked for you and Jul... er, I’ve got plenty of time.”

Ryan exhaled, pain flickering across his face. He glanced at Becky who was wearing most of her breakfast. His mouth twisted. “I supposed I could use the help. Giving those two their baths is a colossal task.”

I laughed. “I’m sure. Let’s get started.”

We cleaned up the kitchen, grabbed Becky and Maxi and made our way up the stairs. I hadn’t examined my surrounding when I arrived earlier, but doing so as we moved through the house I was horrified. The living room was littered with toys that hadn’t been put away for days, and so was the staircase, starting from bottom to top. Upstairs, two laundry baskets sat in the hallway between Becky’s and Maxi’s room, overflowing clothes. I had no idea if they were clean or not. The carpet needed vacuuming, the girls’ rooms needed tidying.

“Sorry about the mess,” he said sheepishly.

Mess was an understatement. Ryan’s house was a disaster area. It was then that I appointed myself their fairy godmother. They all needed me, and I had nothing but time on my hands. “It’s okay; I’ll stick around and help clean up.”

“I could kiss you,” Ryan declared, making my heart flip in my chest.

It took everything for me not to blurt out that he should. Of course, he spoke those words out of gratitude, but a girl could dream. The entire time, I spent getting the girls, and the house cleaned up, I held on to the image of Ryan taking me into his arms and kissing me.