Page 48 of Your Last First Kiss

He nods. “Okay.” He takes Lia from Dillon’s arms with a promise of food and walks toward the kitchen.

“Breakfast?” I ask. It comes out on a squeak, and I turn away from the guys, close my eyes, and shake my head.

Get it together, Penny!

Dillon’s heat reaches me before I hear him. “You don’t have to cook for all of us, Penny. I admit to ordering takeout most nights, but eggs and pancakes I can handle.”

His hand lands on the small of my back as he turns sideways to pass me in the hallway.

“No, that’s…”

He keeps moving. “Why don’t you get work done that you can’t do with a house full of kids? Miller can watch them while I make breakfast.”

My mouth drops open, and my feet stop moving.

“Teamwork. It’s a novelty, huh?” Miller whispers at my side. He takes Mari from me with a smirk.

“But I work in the kitchen.”

“Then get to it.” He gently nudges me forward. “As soon as we eat, we’re out of here. The second storm might be worse than the first.”

Swallowing hard, I pluck the hair elastic on my wrist, then shake out my hands and walk into the kitchen where my laptop is set up in the corner on a small card table.

Dillon and Kai stand together in front of the pantry door. Lia scoots past me toward the TV.

“I’ll start the eggs and see if I can find some protein. Can you mix the pancake batter?” Dillon asks Kai.

“I can do a lot of things most kids won’t do, Mr. Dillon.”

Dillon’s hand rises in the air behind Kai’s back like he wants to reach out and comfort him, but he pulls it back at the last minute.

My stomach flips.

“I know you can. Let’s get this done for your mom. One less thing she has to worry about, then we’ll go take care of Miller’s fucking list. Ah, sorry,” Dillon grumbles, looking around the room, and Kai laughs.

“If you think that’s the first time someone has sworn at me, you haven’t met my dad.”

Dillon’s posture goes stiff, and his tone is low but controlled when he speaks. “First, there’s a difference between swearing in front of you and swearing at you. I will never swear at you. Understood?”

Kai nods, and I’d be willing to bet he rolled his eyes, but Dillon doesn’t let it faze him. “Secondly, call me Dillon. Mr. Dillon makes me sound old. And I will not swear in front of you again, either.”

“Yeah, right.” Kai laughs. “It’s fine, really.”

This time Dillon does reach for Kai. With his hand on his shoulder, I feel Kai’s nervous energy from where I stand frozen in the doorway.

“You have no reason to believe me, but I keep my word,” Dillon says with the patience and understanding of someone who hasn’t always had an easy life.

Kai shrugs him off, and I feign a cough to announce my arrival. “You guys good?”

“Yeah,” Kai says, but his voice is strained.

“Anything I can do?”

Kai inclines his head toward Dillon, but I don’t understand the look they share. I scrunch my nose as I watch them.

“Nah, we’ve got it,” Kai grumbles. “Mr., I mean, Dillon’s right. You should get anything you can’t do with crying babies done now.”

Kai takes the Bisquick from the pantry, and Dillon moves to my fridge. He rifles through the contents and comes out with bacon and a package of sausage links.