Page 69 of Chaos

“Morning,” I call out, and all three faces greet me.

I head straight over to Jax and Maeve, who holds out her arms, doing her little grabby hands.

“Morning, tigritsa,” Jax says, with a smile that makes me all fuzzy.

I stop in front of them, not knowing what to do. I can feel Anna’s hard stare from here.

Jax makes the decision for me, leaning over and planting his lips on my cheek.

“She doesn’t seem to want to eat the yogurt, just play with it,” he says, holding up the spoon, which makes Maeve start clapping.

“Yeah, she prefers the making a mess part. She likes feeding herself. She’s an independent little madam, our girl.” I give him a shy smile.

“Aren’t you?” I coo at Maeve, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Hey, where’s mine?” Jax pouts.

I roll my eyes. He raises his eyebrows, making the blush spread on my cheeks.

Grabbing a book from the floor, I put it on Maeve’s table and turn my attention to Jax, pressing my lips to his, keeping it as PG as possible.

“Much better,” he smirks, giving me another peck as he runs his hands through my mess of curls.

“Book,” Maeve says behind me.

“She’s adorable, Sof,” Jax whispers. I can sense the hint of sadness in his voice.

“She really is. Just wait till she learns how to push all your buttons.” I wink at him, trying to lighten the mood.

His hand smooths Maeve’s hair in a mimic of how he had touched mine. “My tigryonok can do whatever she wants to me.”

Tears threaten to spill. He’s being perfect. This couldn’t be going any better.

“Tigryonok?” I tilt my head.

“If you’re my tigritsa, that makes Maeve my tiger cub.” He grins.

“Well, that’s cute.”

I step back as Jax’s phone buzzes.

“I gotta grab this,” he says, heading for the balcony door. As soon as he slides it closed, Anna clears her throat behind me and I spin around.

“Well, looks like baby daddy took it well.”

“Yes, he seems to.”

“Good.” She pushes herself away from the counter, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“Maybe he can help us get this place fixed up better.”

“He’s her dad, not a bank account, Anna.” I glare at her.

She rolls her eyes dramatically. “You better get back to work, then.”

With that, she walks past me and slams her bedroom door. What the hell was that about? Shaking my head, I pick up Maeve from her seat and give her a cuddle.

“That’s your dadda,” I say to her, looking at Jax out the window.