Cole’s expression is sour as he peruses the items on the island. “I hate pancakes.”

“I know.”

His eyes narrow. “Pancakes are Liam’s favorite.”

I grit my teeth. Cole needs to get over this internal competition he has with Liam.

“I know.” I crack two eggs over a frying pan and stir in some milk. “I’ll make you some scrambled eggs.”

“I don’t like scrambled eggs.”

Christ almighty. I started the day with only one fuck to give and he’s already pissing on it. “You liked them last week.”

“Not true.” Crossing his arms, he leans back in his seat. “Come on, Jace. What’s my favorite breakfast food?”

“Pretty soon it’s going to be your face in a pan of yolk.” I crack open three more eggs and add some seasoning. “You’ve always liked scrambled eggs.”

“Yeah, Mom’s scrambled eggs.”

Sorry, asshole. Last I checked, Heaven doesn’t deliver.

“What do you want to eat, Cole?”

“My favorite breakfast food.”

This has turned into some kind of test I’m doomed to fail. “Fine. Since it’s no longer scrambled eggs, what’s your new favorite?”

Smugly, he pushes his cereal bowl away. “Frittatas and crème brûlée.”

Scrambled eggs it is. “You’ve never had a frittata in your life. Also, crème brûlée isn’t a breakfast food, it’s dessert. And just so we’re clear—I’m not a motherfucking chef so either eat the shit I’m making or don’t.”

“Why is everyone still yelling?” Bianca whines as she plops down on the seat next to Cole.

“Because Jace likes Liam more than he likes me.”

“That’s not—”

“Duh.” She fishes an apple out of the fruit basket. “Everyone likes Liam more.”

He sulks. “Mom didn’t. I was her favorite.”

Bianca starts laughing. “No—”

“Bianca.” I give her a warning look. “Cut it out.”

If Cole wants to believe he was Mom’s favorite, I won’t correct him.

Truth be told, she coddled Liam way more. But it’s only because Liam was what she referred to as high maintenance and he needed the extra attention.

When Cole started acting out—no doubt trying to steal Liam’s thunder—she was already giving birth to Bianca and finally had the little girl she always wanted. Her focus was divided even more.

I guess I can see why Cole has a jealous streak.

I need to nip this shit in the bud before it gets out of hand. “Why don’t you, me, and Liam hang out today?”

Bianca screws up her face. “What about me?”

“Duh,” I say, repeating her new favorite word. “We can call Mrs. Garcia and ask her to take us to the mall.” I place the eggs on a large dish. “Or we can go to the movies.”

“Those are Liam’s favorite things,” Cole grumps.

Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “We can toss a football around the backyard for a little while before we leave.”

Where Liam despises sports, Cole can’t seem to get enough of them. Especially football. Kid’s got a killer arm.

That gets a smile out of him. “Okay.” He looks at Bianca. “Think Liam will cry like last time?”

“Only if you throw the football at his face again.”

Cole contemplates this. “Good idea.”

“Will you stop?” I toss the dirty pan in the sink and take out a clean one. “Can we spend one damn day together without all the bullshit?”

Bianca nudges Cole with her elbow. “What’s his problem? He’s moodier than usual.”

I pour the pancake mix into a bowl. “I can still hear you, you know.”

Ignoring me, Cole leans over and says, “Jace and Dylan hooked up last night at the dance and Liam lost his shit.”

“Why?” She grimaces. “Jace and Dylan have been making googly eyes at each other for months.” She swipes a few grapes from the basket. “I can’t believe Liam actually thought he stood a chance.”

So help me God, I’m going to dump this damn batter over their heads.

“Here’s a great idea. How about we not talk about this?”

Bianca makes kissing noises. “But you and Dylan are in love.”

Dig the knife deeper, kid.

“No, we’re not.” I clear my throat. “We’re uh…we’re taking a break.” I stir harder. “Until Liam…you know.”

Doesn’t hate me for stealing his girl.

“Gives you his permission?” Bianca probes.

“More or less,” I mutter.

“That’s dumb,” Cole declares. “Liam needs to suck it up. The world doesn’t revolve around him.”

I’m starting to suspect Cole coming to my defense last night had more to do with his annoyance toward Liam than it did with helping me.

“Maybe you and Dylan can see each other in secret,” Bianca offers. “I saw this movie the other day where this lady’s husband left for work, but the pool boy snuck in after. She was so excited to see him she got down on her knees—”

“What the fuck?” Cole and I yell at the same time.

“How did you…where did you…”

I can’t formulate words because my brain doesn’t want to know how my baby sister got her hands on porn.

Bianca takes a bite of her pear. “I went into Dad’s room last week looking for some of Mom’s nail polish. I didn’t want to go back downstairs to paint my nails, so I turned on the television and the movie was on.” She pouts. “I didn’t get to finish it though. I ended up spilling the polish on the carpet right when the lady started praying.”

Cole and I exchange a glance.

“Started praying?” Cole questions.

“Yeah.” Bianca shrugs innocently. “Why else would she be on her knees?”

“Because she was b—”

I shoot Cole a death glare.

“Praying.” He coughs. “Bet she was praying real good.”

I force myself to breathe again. With not one, but three older brothers, odds are Bianca won’t start praying until she’s eighty-five.

I’ll make sure of it.

I flip the pancakes and check the clock. It’s barely even eight now, but I know Liam prefers the first two pancakes out of the stack. According to him, the rest are never as fluffy and they don’t taste as good.

“Can one of you go upstairs and get Liam? Breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Not it,” Cole and Bianca say at the same time.

Yeah, I should have seen that one coming from a mile away. “Fine—”

The rest of my sentence falls by the wayside when I hear the front door open.

You can cut the tension with a knife the moment my father steps into the kitchen.

After placing his briefcase on a nearby chair, he looks around and smiles. “Oh, wow. What’s all this?”

As if I don’t make breakfast for his children most mornings. “What does it look like?”

“Right, well. It smells really good.” Averting his gaze, he playfully messes Bianca’s hair. “Thank you, Jace.”