Dax sobered immediately. He looked down at her, feeling a tightness in his chest that was unexpected. The intensity of it and the timing. This woman had a way of changing his perspective with the snap of her fingers.

He liked that. He needed new perspective. Everyone did. Getting outside the box you were used to, whether you liked the box or not, was important.

“You’re right,” he said.

She gave him a little smile. “But thank you for saying the flower bed is perfect. That’s my flower bed.”

“You planted this?” he asked, looking at it again.

“I did. Every year I do it and take care of it.”

“Well, I love it.”

“Thanks.”

They were smiling at one another when the door whipped open. “Finally!”

A beautiful teenage girl with long, dark hair greeted them. She was wearing cut-off jean shorts and a blue tank top. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung to the middle of her back. She was slender and about two inches shorter than Jane.

They didn’t look much alike until she met his gaze.

Those eyes were Jane’s blue eyes.

“Sorry, it took a little longer to get away from work,” Jane said, stepping through the doorway.

Dax felt a flicker of what might have been guilt. He was the reason she’d been hung up in the parking lot rather than coming straight over here.

“Kelsey, this is Dax. He’s…” Jane glanced at him.

He lifted a brow. What was he? He wasn’t her boss anymore. Were they friends? Yeah, that felt right. But she’d definitely not kissed him like a friend last night. He just grinned, waiting for her to finish her thought.

“He’s new at Hot Cakes,” she finally said.

That sounded weak and he smirked. Kelsey must have thought so too because she gave Jane skeptical look. But before she could say anything more there was a scream from upstairs.

Not a there’s-a-guy-with-a-chainsaw-in-my-closet scream but a I’m-going-to-use-a-chainsaw-on-someone scream.

Kelsey blew out a frustrated breath. “Well, it’s a shitshow here.”

“What’s new?” Jane muttered. She looked at Dax. “Remember, you wanted to do this.”

“I’m totally in.” He had no idea what he was in for, but this had to be more interesting than his hotel room. Unless Jane came back to his room with him, of course.

Another teenage girl came pounding down the stairs off to their left just then. She was also beautiful. She had long blond hair and was wearing a sundress. He didn’t know what color her eyes were, but even from ten feet away he could see they were shooting sparks.

“You have to be kidding me!” she said, holding up what looked like a lipstick tube. “You’re such a bitch.”

Kelsey crossed her arms, facing the blond. “Well, at least I know you can spell that word.”

“This was brand new and cost more than all your stuff put together!”

“Aspen,” Jane said to Dax. “Stepsister.”

“Got it.”

“What is going on?” Jane asked, raising her voice.

“She—” Aspen said, thrusting a finger at Kelsey, “wrote all over my side of the mirror with my lipstick! She totally ruined it!”

Jane sighed and looked at Kelsey. “What’s up with that?”

“She wrote LOSER on my side of the mirror with my shaving cream. Used it all up. And she didn’t even spell it right. She wrote LOOSER.”

Dax did not grin at that. That would be inappropriate. But if it was his group of friends, there would definitely be a conversation about if the author had actually meant LOOSER.

“What did you write?” Jane asked, looking concerned.

“It’s called a dictionary,” Kelsey said.

Jane frowned.

“That’s what I wrote on her side of the mirror.”

Dax deduced that the girls shared a bathroom with, he was guessing, two sinks and one big mirror. Clearly that didn’t go so well.

“I only wrote one word! She wrote a bunch!” Aspen protested. “It’s a way bigger mess to clean lipstick off than shaving cream too!”

“That doesn’t make it okay that you wrote on her mirror,” Jane said.

“And it’s not like you’re cleaning it up!” Kelsey shot back. “Why do you care if I make a bigger mess? I’m the one who has to do all the work!”

“You know what?” Aspen said. “That is a great point.”

She pivoted on her heel and started back up the steps.

“Oh no.” Jane stepped forward and caught the back of Aspen’s dress. “You’re not going back up to make it worse.”

“Oh yes I am.” Aspen narrowed her eyes at Jane. “You always take her side.”

“I don’t. You know that,” Jane said. “But why did you write on her mirror to start with?”

“Because she poured out my favorite hair gel,” Aspen said, glowering at Kelsey. “She knew I wanted to wear my hair curled today, and she knows that hair gel is the best for curls.”

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Kelsey said. “I don’t give a flying frig about how you wear your hair, Aspen! I never touched your hair gel. You used it up and didn’t replace it and are blaming me!”

“Your hair looks a lot better than usual,” Aspen said, eyeing Kelsey from four steps up. “You’re telling me you didn’t use my products?”

Kelsey gritted her teeth and pulled in a breath. “I didn’t use your products. Your products smell like rotting avocados.”

Aspen gasped. “They do not!”

“They do. And Wade wasn’t talking to me after school because of my hair.” Kelsey propped a hand on her hip.

Ah, this was actually about a guy. Dax was catching on.

“Then why was he talking to you?” Aspen said, looking down her nose at Kelsey.

“Because I’m nice and because I can spell,” Kelsey told her.

Aspen’s eyes narrowed. “You are such a—”

“I think jojoba oil is better than avocado for hair actually.”

All three females in the entryway turned to look at him. Dax shrugged. This was dangerous, he knew. He was with the one woman who had broken his I-can-charm-anyone-into-anything streak and now her little sister and stepsister. There was no guarantee he was going to do anything but make this worse.

But he still couldn’t shut up. “I do,” he said. “But the best is coconut oil. Love the way coconut oil smells on a woman’s hair.”

Jane raised both eyebrows. Both teenagers just stared at him.

“Who are you?” Aspen finally asked.

“I’m a friend of Jane’s. We work together.”

“Oh.” Aspen frowned, but she studied Dax, almost as if she hadn’t noticed him at all before. “Coconut oil, huh?”

“Yep. And easy to get at most grocery stores.” Of course, he was in Tiny Town, Iowa. “Or you can order it online.”

“We have coconut oil,” Aspen said, wrinkling her nose. “My mom uses it to cook sometimes.”

He nodded. “Well, there you go. Same stuff. Some of the most versatile oil in the world. And you don’t have to worry about replacing your hair gel, then.”