Page 74 of Little Sunshine

I took a large step back.

“Sun—” Ash started, setting down the knife.

“Stop calling me that.”

He raised a single brow, and that slight movement was loaded with challenge. Or maybe just cockiness. “Whatever you say, little girl.”

For the sake of the sleeping baby, I fought to smother the frustrated groan that pushed out as a nonsensical noise. “You’re infuriating.”

“He always has been,” Violet said, like nothing was out of the ordinary. “But he’s also right.”

With a lot of practice, I blanked my expression and my tone. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. I’d know if there was an issue.”

“Not necessarily. Car accident injuries can be sneaky buggers.”

My gaze shot to Ash to find his own soft one aimed at me. When he added a wink to it, my brain was back to goo.

Vi jerked her head toward the living room. “Let’s go?—”

Ash deposited the baby back in her arms and lifted me to sit on the counter.

“To the couch…” she finished. “Never mind.”

“Lighting is better in here,” he said, making her roll her eyes as he took the baby bundle again.

She grabbed a small bag from behind her and opened it, taking out latex gloves, wipes, a bottle of liquid, and the little eye light thingy. Pulling the gloves on, she started with the light, shining it into my eye as she stood close. She moved to my other eye just as the baby began to fuss, and I thought the exam would be cut short.

Saved by the scream.

But Violet didn’t even glance away from me as Ash shifted the baby in his hold. He rocked, and the fussing stopped almost instantly.

“You’re good at that,” I muttered. It didn’t seem like a guy Ash’s size should be capable of that kind of gentleness. But what did I know? My only experience with babies was hearing them scream from the other apartments in my building.

Violet gave a soft laugh. “He should be. He’s a funcle times eleven.”

“Funcle?”

“Fun uncle.”

“Oh.” The rest of what she said clicked in. “Wait. Eleven?”

Logically, I knew it was unlikely they were all hers, but that didn’t stop me from looking at the woman who was seemingly only in her mid-thirties.

She did a double take at my horrified expression before laughing. “No, no. Not me. Charlotte is my one and only right now.”

“I have three other older sisters,” Ash said. “Emily has three boys, Andrea has two of each, and Maggie has one boy and two girls.”

That explains the toy box.

“And Ash has zero,” Violet pointed out nonchalantly.

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something else, but Ash cut her off with a warning. “Vi.”

The whole conversation felt far too intimate, so I used that pause to change the subject. “So you’re a nurse?”

“I’m on maternity leave for another few weeks, but yup.”

I tried to scoot back. “Shouldn’t you be resting or something?”

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