Finding Perfect (Fool's Gold #3)(62)

“You won’t have a choice. You’re going to be a great mom, Pia. Stop doubting yourself.”

Pia put down the signs. “I want to believe you, but I can’t. Both my parents left me. So has every guy I’ve ever cared about. I want to think it will be different with Raoul and the babies, but I’m not sure.”

“Raoul’s not going anywhere. He’s a good guy.”

He was a guy who was marrying her to get a readymade family. Not because he was crazy in love with her.

“Besides,” Montana continued. “You never know how things are going to work out. My parents loved each other every day of their marriage. When my dad died, we were all scared Mom wasn’t going to make it. But he wasn’t the only love of her life.”

Pia hadn’t heard that. “What do you mean?”

Montana grinned. “She has a tattoo on her hip. It says Max.”

“Your Max?”

“No. He’s new to the area. The tattoo is old. Over the years, Dakota, Nevada and I have tried to find out who he is, and Mom isn’t saying a word. My point is, love happens. You’re going to do great with the babies and I’m guessing Raoul is going to fall madly in love with you. You’ll see.”

RAOUL PARKED IN FRONT of the large house. “I know it’s old,” he told Pia, “but I had Ethan go over the whole thing and it’s sound. The floor plan is great. Plenty of bedrooms, a large kitchen, which needs to be gutted, but then you could have everything you wanted. There’s a big yard out back, some great trees for climbing. It’s the perfect family home.”

He waited anxiously while Pia glanced at the three-story house with round eyes. It was in one of the older neighborhoods in town—an affluent section built in the 1920s. The second he’d seen the house, he’d known it was exactly what he’d been looking for.

“There are eight bedrooms, including three on the third story. The second story has a decent-size master, but I thought we could tear down the wall between it and the smallest bedroom to expand it. Upgrade the bathroom, make the closet bigger.”

She turned to him, her expression unreadable. “Because you have a lot of shoes?”

“I know you do. It’s a chick thing.”

“I guess it is.”

She didn’t seem that excited about the house. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Don’t you like the place?”

“It has potential,” she said, opening the car door. “We should go inside.”

He followed her, wondering what was going on with the women in his life. Dakota had returned to work the next day, but she still wasn’t herself. He’d asked what was wrong several times and she kept insisting everything was fine. Too bad she was a lousy liar. And now Pia was acting strangely.

He followed her up to the front porch. It was as wide as the house and several feet deep.

“Are you mad because I went looking at houses without you?” he asked.

“No. You said you were going to. It’s fine.”

He thought about mentioning he’d brought Peter with him the previous day and the kid had loved the house, but he wasn’t sure it would help.

“I know I’ve been busy,” he said as he fished the key out of his jacket pocket. “Having Peter around. His foster parents are due back in a couple of days. Mrs. Dawson has been investigating them and can’t find any kind of trouble, so he’ll be going back to them.”

She turned to him and pressed her hand against his chest. “Raoul, I’m not mad because you’re taking care of a little boy who’s hurt. I think it’s wonderful and amazing. In fact, I’d love to come to dinner with the two of you, before Peter has to leave. I’m not mad about the house. I’m not mad about anything.”

“You swear?”

“Yes.”

She raised herself on tiptoe. He bent down and kissed her.

The feel of her mouth against his, her body so close, made him want to pull her against him and take advantage of the empty house. One night with Pia hadn’t been enough. But until he talked to her doctor about when it was okay to seduce Pia back into his bed, he wasn’t going to do anything to put the babies in danger.

“Tonight?” he asked, knowing they were talking about dinner but wishing it were something else. “Sure.”

He opened the front door and led the way inside.

They stepped into a large two-story foyer. The formal living room was to the left, the dining room to the right. There was a study, an eat-in kitchen and a family room, all on this level.

“Let’s start at the top,” he said, pointing to the stairs.

“Okay.”

He led the way. At the top floor, he pointed out the three bedrooms. There were several large linen closets off the hall.

“If we give up this closet,” he said, pointing, “we can have a Jack-and-Jill bath. Now with three kids, it could still be a problem, so I talked to Ethan about turning this other one into a half bath. Just a toilet and sink.”

“Uh-huh.”

He showed her the three bedrooms. They were all about the same size, with sloped ceilings and bay windows with window seats.

“Great for reading,” he said.

“Especially on rainy days. You’d need a bunch of cushions, though, and maybe some blankets.”