If I Only Knew(78)

“You’re really going to sit there?” he asks with a chuckle.

“You could come over and make me get up.”

“I could, or we can make a wager that you’ll come to me . . .”

Milo and his betting.

“Are you sure you want to bet me, sweetcheeks?” I say with sarcasm. “I mean, the last time we bet . . . you lost.”

Milo puts the box down and heads over to me, his arms cage me in on the couch and he grins.

“I rather think I won.”

“Do you?”

He grins. “Most definitely. Besides, you wouldn’t hold out on your husband, would you?”

I pretend to think about it, and sigh. “It’s such a shame you’re so hot. It’s hard to resist you.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say.”

“Arrogant much?”

His lips move closer. “Just hedging my bets.”

Right before our lips are about to touch, Ava’s voice kills the moment.

“Mom! Can you please tell Parker he doesn’t get to put his crap in my room!”

Milo pulls back.

“Really? You guys are always making out, it’s freaking weird,” she says with her arms crossed.

“Yes, being married and in love is so weird,” I toss back.

She’s been genuinely happy since we decided to move here. Ava loves the arts, and London is a great place for her to study. We’ve already found a ballet school that she loves, and the instructor has trained some of the most renowned dancers.

Ava sits on the couch beside me.

“Aren’t you glad we’re married and now you get to help raise them?” I ask Milo with a brow raised.

He kisses me hard and then pulls back. “I am.”

“Mom!” She covers her eyes.

I grab Milo’s arm as he starts to walk away. “Kiss me again.”

His lips break into a slow, sexy smile. “Happily.”

“Ugh!” She huffs. “I’m going upstairs to torture Parker.”

“Bye!”

Milo laughs and tucks my hair behind my ears. “I’m excited to be their bonus father. I know you worry, and I don’t blame you, but I love them as much as I love you.”

“I got really lucky with you.”

He kisses my forehead. “I’m pretty sure I won the lottery with you, sweetheart.”

I wonder if he understands how much I love him. There’s something very different about my second marriage. I’m older, wiser, more understanding at the amount of work that goes into a relationship. There’s no grandiose ideas on how perfect things will be. I know there will be times I’ll hate him, days where I wonder what the hell I was thinking, and even times we may want to throw in the towel.

On the other hand, there will be days like this. When nothing else matters but getting another kiss from the man I love. When the kids can be stupid or his mother—whom I freaking love—will require our attention, but I’ll see the beauty in our love.

He pulls back and taps my nose. “Enjoy Ava’s attitude.”

Yeah, there’s so much fun for me there.

Ava and Parker each got their own rooms on the third level. Milo and I are on the second level. His house is magnificent, and it’s truly the most beautiful building I’ve ever seen. He bought it when it was run down, and spent God only knows how much money to renovate it.

Their bedrooms were once a guest room and a study. He easily converted it to a bedroom before we moved officially.

“Please stop fighting,” I say to them both.

“Milo said I could have this room and if I needed space for my comics that I could use Ava’s room.”

“No he didn’t!” Ava yells.

“Okay, well, you have your room, Parker. If something doesn’t fit, which makes no sense, then you’ll have to throw it out,” I settle that one and then look at my daughter. “And you can be nice and let him put something in there since you decided you had to have the bigger room.”

I swipe my hands together and nod. That’s done.

Since Milo already had so much, we sold pretty much all of our furniture. There was no point in bringing it here, except for a few sentimental items that I couldn’t part with.

I get downstairs where Milo is unpacking a box. He removes a wooden box that has my initials engraved on the top, and I freeze. Peter gave me that on the day of our wedding. He wanted us to fill it with memories. However, instead of memories, it’s where his ashes are contained.

“Sweetheart? Where do you want to put this box?” Milo asks.

I step forward, touching the lid. “I wasn’t sure what to do with this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s Peter.”

Milo covers my hand with his. “Why don’t we keep this on the mantle? He’s part of our family, and I never want you or the kids to feel as though I’m trying to replace him. If it weren’t for Peter, Ava and Parker wouldn’t be. If things didn’t happen the way they did, you never would’ve worked for Cal, and I never would’ve met you. I owe my entire life’s happiness to him, and he’s always welcome in our home.”

My other hand rests on his cheek. “Why do you always say the perfect thing?”