Second Chance at Love(78)

Hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet, he made a confession. “Well, the kids would come here with me. They worked with my crew to decorate their rooms the way they wanted them.”



Feigning at being indignant, Karen put her hands on her hips. “You mean the kids knew about the house?”



Dom didn’t say a word. He just flashed her his sexiest smile. The one that had her ready to jump out of her panties. He made a mental note to do something really special for the kids for keeping his secret.



Shaking her head, she wasn’t falling for it this time. “Uh-uh, don’t. Don’t you dare smile at me like that.” Throwing her head back, she laughed. “Y’all set me up. You wait until I get my hands on those little traitors.”



Grabbing her around the waist, he kissed her neck. “You’ll do no such thing to my children. They wanted you to be surprised, too.”



Karen continued to toy with the lace curtains. She loved him being so close. She loved even more how he took possession of Ashley and Kyle, claiming them as his own. “Dom, you’re going to undo everything I’ve done. I’ll give it a month before you have those two spoiled rotten.”



Dom nibbled her earlobe. “Newsflash…they’re already spoiled rotten.”



She smugly shrugged her shoulders. It was true, she had overcompensated with some things because it had always been just the three of them. She felt she had to give them all she could to make up for being a single parent. Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she commented while, still playing with the fabric, “These curtains look familiar.”



“They should. Your mother said they used to be in your and Starr’s bedroom when you were Ashley’s age.”



“I’ll have to make sure they’re taken care of. Starr may want them some day for Sydney and Shayla’s room.”



She followed as Dom led her to Kyle’s room. His door had a red race car painted on it. Pushing the door open and flicking on the light, Karen eyes widened in amazement. All four walls were painted to resemble a race track. Some of the cars whipping around the track were three dimensional.



“Where in the world did you get that bed?” She asked as she went over to it, kneeling down to touch the tires to make sure they were real. They were.



“I used to work with this guy who designed furniture. He said he could build a bed to look like a race car.”



“He wasn’t lying either.” Karen glanced at him sideways. “How much did this bed cost?”



Dom shrugged a massive shoulder. “Not much. He owed me a favor.” He was not about to tell her he paid three grand to have the bed custom built. It would have cost five, but like he said, the guy owed him a favor.



The nightstand, dresser, wardrobe, and desk were strategically spaced around the room as not to take away from the artwork on the four walls. Karen even had to smile at the metal cage sitting on a small table. To her surprise, Kyle had turned out to be the best little pet owner.



The third room on the third floor he told her could be used as a guest room. “The kids couldn’t agree on how they wanted the bathroom up here decorated, so I told them you would help them out with it.”



Walking down the stairs to the second floor hand-in-hand, Karen joked, “Yeah, make me the bad guy.”



“Never that, baby.”



Stopping at the master bedroom suite, Dom grinned, “Are you ready?”



Excitement bubbled inside of Karen. She couldn’t wait to see what Dom had done with their bedroom. She was impressed with how he’d allowed the children to decorate their rooms.



Bobbing her head up and down, she squealed, “I’m ready.”



Slowly Dom opened the door, stepping aside to let her pass. “Oh my God!” Spinning around, she grabbed the lapels on his tux. “Dom! You did not!”



It wasn’t that the room was beautifully decorated. It wasn’t. The walls were still white and the only window treatments were white blinds. The fireplace did look cozy and inviting. Looking at the ceiling, he hadn’t even installed one of those elaborate ceiling fans to bring some elegance to the room. The children’s bedrooms had been decked out with one, giving it an extra decorative touch. It was really needed since the home had been upgraded with new heating and central air units.



What had her in utter disbelief was the Hills of Tuscany collection in Dark Rustico that she’d fell in love with at the Thomasville Furniture store in Montgomeryville, PA. Karen had literally drooled over the richly designed furniture as she caressed the massive headboard. As much as she loved it, no way could she have asked Dom to purchase such expensive furnishings. The mirror that went to the dresser was eight hundred bucks!