“Oh my gosh, can my life get any more perfect?” she wails.
Mila leans back, holding Serenity’s cheeks in her tiny hands. “Mommy better now?”
“Mommy’s much better,” Serenity assures her before attacking her with little kisses all over her face.
Mila giggles louder than I’ve ever heard when Peanut joins Serenity. He licks Mila’s face, the two of them smothering her with love.
Eventually, I manage to get everyone settled down and in bed. I reach for Serenity in the dark, and she takes my hand in hers. “I was hoping to have my wife to myself, but I can’t say that I mind this,” I admit, nodding my head toward the two intruders.
Peanut is snoring at our feet, and Mila is fast asleep between us, her face resting against Serenity’s chest.
Her eyes slowly meet mine.
“I was wrong,” she says.
My brows pull together. I hate it when she doesn’t trust herself. She laughs lightly, reaching out to run the tip of her finger over the lines that form between them.
“I was wrong about having to leave the other side behind … it followed me here.”
“Are you saying this is Heaven?” My thumb brushes over her bottom lip.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Serenity - One Year Later
“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy,” Mila says, pulling on my arm.
“What, baby?” I say, hanging my dress on the hook before lowering myself to her eye level.
“CC is here!” she exclaims, trying to brush her own wild curly hair out of her face.
“Oh my gosh. You know what that means. It’s almost time to watch Mommy and Daddy get married.”
Peanut enters the room, coming to a panting stop beside us. I scratch him behind the ear, and he sneezes at me. “I know. I know,” I assure him. He’s a little slower than he was before he got hurt, but Mila keeps him on his toes. He’s letting me know she’s being especially crazy this morning.
I give him a few more scratches. “You need to be good today, since everyone is busy getting ready for the wedding,” I tell her. “No going outside until Daddy comes to get you, okay?”
“I know.” She leans over and whispers in my ear, “Papa Dan and Papa Wolfe are hiding in the garage, but I not tell nobody,” she says seriously.
“Are they trying to get out of work?”
“Yeah,” she states simply, jumping up on my bed. Her pink dress poofs around her like a cloud. She’s had it on since she rolled out of bed this morning.
I watch as she stretches her legs out and begins to knock her black boots together. They are her newest prized possession. Gaw, she’s the cutest!
Someone knocks on the door.
“Come in!” I yell, going back to my vanity.
“Have you seen my husband?” Lily asks, popping her head into the room. “I need him to help me with the flowers.”
Mila places her finger over her mouth, giving me an ornery grin. “I not see him in the garage, Nanna.”
Lily walks over and gives her a big kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, baby.”
Mila is too smart for her own good, but she’s definitely a girl’s girl. She follows Lily out, no doubt wanting to hear the butt chewing both of her grandpas are about to receive.