“Of course not. I can tell Caden is a clever man.”
“If you scare him away, I’ll never talk to you again!” Henry huffed and glared at his aunt. It was so adorable. It made me want to carry him to his bedroom to show him how much I appreciated his protective instinct.
“Yes, I get it. You like him. I won’t scare him away, I promise. I just want to talk to him. Go with Miles.”
I bit back a laugh when Henry puffed out his chest one last time before turning towards me. A warning speech was coming, so I stopped him with a kiss before he could start. Leaning back, I made sure he was watching my lips.
“I’ll be fine, Cupcake, and we’ll just be in the kitchen. Don’t you want to know what they brought you?”
The indecision was written all over his face. In the end, curiosity about his gifts won. With a sigh, he turned towards Miles.
“Come on, Uncle Miles! I want to see my souvenirs.”
Winking at Ava and me, Miles got up from the sofa and led Henry over to the dining table. There were two big bags and a big box waiting for him. Ava and I were forgotten by the time he reached the table and pointed to the first bag.
“We bought something in every town we visited. I just couldn’t help myself,” Ava said, smiling at the scene before her. I understood her desire to spoil Henry rotten, and I would have done the same. Watching Henry unpack a little Big Ben figurine, Ava caught me by surprise when she touched my elbow and nodded towards the kitchen. “So, he gave you a key and the alarm code.”
“We have a living arrangement.”
“Is that so?” Ava led me over to the kitchen and the small kitchen nook. Sitting down, I watched her walking over to the fridge. It only took her a moment to come back with two bottles of water. “Care to share what this arrangement is?”
“You’re not beating around the bush. I like that.”
“Well, there is no point. It’s obvious something is going on.” Ava grinned and sat down in the chair opposite mine. Yup, Henry was right. It was like an interrogation, but I knew that she only meant well. “So…about this living arrangement?”
“Henry and I agreed that we want to live together. So, we decided to give it a try.”
“I’d say it’s too quick, but I knew that I wanted to marry Miles the minute I saw him.”
“And he proposed.” Ava looked adoringly at Miles, who helped Henry unpack a package. “Congratulations to your engagement.”
“Thank you. But don’t think that you can distract me with wedding talk. We’re talking about Henry and you.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Grinning, I held up my hands, and Ava laughed. Before she could say something, Henry squealed. Ava and I turned to look at him.
“Daddy! I got Lego London!” Henry almost knocked Miles over when he held up his package. “Look, you can even open Tower Bridge! That is so cool! Can I build it with Uncle Miles? Please, Daddy?”
I was about to tell Henry that we shouldn’t keep them for too long after their long flight back to the States, but Ava already held up her hand to get Henry's attention.
“How about you build London with Miles while Caden and I make dinner? We had some amazing herb chicken with pasta in Italy. It’s easy to make, and you have all those lovely herbs in your garden.”
“But no vegetables?” It wasn’t a surprise that Henry asked his aunt and not me, yet Ava didn’t let him get away with it.
“Ask your Daddy, Henry.”
Rolling his eyes, Henry turned to me and put on his biggest smile. “We don’t need vegetables, right, Daddy? Pasta with chicken is good, right?”
“It’s your choice. There will be either a side salad or no dessert.”
“Side salad, please.”Henry blew me a kiss before turning back to Miles and his London skyline. “But I want a big dessert if I finish my salad.”
With that, he turned his attention to his project. It ended any discussion about salads or desserts. Well, someone wasn’t going to come tonight. That was for sure because he knew damn well not to turn his back on me, just to avoid a discussion.
Ava read my mind because she laughed and shook her head. “I think you have better methods to teach him not to do that.”
“Well, at least I’m not the only one he’s done that to.”
“Oh, no. Believe me. Henry is just that good at it because he’s had years of practice.”
It was easy to picture a teenage Henry, pouting and huffing about something Ava had said and him trying to ignore her to make the discussion stop. Even if I would punish him for it later, it was still adorable because Henry was doing it.
“Come on. Let’s go and pick some herbs from the garden.”
Following Ava to the roof garden, I wondered if Henry was aware that this was a real family dinner. It was his aunt, soon-to-be uncle, and us—his family. Earlier in the day, Sam had visited with Des and Ray. They measured out the ground floor, and by the messages and pictures I had received, they had had a lot of fun afterward. Ava was thinking the same, because when we stepped onto the roof, Ava turned to me with a smile.
“It’s so good to see Henry so happy and carefree. He was having fun when we got here.” Turning towards the raised beds where Henry grew all sorts of different herbs, Ava continued with a chuckle, “I have to admit. I was worried when I saw Des throwing sweets at him. I worried that Des was his Daddy.”
“Why?” Her comment surprised me. Des was the most admirable and kindest guy I knew. He was funny but could be protective and earnest, too.
“Des is a big child. He needs a Little he can dote on and spoil. But Henry is…” Thinking about her
