“Are me and Justin gonna share a room?”
I paused. I hadn’t thought they would want to, but maybe I’d miscalculated. “I have you in rooms right next to each other, but we can change that.”
“No way,” Justin cut in. “Having our own rooms is great.” He seemed to catch himself as he took in his sister’s worried expression. “But you can come get me if you get scared, Ly.”
“Me, too,” Anna assured as she pulled the little girl to her side.
“There’s an extra bed in your room, too, if you want someone to sleep in there with you tonight.” I’d begged an emergency with a local interior designer to have her pull together the kids’ rooms in under a week. I remembered that Juliette had always wanted to have sleepovers when she was Lyla’s age, and I hoped having an extra bed in the girl’s room would make it that much easier for her to have friends over.
Lyla looked up at Anna. “Will you stay with me tonight?”
She grinned down at her niece. “Only if we can stay up past our bedtimes and eat cookies till we can’t move.”
Lyla’s mouth curved into a smile. “Snickerdoodles?”
“We’ll make them after dinner,” Anna assured her.
The tightness in my chest abated at that first glimpse of a smile from Lyla, and I started inside. “The kitchen’s stocked, so we should have everything we need for cookies. But if we’re missing anything, there’s a list on the counter by the fridge. If you add something to that, Jessie, my housekeeper, will pick it up at the store.”
“That doesn’t mean you can put twelve kinds of candy on the list,” Anna warned.
Justin threw up his hands. “Aw, Anna. Why’d you have to go and ruin it?”
“So you don’t end up in a diabetic coma. That’s why.”
Sounded like Justin was going to be my partner in crime for both pizza and sugar. I bent down and whispered to him, “I’ve got your back.”
“Heard that,” Anna called.
Justin shook his head. “She’s got ears like a freaking bat.”
We made our way through the large mudroom. “You guys can each claim a cubby to put your school stuff in if you want. And there’s plenty of room for muddy shoes when the weather turns.”
Lyla looked up at Anna. “Will there be enough snow for sledding?”
“You bet.”
I mentally added sleds and tubes to a list of things I’d need to get. That list was growing by the second. I’d already given my credit card a workout, but damn, it had been a blast. As much as I’d looked out for Juliette growing up, I hadn’t started to make real money until I sold my first video game on a lark. So being able to spoil these kids was too much fun.
“How about a tour?” I asked.
Anna kept an arm around Lyla but gave me a shaky smile. “That would be great.”
She didn’t even know her way around the house yet. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be evident to the kids. I led them into the kitchen where Lyla gasped. “You have a pool?”
“I do. And a hot tub.”
It had been so dark when Anna had been here the one time before, she probably hadn’t seen it, either. And the idea of her laying out there in her bikini wasn’t exactly unappealing. I guided our crew through the lower level of the living space, including the library and my office. We made a quick trip down to the basement so I could show them the gym and the screening room.
“Definitely need a movie night,” Justin muttered.
“Anytime you want,” I offered.
Then we headed to the second level where the majority of the bedrooms were located. I led them to the end of the hall to Justin’s and Lyla’s rooms. We made it to Lyla’s first. There was muted lavender on the walls, a color I’d noticed she wore a lot, so I hoped it was a favorite. Two built-in bookcases I’d had the designer fill with books and movies she thought a nine-year-old might like bracketed a window seat.
Two twin beds rested against the far wall, the comforters covered in shimmery stars. And above each were illustrations of constellations. She also had a walk-in closet, and her own bathroom I’d had the designer kit out with supplies.
Lyla walked through the space, her jaw hanging open. “This is mine?”
