Second Chance at Love (Love Conquers All) (21 page)

As far as a long, drawn out engagement went, he’d marry her this afternoon if he could. She didn’t have to worry about him getting cold feet and stringing her along, because he had no intention of waiting any longer than necessary to make her his wife.

“Babe, as soon as we tell the kids after breakfast, we can set a date if you like.”

Karen leaned back, her eyes shimmering as she looked up at him. “Are you serious?”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I am.”

“How about next month?”

Dom lifted a thick brow, amused. “Can you pull off a wedding that fast?”

She wanted to scream,
Heck yeah!
Instead, Karen laughed, shaking her head. “No way. How about early March?”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she answered with a huge grin that showed off her dimples.

Karen squealed in delight when Dom picked her up, swinging her around and around until they both were dizzy.

The children had been in the guestroom watching cartoons when they heard their mother’s squeals and Dom’s deep laugh coming down the hall. Ashley and Kyle simultaneously jumped up off the bed and ran into the kitchen. If they were in there having fun, they wanted to be a part of the fun, too.

“What’s going on?” Ashley queried, a curious smile on her face as she eyed the giddy couple, while Kyle stood by her side.

“I asked your mother to marry me and she said yes!” Dom told the kids as he continued to hold Karen around the waist.

Kyle looked at Ashley and then back at his mother and his soon-to-be father. “Is it true?” He asked wide-eyed, in almost disbelief. He had prayed for Mr. Dom to be his daddy just like Zoe told him. He even promised God he would be a good boy and
try
not to get into trouble at school and at home if Mr. Dom would become his daddy.

Happy tears stung her eyes as she lovingly stared at her children. The hope of them all being a family and them having a father was plainly etched all over their innocent features. “Yes, baby, it’s true.” Gazing up at Dom, she said, “We’re going to be a real family.”

Kyle grabbed Ashley’s hand and they both began to jump up and down shouting, “It worked! It worked!”

The kids ran to Karen and Dom. The four of them were a tangled mess of arms as they hugged and kissed. Kyle didn’t protest with his usual “Yuk!” when Ashley kissed him on the cheek.

It was Ashley who asked, “Can we call you Daddy, Mr. Dom?”

The lump in Dom’s throat was making it so difficult to breathe. Kyle looked up at him, his face contorted with anxiety, ready to crumble into a heap of tears if he was told no. Untangling himself, Dom kneeled down so he’d be at eye level with the children. Looking up at Karen, he waited for her nod of approval. Rubbing the top of Kyle’s hair and gently tugging on one of Ashley’s braids, he flashed a smile so wide, you would have thought that he was named Father of the Year. “Daddy it is.”

All Dom could do was laugh when he went tumbling over from the force of Kyle and Ashley lunging into his arms and grabbing him around the neck. This felt so good, so right, to him.

Karen laughed at Dom and the children. Ashley and Kyle were just as excited as she was that he had asked her to marry him. The source of their excitement was the prospect of having a father they could call their own. In her heart she knew she was a great mom, had even tried to be a father to them, a role for which she
really
hadn’t been equipped. What did she know about being a father? The man who had helped create her wasn’t capable of fathering a fish. She had no example growing up. Even though she and her sister turned out just fine, they would have definitely benefited from the influence of a strong male presence in their lives. Perhaps she would have seen all the little red flags before she married Gregory had there been a man around.

All of these thoughts floating around in her head were all moot points. She didn’t have to stress herself with the task of being both mother and father. She had a man who loved her children so much he had stepped up to the plate, accepting the task, way before she’d even given him the time of day. He had been a big influence on Kyle’s change in behavior by spending time with the boy, doing things a father would do with him. And with Ashley, he showed her what it meant to be a daddy’s girl.

Clapping her hands, Karen brought the rowdiness to an end. From the looks of it, the three of them would have been down there for the next hour. “Come on and get up so
Daddy
and I can finish breakfast.” The kids giggled at the way she said daddy while playfully rolling her eyes.

Dom stood, taking each of them by the hand and pulling them up
on their feet. “Ok Mommy” they said in unison before hugging Dom one last time and running off into the bedroom.

Karen went to Dom and without saying a word, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his broad chest. Without hesitation, Dom hugged her back. She didn’t know if she was imagining things or not, but it felt as if she could feel every ounce of love he had for her permeating through every pore in her body. Closing her eyes, she melted into his large frame. She willed every ounce of love she had for him to be infused into every part of his being.

Tilting Karen’s chin up, Dom leaned down and kissed her. Karen moaned. The kiss was so sweet, so tender.

“I love you, Karen.”

“I love you back, Dom.”

Eavesdropping in the hallway, Ashley and Kyle covered their mouths, giggling. They were finally getting the daddy they wanted.

Two Weeks Later

“Six ball, corner pocket,” Nick said, leaning over the pool table and striking the ball with his cue stick. Standing up, he grinned at his partner, Langston. “Too bad we’re not playing these chumps for money.”

Kevin laughed, barking out an expletive. It was true, he and his partner were getting the pants beat off of them. Slapping Dom on the back, he defended their losing streak. “My man got other things on his mind.” A devilish smirk on his face, he said, “I married an Avery girl, so I know what’s on his mind.”

Dom gave Kevin a fist bump. “Word. Those Avery girls are B.A.D.”

Dom wasn’t even about to front. Karen had his nose so wide open a Septa bus could drive in one nostril and out the other.

Langston nearly choked on the swig of beer he’d just swallowed. Clearing his throat he looked at his brother-in-law. “Six months ago you said you were never getting married…ever,” he reminded him.

Yeah, he had remembered saying it. He had even believed it himself. After the heartache Gina had put him through, he’d sworn off marriage. He didn’t believe there was a woman out there who could change his mind or his heart. Shrugging broad shoulders, Dom simply said, “I was wrong.” And man was he wrong. Every breath he breathed was for Karen.

Sitting the cue stick down on the pool table, Nick went over to the mini-fridge in the corner and pulled out two beers. Going over to Dom, he handed him a beer and then twisted the cap off his before taking a long sip. He understood Dom perfectly well. He’d thought the same thing before meeting Summer. But then she came along, turning his world upside down. And he hadn’t regretted one minute of it.

Nick leaned against the pool table as he took another swallow. “When the right woman comes along all that never getting married bull goes out the window.”

Picking up the little cube of chalk, Langston rubbed it over the end of the stick. Setting the cube back down he said, “I always knew I wanted to marry Ava. I fell in love with her the first day I met her.” A smile spread across his face as he remembered the meeting. “I waited for her until after she got out of her first class. I thought she was the sweetest thing.”

The other men looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Ava? Sweet?

Reading their minds, Langston laughed. “Just as snappy as my woman is, she can be just as sweet.”

Dom agreed. “Ava may have a smart mouth on her, but if she loves you, there’s nothing in the world she wouldn’t do for you.” Dom let out a long whistle. “But don’t get on her bad side.”

“Tell me about it!” both Langston and Nick exclaimed, laughing.

Pointing at Dom, Nick barked with laughter. “You’re sister is crazy as hell! When Summer and I were going through our thing she keyed my new Benz.”

Dom’s eyes got huge. He’d seen Nick’s rides and they were sweet. “No.”

Nick nodded his head. “From bumper to bumper…both sides. If she had been a dude, I would’ve smashed in her face.”

Langston let out a long whistle. “Damn. Not the ride.”

Kevin laughed. “But you deserved it. You were an ass back then.” Pointing to his best friend he reminded him, “You treated that girl wrong and you know it.”

Nick eyebrows furrowed together in a frown. Kevin was never going to let him live down that period of stupidity in his life. If they lived to be a hundred he was still going to throw it up in his face. “Man, she didn’t have to do that to my ride. And I wish you would stop reminding me of how big of an ass I was.”

Dom and Langston exchanged glances as they wondered what the two men were talking about. Langston knew bits and pieces from what Ava told him, but she really didn’t go into detail about her best friend’s business.

Nick picked up on the curious gazes. Langston and Dom were really cool; he liked them a lot. Though this was true, he hadn’t shared with them the tumultuous nature of the beginning of his and Summer’s relationship. If he could share with them the mistakes he’d made, hopefully it would keep them from going down the same path.

“Grab your drinks and let’s go sit down.”

Following Nick, the men stretched out on the large sectional with their drinks. They listened as Nick told his story.

Upstairs in Summer and Nick’s master bedroom suite, Summer lounged at the head of the large comfy chaise with Ava at the foot. On the oversized loveseat, Starr was curled up at one end and Karen at the other. Sipping on wine spritzers as they waited on the other women to arrive, Karen filled them in on the Johnstons visit. When she and Dom had called their family and friends to share the news of their engagement, they hadn’t wanted to sour it by rehashing the visit. The only ones who had been privy to the threats were Dom’s and Karen’s parents.

“Say what?” Ava questioned, sitting up and putting a hand on her hip. “I know my brother handled his business.” It wasn’t a question, but rather a statement. She knew her brother’s temper was off the chart when pushed. And from what Karen had just shared, he was definitely pushed.

“Ava, I thought Dom was going to kill the man.” Karen gripped the front of her own shirt to show them all the chokehold Dom had on him. Starr burst out laughing when her sister bugged her eyes out, imitating her former father-in-law.

“Humph, he should have shook the wife, too.” Ava mumbled, rolling her eyes.

Summer hit Ava’s foot, playfully chiding her. “You are so bad.”

“No, I’ve been where Karen’s at. I can’t believe those fools have a nerve to want to claim Ashley and Kyle after all these years.”

“I tell you one thing, ain’t nobody getting my niece and nephew. We’ll ship them off

to—”

“Italy!” Karen interrupted. She had met a number of Dom’s relatives at Ava’s wedding. Several of them had offered to put her and the kids up for a visit if she ever went overseas. She and Dom joked about sending the kids if the Johnstons followed through on their threats.

Summer sat up, laughing and clapping her hands. “Girl, yes! They’d never get their hands on your babies with them in another country.”

Karen waved her hands. “I’m not really thinking about them.”

Though she and Dom had joked about sending the kids overseas, they had gone to see an attorney to see what their next step should be in handling the Johnstons.

Since Dom had planned on adopting the children, the attorney suggested that they get the ball rolling with submitting the paperwork prior to the wedding. The attorney recommended that they hire someone to look into the Johnstons’ financial and personal affairs. There was something very wrong with the older couple’s dogged pursuit of the kids.