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“Because you are five years old.”

“I’m almost six.”

“You have several whole months before you turn six.”

“That’s basically almost.”

I shook my head and reached for his backpack. “How about we start with the gaming chair, the lights, and maybe the projector, and we leave the king-sized mattress alone?”

His entire face brightened. “And the TV?”

“We’ll see.”

“And the shelves?”

“Kaidence, do not push your luck.”

“Okay, okay.”

He scrambled off the bed, but apparently the interior-design consultation was nowhere near finished.

“And I want the walls black.”

I stared at him. “Black?”

“Yeah. Black walls with the blue lights.”

Of course he did.

I took in those dark, intense little eyes, the exact shape and stubbornness of the man who had built this house and filled half of it with black furniture.

“Just like your daddy,” I murmured.

Kaidence grinned proudly. “But I want Spider-Man too.”

I blinked. “How are we going from black walls to Spider-Man?”

“Easy.” He pointed around the room like a tiny contractor. “Black walls, then Spider-Man stickers on them. The big kind. And maybe webs in the corners.”

I gave him a look. “So basically, black walls with Spider-Man taking over the whole room.”

He nodded proudly. “Exactly.” Kaidence was fully committed now. “Oh! And one of those big Spider-Man pictures where it looks like he’s coming out the wall.”

“Kaidence, this room already has everything you need.”

“But it doesn’t have Spider-Man.”

Apparently, that was the fatal flaw.

I already knew how this was going to go.

If I didn’t give that boy the full Spider-Man makeover he had clearly planned in his head, his grandmother absolutely would. Henrietta had probably only left the room this neutral because he hadn’t mentioned it to her yet. Had he told her yesterday, I was convinced we would’ve walked in to find Spider-Man hanging from the ceiling and webs painted across every wall.

Willow leaned toward me and whispered, “You might as well surrender now.”

“I know.”

Kaidence grinned, clearly hearing us. “So that means yes?”