38. Delilah
Chapter 38
Delilah
I stare down at the sweet face of our precious daughter as she suckles the last of her milk. The love I hold for this tiny human is indescribable. All my life I’ve dreamed of becoming a mother, and not only did I get my wish, I got to experience the glory of parenthood with the most amazing man.
Her big, chocolate-brown eyes—ones that are just like her father’s—are closed, and she’s on the verge of falling asleep. She needs to be burped, but I have to pee so badly I’m about to burst. Post-baby bladder is a thing.
I push my chair away from my desk and stand, securing my boob back into my maternity bra as I hastily cross the reception area and head for my husband’s office.
When I enter, Spencer places his finger over his lips and then juts his head towards the computer, letting me know he’s in the middle of a conference call.
“I have to pee,” I mouth. “She needs to be burped.” I do the motion with my hand and Spencer nods, extending his arms to take her from me.
I love how hands-on he is with her.
We will celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary at the end of this month. Although I was keen to have children, straight away, Spencer thought I was too young and wanted me to experience more things before motherhood burdened me down. He also admitted to being selfish and wanting to keep me all to himself for a while before having to share me with someone else.
We’ve spent the last few years travelling the world and experiencing all that life offers.
After our precious Mia was born—the apple of her parents’ and Grandmother Eloise’s eye—Spencer encouraged me to stay home after her birth, but I didn’t want that. I had the luxury of having the best of both worlds. I could continue working and bring my child along with me.
When you are a joint owner of a billion-dollar company, you have options. Prescott Enterprises has grown exponentially over the past few years since we have gone global, opening up offices in America, London, and Singapore.
For my twenty-fifth birthday, Spencer presented me with a partnership. It’s not something I wanted or asked for, but it was his way of telling me he was committed to us for life. For those reasons alone, I couldn’t have asked for a better gift. I was never interested in the money, or the company—all I’ll ever need is him. I know with all certainty he is one hundred percent devoted to both me and Mia.
Despite the impending bladder explosion, I take a moment to watch the interaction between father and daughter. The sheer amount of love I see shining in his eyes as he kisses both her chubby cheeks before gently laying her against his shoulder has my heart turning to mush .
“Is that a baby?” I hear the person on the other end of the video call, ask.
“Yes, this is my daughter, Mia.” Spencer turns her slightly towards the screen to show her off, which is something he does often. “Isn’t she the cutest?”
“Hmm,” he hums, completely uninterested in my husband’s pride and joy.
I quickly turn away to hide my smile when Spencer’s growly face makes an appearance.
I’ve met most of Spencer’s clients in the five years I’ve been working here, but the voice on the other end of that chat doesn’t sound familiar, so I don’t know who he’s talking to.
As I exit the bathroom, a few minutes later, I hear the guy say, “I think she just threw up on your shoulder.”
“Ah, shit,” Spencer groans, drawing Mia back to gaze down at the patch of white puke that is now soaking into his light-blue dress shirt.
I spin around and head back into the bathroom to dampen a cloth. This isn’t our first rodeo, so we have spare clothes at the office for just such an occasion.
Spencer moves Mia, cradling her in his arms as I wipe around her little mouth first, before moving to his shirt. I hear a throat clear and my attention snaps towards the computer screen. My eyes widen when the handsome and mysterious-looking man staring back at me winks.
“Who do we have here?” he asks, placing his forearms on the desk and leaning closer to the screen.
“My wife,” Spencer growls. “So you can put those eyes of yours back in your head.”
When he releases a deep, throaty chuckle, followed by a full smile, my mouth gapes open. He has nothing on my husband of course, but damn .
With that mane of jet-black hair, eyes so dark they almost appear the same colour surrounded by thick inky lashes, a day’s worth of dark stubble covering his strong jawline, and the deep dimple that sits in the centre of his chin … wow. I stare at it briefly as I’m reminded of something Kayne’s mother used to say. “A dimple on the chin means the devil’s within”.
“I’m Alexander Mancini,” he says, jutting out his chin, and even from our brief interaction, I can tell this man exudes confidence.
“Delilah,” I squeak.
“Delilah Prescott … my wife! ” Spencer reiterates. “We’ll continue this another time, Mancini.”
The smile on the man’s face widens as Spencer leans forward to end the conference call without so much as a goodbye. I get the impression his reaction towards me was all show, to goad my husband.
“That was rude.”
“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you,” Spencer grumbles.
“I think you overreacted.”
“He was flirting with you, Delilah.”
“Were you jealous?” I ask, grinning.
“Yes! You are for my eyes only.”
I can’t be mad at him for saying that, because I’ve seen the attention he attracts from women when he is pushing our daughter around in her pram, and I don’t like it one bit.
I reach up and place my palm on the side of his face. “I only have eyes for one man … you.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he replies.
“Is he a new client? I’ve never seen him before.”
“No, I’ve been working with him for a few months now.”
“Oh. ”
“His father is the head of the Italian Mancini crime family, but he has distanced himself from that life.”
I gasp as my hands move to cover Mia’s little ears. “As in Mafia?”
“Yes.”
“Is he the one you said pops kneecaps for fun?”
He barks out a laugh. “I said I know people that would be happy to break a leg to get someone to comply … there was never any mention of knee popping, Delilah.”
“I can’t believe we have Mafia clients. Is that even legal?”
“Technically, we don’t. As I said, he may have the Mancini blood running through his veins, but he lives a relatively crime-free life. With the odd exception here and there.”
“Relatively? The odd exception?”
“This is exactly why I never told you about him. What he does in his own free time is his business. Our company has created a few programs for him … that’s it. End of story.”
“End of story? What happens when his family gets taken down for all their criminal activities? Are we going to end up in prison as well, for our part in it?”
Spencer moves Mia to the side and drags me down onto his lap. “You are letting your imagination run away with you. Nobody is going to prison … least of all us.”
“That’s easy for you to say. What if we get called as the state’s witness? Will the mob put a hit out on us so we can’t testify against them?”
My husband throws back his head and laughs. “Sweetheart,” he says once he’s calmed down. “I created some accounting software for the nightclubs he owns. It is all legitimate. I’d never do anything to put you, our daughter, or this company in jeopardy. ”
“Okay,” I say, breathing a sigh of relief. “Have I told you how much I love you today?”
“I believe you said those exact words to me at 3 am this morning when I changed Mia and put her back in her bassinet after her feed.”
“You are the best husband and daddy,” I say. “We are lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” he replies as he leans in to brush his lips with mine. “I am going to have to cut you off from those crime documentaries you love so much, though.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Thursdays are our date night because our weekends are still spent at the estate. Spencer’s mother has Mia overnight, so we order takeout, snuggle in front of the television and watch a bit of Netflix, before getting a much-needed ten hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Our little girl loves her one-on-one time with Eloise.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a close relationship with her other grandmother. My mother and I meet for lunch once a month, but I’ve never been back to the house. Most of her time is taken up looking after my sister’s three kids. They all have different fathers. Abigail is now on husband number two, and from what my mother tells me, that could be heading to divorce court as well.
My hands reach up to undo Spencer’s tie before moving to the buttons. “What are you doing?” he asks, cocking a brow.
“You’ll need to change your shirt because you have a meeting across town in an hour.”
He carefully hands Mia to me and when I stand, he reaches out to palm my arse cheek. “Why don’t you change our daughter, put her down for a nap, and meet me back here in five? I don’t have to leave for at least another half hour.”
I glance down at him and smile as my body zings to life with anticipation. This man still does it for me.
“I’ll be right back.”
When I updated my relationship status five years ago, I never would’ve dreamed it would lead me here, but I know with all certainty I’m exactly where I should be. I’ll forever cherish this man for all that he is, all that he has been, and all that he’s yet to be.
Where there is love, there’s life.