by Parker, Ali
I picked her up and carried her on my shoulder as we walked into the kitchen. She was already figuring things out and knew she could settle down while she waited for her bottle. She wasn’t exactly patient, but she gave us a few minutes to meet her demands before she announced to the world she was displeased with her bottle service.
That too had been a learning curve. Trying to figure out how long to heat the bottle had been a huge ordeal in the beginning for me. It was easier for Hannah who only had to drop a boob in the child’s mouth. I had the pleasure of heating the bottle, testing it, heating it, and testing it again, all while listening to Leah scream.
When the bottle-warmer light indicated the milk was the right temperature, I removed it, tested it on my wrist, and walked into the living room with a fussing Leah cradled in my arms.
“Almost there,” I promised her, sitting on the couch, my arm resting on a pillow as I gave her the bottle.
She greedily sucked the bottle as if she hadn’t eaten in a week. Her eyes were on mine as she watched me with a great deal of intensity. I always felt like she was trying to remember every little nuance of my face. Her eyes had stayed blue like her mother’s and her dark hair had really come in. I knew she was the most beautiful baby girl in the world. There was no comparison.
When she finished the bottle, I reached for the stack of burp cloths we kept on the coffee table and put it over my shoulder before bringing Leah up for her burping. After a couple healthy burps, I continued to hold her. I knew I was supposed to put her back in bed to avoid spoiling her, but I couldn’t do it just yet. I loved our quiet nights alone with just me and her in the dark room.
It was my time to bond with her and I cherished every minute of it. It wasn’t long before I found myself nodding off.
“Hey,” Hannah’s soft voice came from my left.
“Hi,” I whispered, not wanting to wake the sleeping baby.
“Do you want me to take her?” she asked.
“No, she’s asleep,” I said and a second later she started to fuss on my shoulder.
“Maybe she’s still hungry,” Hannah suggested.
“I can feed her another bottle,” I said, moving to stand.
“Sit, I’ll get it,” she whispered and headed out of the room.
She was back a few minutes later with a fresh bottle. She handed it to me before sitting next to me, her head leaning against my shoulder as I fed our daughter.
“You can go back to bed,” I assured her.
“It’s okay, I like sitting with you. I haven’t gotten to see you much these past few days,” she said.
I nodded. “I’m sorry. I tried to get out of that meeting yesterday, but it required my attention. Jack wasn’t familiar with the company and I didn’t want to leave him high and dry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m being needy.”
“No, you’re not.”
“How is Jack?” she asked.
I smiled in the darkness. “Good. Something is up with him, but I’m not sure what. I think it has to do with a woman. He doesn’t want to take over my job—I’ve offered,” I joked.
“I’m glad you two are getting along. I really do like all your brothers,” she said.
I smirked. “That’s because you don’t really know them. Trust me, if you did, you wouldn’t be quite as generous with your summation of their characters.”
“Stop. Your mom is my idol. You guys all turned out great.”
I chuckled. “Don’t tell her that. She already thinks you walk on water.”
“I like her. I’m glad she likes me. It could make for some very awkward Sunday dinners if we didn’t get along.”
“You’re right. I like that you get along with everyone and they all love you. I want Leah to grow up in that close family environment. One of these days my brothers will have kids and we’ll have some wild family gatherings.”
Hannah laughed. “Your mom will love it. She keeps reminding me she wants lots of grandchildren to fill her house. Considering how big that house is, your brothers are really going to need to step up their games if they plan on giving her what she wants.”
“Don’t encourage them. We don’t need a population boom. It’s nothing short of a miracle there aren’t a bunch of little Bancroft kids running around as it is,” I quipped.
“Leah will love it. I imagine lively holidays and raucous family get-togethers.”
I let myself picture Christmas at the Bancroft mansion with a whole group of kids running around with excitement. It all seemed a little cheesy and a lot silly, but I wanted that too. I had found the meaning of family and wanted my brothers to have what I had. I wanted our kids to grow up together and know they could always count on their large extended family if they needed to.
“How did your own meeting go?” I asked, remembering she was supposed to have a teleconference the day before.
“Good. I’m excited to see how well the product launch goes. The new marketing team you put on the project is amazing,” she said with awe.
“They better be with the amount of money we’re paying them. The lipstick practically sells itself. They just put the pretty packaging on it. The ads start running this week?”
“Yep. They look awesome. I love that they are eye-catching because they are so basic. A lipstick—that’s it. No words. I absolutely love it,” she said again.
Hannah had told me all about the new line she’d been working on. It had taken some persuading, but I managed to convince her to stick with her company, but not as the CEO. She didn’t want that kind of responsibility with the baby coming. I supported her in whatever it was she wanted to do. Her role now was difficult to define. She was the true boss of the company, but only consulted on decisions the current CEO wasn’t completely comfortable making.
I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “You know it’s going to be great. I don’t know anything about makeup, but even I know women like stuff that stays put. And I may not wear the stuff, but I do know I prefer it stay on my lady’s face than all over my white shirt,” I teased.
She laughed softly. “That was my goal when I was coming up with it. I wanted to make a product every man could appreciate and approve.”
“Is Amber still considering your offer?”
“She says she’s thinking about it, but I know she wants it. She’ll be her own boss and I trust her to be great in the development department. I can’t be there all the time. I don’t want to be there all the time. I want to be home with Leah, doing mommy things.”
“You know I’m happy with whatever you decide. If you want to work more, I can certainly lighten my schedule and be home more with Leah,” I told her once again.
She shook her head. “No, I mean I would love if you could lighten your workload, but I don’t think I want that career life anymore. I thought I did but being home with her has changed everything. My priorities have changed.”
“I know what you mean,” I agreed, thinking about how my own life had changed in the past year.
I had been a workaholic, always looking for the next big thing, ready to take over a new company and make Bancroft Estates bigger and stronger than it already was. That was no longer what drove me. When I was at work, all I could think about was getting home to Hannah and Leah. I now had a very clear understanding of Justin’s life and why he had changed after his first child was born.
“Don’t forget, we have that birthday party for Justin’s oldest this weekend,” she reminded me.
I nodded. “I’ll be there.”
We sat in the near darkness of the room, enjoying being close to each other without talking. We had many conversations at two and three in the morning these days. Leah took a lot of our time and we rarely had moments where it was just us. I enjoyed our late-night conversations. It was far more intimate, and we really connected, maybe it was because there were no other distractions. Our phones weren’t ringing, there wasn’t some lullaby CD playing over the speakers or a little baby’s cries of hunger
or sounds of happiness. It was just me and her and our sleeping child.
Leah had fallen asleep in my arms once again. I carefully put her on my chest and began to gently pat her back. Hannah’s soft body was pressed against my side. I could hear her slow, deep breathing and knew she had fallen back to sleep. I closed my eyes, Leah firmly against my chest with my hand on her back as I dozed off myself.
I was whole. Everything was as it should be. It had taken me a long time to get to where I was, but the fight was worth it. I was content and completely at peace with my world. Life was good, and I could only imagine it getting better with my last love affair.
The End
Want More?
Get another recent release HERE
Insider Group
Join Ali’s Insiders Newsletter Group for New Releases, Updates and to Connect with Ali.
As a thank you for joining her list,
you’ll receive a starter library from Ali.
Join Here
About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
Website ~ Insider’s Group ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ Google+
The Parker’s Wicked Playground
My Last Love Affair
Copyright © 2018 by Ali Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art
Editor: Laura LaTulipe
