6 A little Time With Him

Lilian looked at herself in the mirror. With the white knee-length apparel she wore with her black hair falling off her shoulders, she wondered if she looked presentable to go out with the future heir of Tuckers. A simple and sober look she preferred felt inferior after seeing the gigantic fashionable people at her wedding. The prestigious Tucker clan had high status and it was her responsibility to maintain herself properly as she was now a member of this house. She didn't want people to point at her as a disgraceful daughter-in-law of a multi-billionaire established family. In the large field of roses, a small jasmine felt hard to fit in but it was still trying.

"Does Mama look okay, baby?" Lilian asked the 3-month-old lying on the comfy mattress of her bed as she was done getting ready.

The baby was dressed in a black romper which had a white lily flower in the right corner at the level of his chest. Somehow the colour suited him as much as his father and the little guy looked fabulous to steal the hearts at his cuteness.

Aiden cackled with his hands dancing in the air, maybe he was trying to tell his mother that she looked the prettiest. Smiling, Lilian picked him in her arms and checked herself in the mirror for the final time. Giving a nod to herself, she took her purse from the dressing table and departed out of her room.

As the young woman stepped down the stairs, her eyes caught her husband sitting on the sofa of the living room with his legs crossed and his eyes fixed on the small device he held in his long slender fingers. He was all dressed up in a coffee-black suit with a grey coloured shirt inside which had its first three buttons open. His hair stood perfectly styled yet the two strands of his hair were dangling on his forehead. Not to lie but he looked like a whole damn meal in one piece.

Lilian's eyes went to the giant clock on the wall which was hitting almost the time of afternoon. The lady wondered why Richard was still there instead of his office.

As soon as the lassie walked into the living room, the baby in her arms started moving like a wiggly worm. She glanced down at him to only find Aiden looking at his father excitedly.

"Aa... Aaaaa..." Aiden turned into hyper-excited mode as he didn't fetch the wanted attention from his dad. Of course, this tot was a great attention seeker who never failed to find a single opportunity to whine over if he lacked some.

Hearing the babbling, Richard looked up from his mobile with his blue amber eyes pointed straight at the duo.

Lilian couldn't blink away the intimidating gaze coming to her. The heartbeats went crazy once again and her poorly controlled heart denied the orders of calming down. She felt foolish yet so thrilled, her feet turned cold when the man she was crushing over got up with his feet approaching them.

Richard stood an inch away and the girl looked down with a timid gaze. Maintaining her eyes as parallel as two sides of a square, she stared at his toned chest popping out of the button of the grey fabric. She could strongly smell his high-class cologne, liking the way it perfectly blended with his body fragrance.

"Let's go." His deep voice vibrated in her ear as his feet walked away.

Lilian didn't question anything and followed him from behind while his big figure was making her arrhythmic.

She didn't expect Richard to tag along.

In the whole past month, Lilian observed certain things about him. Richard Tucker was a man strict to his schedule and he never missed any time no matter what, even if the cloud was pouring all its tears. At 7 of the morning, you would always find him in the gym while at 9 am, he would be departing for his office. He would have 3 boiled eggs, salad and fruit juice for his breakfast every single day and after all the day of work, when he would be back by 8 in the evening, Richard never even once failed to visit his son. He was a tip-top guy with his hours set that she wondered if he ever thought of her, even for a second.

But what her mother-in-law said was true, her husband was a workaholic man married to his work. Even on weekends, Richard never skipped the pressure of piles of papers and every time she encountered him for a little fraction of a second, he was always on some or other business calls. This was the first time she saw someone so engaged with their business but Lilian couldn't help but worry for the health of this busy man.

Lilian stopped on her feet when a Rolls Royce Phantom stopped in front of them as they exited the mansion. She watched her husband walking to the other side while the driver was standing there with the door open. The young man in a white uniform ran to her side and pulled the door open for her. She wrapped one hand around Aiden's head, pressing him closer in her embrace while she bent a little to sit in the big luxurious car.

The vehicle turned on and ran on the road but each second felt like minutes. It was awkward and she couldn't bring herself to look or talk to the man who seemed to be so busy typing something on his iPad. Her palms sweated but the wiggling baby in her arms couldn't keep his calm. She paid him attention and wondered if he was hungry again but there was this naughty baby boy, babbling while looking at his father, maybe so eager to jump in his lap and annoy him like he did to her.

Lilian's heart stopped for a second when she saw her husband's lips curving into a smile, his eyes focused on the infant calling him with his weird language. This was the first time she had seen him smiling genuinely, with that softness in his eyes which was smoother than the alchemist's fur. He looked so... gentle and loving.

Richard took his son in his authority, placing the baby in his lap. Aiden played with the expensive shiny watch with his clumsy hands, his saliva drooling on the edges.

"Baby, don't do it." Lilian leaned in to hold the saliva-coated tiny hands but a hand stopped her in her tracks. She backed away only to find a face staring at her with zero emotions. Oh wow, he changed pretty quickly, didn't he?

Actually, they were going to the City hospital. For vaccination. Lilian didn't think that the busy CEO would accompany them, but here was this man, Mr Richard Tucker. His rich presence was already making her nervous. All out of nowhere she was being conscious of her looks, wanting to look more good though he didn't spare a glance at her attire.

'I should have worn a different dress,' She thought.

The rest of the ride was silent, neither of them exchanged any sort of words but the young lady was mesmerized by the father-son duo. Richard didn't speak anything but his little gesture was all it took to tingle her heart. He was holding Aiden a little more firmly every time the speed breaker appeared, he kept on wiping his son's drool every time his saliva dribbled, he even asked the driver to turn off the AC and he was holding the baby against the window when he noticed his son is more interested in outside world rather than his expensive Rolex watch. Her husband who looked so cold on the exterior was a very soft person but only when it came to selective people.

The car stopped in front of the big building and Lilian extended her hand to take Aiden so that he would stop disturbing his father now. But that naughty creature refused to leave his position. The girl leaned in more to hold the baby again but...

"It's fine. Let him be." The deep voice travelled through her ear and gave her goosebumps. She didn't realise she was so close to him that even his whisper would be loud to hear clearly.  The baby laughed shamelessly looking at her, maybe making fun of her flushed face.

Lilian immediately sat straight in her seat, her eyes looking straight at the front seat. His voice still echoed in her ear. She shook her head to free herself from the volcano eruption but it wasn't helping. She felt silly to feel this way and the man over here didn't have even the slightest idea of what he was doing to her.

With a jumping heart, she hesitantly looked at him. Richard was looking at her with wrinkles on his forehead as his eyebrows furrowed. He looked annoyed.

"Get off," he retorted as he opened the door, holding Aiden against his pectoralis firmly. The flustered lady turned her attention to the other side to follow the instructions but that's when she noticed that the door was already open for her. Her face flushed even more in embarrassment as she got off the car.

Her husband was already standing there, talking something to the driver. His side profile where he combed his hair back gave her a sense of familiarity. Like those days in the past when they were in college! She couldn't believe that she was married to the guy she loved secretly in her college days.