Raising highly intelligent children was rewarding as well as exhausting. Harry demanded a lot of their attention and needed to be mentally stimulated at all times. At a year old, he was already saying more words than the average child.
Chris was sitting behind his desk when his office door opened, and Lara walked in holding Harry.
“What a nice surprise.” He grinned as he got up. “Hi, princess.” He hugged and kissed her before he kissed Lara and took his son from her arms.
“Hi, handsome.” He tickled him.
“Daddy,” He smiled.
“What are you doing here, sweetheart?”
“I need you to watch him. The babysitter called and has the flu. Harold is with Aida. I have my doctor’s appointment. I will bring Helen with me.”
“I have a meeting in fifteen minutes.”
“And? Do you want me to cancel my doctor’s appointment?”
“You know what, I’ll just bring him to my meeting.”
“Good idea.” She smiled. “I love you. Just bring him h
He wrapped his arms around Lara as she stood at the kitchen sink and pressed his lips against her bare shoulder.“Good morning.” She smiled as she turned around in his arms.“Good morning. I don’t like waking up and you’re not in bed.” He brushed his lips against hers.“I wanted to get the muffins in the oven before you woke up.”“Banana nut?”“Of course.” She grinned.“Then you’re forgiven. Listen, do you hear that?”“Hear what? I don’t hear anything.”“Exactly. Blissful silence. We need to enjoy it before the kids come up. What time will they be here?”“Soon, I think.”“Is Helen bringing Lance?”“I think so. I’m not sure though.”“I feel like I need to have a talk with that boy.”“Leave him alone, Chris. He’s
Lara quickly got to know him, not because his father described him so much that it was impossible for her not to recognize him, but because even though he stands behind the crowd he dominates the crowd who’s waiting for the newly arrived passengers at Manila City International Airport. He was over six feet tall, with a muscular body and blessed with a gentle face that resembled an angel who fell from heaven. At a glance you can immediately tell that he was the type of man who was envied by other men, and women were willing to fight for.As if on cue, he looked at her. He stared at her for a moment, long enough for the shiver to roll in her chest. Every part of her brain and sanity reminded her that this man is dangerous and will only bring her pain. He nodded, as if he knew the effect he had on her and parted with the people in front of him, walking towards her.She couldn't help but stare at him, the way he wore his pants exposed his narrow hips and long legs, t
As she expected, he drove with flair and expertise. In just an hour since they left the airport, they are now traversing the long road surrounded by towering trees at the side of the road. Soon after, at the end of a quiet road running parallel to the beach. Christian entered the vehicle through the ornate wrought-iron gates, which opened with just a touch of the remote control.Lara realizes that Rocco is a man of extreme wealth, but she is not ready to face the overwhelming luxury that seems to frighten her. The Mercedes took the uphill long curve of the road, and her eyes caught sight of a massive house.Standing on a vast terrain, exquisitely landscaped grounds and screened from local traffic by the trees of pines, the place is much more elevated compared to the usual place. Stucco walls, blindingly white, rose in elegant proportions to a tiled roof that was blue like what she always imagined the color of the sky. Large open windows on wide terraces shaded by pergo
Chris took the opportunity to leave the place, when she saw him leaving, she wanted to slap herself with frustration, despite her efforts she failed to prevent that. However, the faithful Ruben remained in the room, concerned and willing to help in any way. When Rocco finished eating and fell asleep comfortably, she went out to go to the room reserved for her.Aida, the servant, showed Lara the room reserved for her upstairs. Decorated in subtle shades of ivory and slate-blue, she remembered her own bedroom in the house, even though the furnishings here were far more than anything she could afford. Marble floors, a Savonnerie rug and fine antiques polished to a soft gleam exemplified wealth, good taste and comfort.There is also a lady’s writing desk between the double French doors to the balcony. There was a fainting couch, its brocade upholstery worn to satin softness, its once-vibrant colors faded by time. A glass-shaded lamp spilled mellow light, and a vase o
"Then that's a pity!" he answered, without the slightest trace of remorse. “But try to see where I'm coming from. My father came with a very beautiful woman whom he did not fully know but then he was able to entrust his whole life. Not only that, he came from a very distant place, in another country and my father agreed to watch over and take care of him until he was completely healed. In fact, there are enough nurses qualified to take care of him in this country. So, tell me, if we reverse our situation, won't you at least doubt it?”"No." she replied warmly. “Before I jump to unworthy conclusions or before I judge her professionalism. I will ask this stranger to show me her profile and if I am not satisfied with the information she provided, I will call her previous employers to verify if the documents she presented are true.”“Well, there is no need for many explanations. Your point is well taken and that being the case, I am ready to p
She was lying. The evidence was present in her confused look, in her racing pulse, very easily and unobtrusively detected when he took her wrist. And he intended to find out why, because despite his thoughts he would remain unaffected by whatever he discovered when he went to the airport, the sight of the old man, so brittle and somehow diminished, he seemed to be struck by a hammer in his heart. They only spent a little time together, for a long time nothing else was done but to argue and nothing was agreed upon. But Rocco was still his father, and Chris would be damned before he’d let someone take him to the cleaners.Oh, she was full of reasonable anger for saying that she was not a selfless angel of mercy as she portrays as she is. After all, he didn't expect it. But he also saw how she was able to bring herself closer to Rocco; how successful she was in taking its affection. His father was not the demonstrative type of man, and at least not as far as Chris remember
She put down the bread she was holding and stared at him. "I beg your pardon?"“By what standards do you judge a prospective husband?”She reached for her glass and drank as she pondered what to answer to his question. "He must be a decent and respectable man," she finally declared."Tall, dark and handsome, too?""Not necessarily." She shrugged again, causing her clothes to lift slightly and expose the beautiful curve of her breasts.He wished he hadn’t seen that fascinating. "Rich and successful, is that so?"“At least, he must earn enough to support us. When we have children, I want to be at home to take care of them.”"If you had to choose just one quality of your ideal man, what would it be?""The one who knows how to love," she said dreamily, her brown eyes widened, and a sharp smile flashed on her lips. While outside, a strong wind was blowing on the pine trees. "I want love more than anythi
She probably weighed no more than fifty-four kilograms in his eighty-five, but what was lacking in size, was more than recoverable in spirit. He had no doubt that she was given knowledge of the anatomy of the man, beyond the ability to cause serious bodily injury. Which should hinder him. Instead the thought of repelling her left him so suddenly and painfully aroused that, for the first time, he questioned the wisdom of his plan of attack. She should have been at his mercy, not in any other way, but for now, she remained utterly indifferent to his charms. On the other hand, he is not with her.Aida just came back to serve chicken breast and ziti stuffed with spinach, a welcome diversion, allowing him to fight his bad submission hormones and redirect his energy to more productive channels. "Why did you allow my father to force you into allowing him to travel, when he clearly didn't fit on it?" he asked casually, once they were alone again.&l
He wrapped his arms around Lara as she stood at the kitchen sink and pressed his lips against her bare shoulder.“Good morning.” She smiled as she turned around in his arms.“Good morning. I don’t like waking up and you’re not in bed.” He brushed his lips against hers.“I wanted to get the muffins in the oven before you woke up.”“Banana nut?”“Of course.” She grinned.“Then you’re forgiven. Listen, do you hear that?”“Hear what? I don’t hear anything.”“Exactly. Blissful silence. We need to enjoy it before the kids come up. What time will they be here?”“Soon, I think.”“Is Helen bringing Lance?”“I think so. I’m not sure though.”“I feel like I need to have a talk with that boy.”“Leave him alone, Chris. He’s
Raising highly intelligent children was rewarding as well as exhausting. Harry demanded a lot of their attention and needed to be mentally stimulated at all times. At a year old, he was already saying more words than the average child. Chris was sitting behind his desk when his office door opened, and Lara walked in holding Harry. “What a nice surprise.” He grinned as he got up. “Hi, princess.” He hugged and kissed her before he kissed Lara and took his son from her arms. “Hi, handsome.” He tickled him. “Daddy,” He smiled. “What are you doing here, sweetheart?” “I need you to watch him. The babysitter called and has the flu. Harold is with Aida. I have my doctor’s appointment. I will bring Helen with me.” “I have a meeting in fifteen minutes.” “And? Do you want me to cancel my doctor’s appointment?” “You know what, I’ll just bring him to my meeting.” “Good idea.” She smiled. “I love you. Just bring him h
As she lay there, she thought about how there was no way she could be pregnant again. No possible way. There was only one way to find out. She ran to the store and picked up a test. It was so silly that she was even doing this. She had a virus. Or maybe something else was going on. Pregnant? No. Impossible.She went into the bathroom, peed on the stick and waited. She laughed at herself for even thinking it. Once the test showed she wasn’t pregnant, she’d call her general doctor and get in for a checkup and some tests. The timer on her phone went off so she picked up the stick and stared at the two pink lines staring back at her. Her heart started racing, and she felt like she was going to pass out. Splashing some cold water on her face, she leaned over the counter and stared at herself in the mirror. How the hell she was going to tell her husband who had a vasectomy that she was pregnant again?“We need to talk,” she said as she grabbed his han
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked Chris as she put her shoes on. “We’re going to be just fine. Go enjoy your day and don’t worry about us. Aida is here, I can ask help from her. Today is all about you relaxing.” He kissed her forehead. “I don’t know what time I’ll be home.” “You take as long as you want. We’re going to have so much fun today, aren’t we, baby?” Chris spoke to Harry as he held him in his arms. After giving him a kiss on the lips, she gave Helen and Harry a kiss and stepped into the elevator. The moment she stepped outside the building, she threw her hands up in the air. Freedom was hers for a day, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. But as she was on her way to the spa, she felt this tremendous feeling of guilt wash over her. She shouldn’t be doing this. She need to be home with her kids. She was gone ten minutes and she already missed them terribly. This wasn’t a good idea and she needed to go back home.
Life with a newborn had been tough for the past couple of weeks. They sleep deprived and Harry was feeding every hour and refusing to sleep. Lara started pumping into bottles so Chris could relieve her every now and again. Especially in the middle of the night so she could get some rest.Chris worked from home the past couple of weeks so he could be there for Lara and the baby. But now it was time for him to get back into the office. He tried to hire a baby nurse to help Lara out while he was gone, but Lara wouldn’t hear of it. He kept the number close by just in case she changed her mind.“I have to go now, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” He kissed her lips as she stood in the kitchen holding Harry.“Don’t be sorry. We’ll be fine.”“I’m going to miss you and our children so much.”“Darling, I know you’re secretly excited about getting out. You can’t fool me.”
They had not made love, even when her first trimester had officially ended two weeks ago. His patience despite his obvious arousal every night when they went to sleep had forever cemented Lara’s trust and appreciation for this amazing man—her husband.She opened the door and stepped into the bedroom.Chris stood beside the bed wearing a pair of white silk pajama bottoms.“White?” she asked with a smile, even though her own lace peignoir was the color of fresh snow.He put his arms out. “Come here, my wife.”She went to him, straight into his arms. He held her there for the longest time, saying nothing. Doing nothing.Except looking into her eyes, his that dark brown that meant his emotions were close to the surface. Finally, he said, “Thank you.”“For what?”“For being mine. For putting up with me. For falling in love with me and not walking away with my baby. Fo
Chris dressed while Lara was in the shower, and then he made a couple of business calls while she was getting ready. Anything to keep himself from going into her and ravishing her body.For some reason, Lara feared miscarriage. He refused to add to those fears, no matter how difficult it might be to abstain from intimacy with her luscious body. He had to admit, he had no idea what miscarriage was so prevalent in the first trimester.He did a quick web search on his laptop while he waited for Lara to come out of the bedroom and discovered some interesting facts.When she came out, she was wearing a flowing sundress with peacock blue in a halter style that tied around her neck. The deep vee of the neckline accentuated her burgeoning curves, but the dress looked comfortable, as well. Its empire waistline had no binding around her tummy, he noticed.It would look even more amazing once her stomach started to protrude with the baby. He was not there when she&r
Lara had fallen asleep. Just like that.Thirty seconds later and her breathing had already leveled out into true somnolence. It always amazed him how she could do that, though the only other times he’d seen it was after they had made love. They hadn’t done so tonight.Yet, here she was—sleeping. Dark bruises marred the lovely skin below her eyes. Her pregnancy was taking it out of her. It bothered him to see her looking so frail. Was she taking her vitamins? Had she gone to a doctor? There were so many questions he needed answered, but she wasn’t going to be satisfying his need to know right now.It wouldn’t be until morning, if he had his way and she slept the night through. He was careful not to jostle her unduly as he removed her clothes to increase her comfort. He could not help but stop and look at the changes her pregnancy had already wrought on her beautiful body.With near reverence, he cataloged each one. Her breasts
Lara’s morning sickness had gotten worse the past few days and she decided to talk with Chris about her pregnancy.Surprise showed clearly on Chris’s face after hearing the good news. He will be a father again.While they were talking, her stomach tightened in a now familiar warning and she shot to her feet, kicking the lap blanket away. When she reached the toilet, she retched. Though, since she had not been hungry earlier, she did nothing but dry heave. It hurt and it scared her. Though she knew that the cramps were in her stomach and not her womb, a tiny part of her brain kept saying it was one and the same.Chris had come into the room with her and she could hear water running, but she couldn’t look up long enough to see what he was doing. Then a cold, damp cloth draped the nape of her neck while another one was pressed gently to her forehead. Chris rubbed her back in a soothing circular motion, crooning to her.The heaving stopped a