Daddy’s Orders (Silver Fox Daddies)

Three years later…

Icouldn’t help but laugh softly to myself as I stepped into Emily’s office.

She was the picture of beauty, seated in her rocking chair, our three-month old baby girl Anabelle cradled in her arms. The sight of her with our second child wasn’t at all what I was laughing at—that was an image of total perfection.

Emily glanced over her shoulder, taking a break from her singing.

“Now, what’s so funny?”

“That.” I nodded to the painting of me that Marianne had done all those years ago. It was “on loan” to Emily, and she’d chosen to hang it in her office. It was surrounded by framed pictures of us and George, our son.

“What’s so funny about that?” she asked, her voice soft as not to wake Anabelle.

“It’s well done, sure, but I can’t get over having a painting of myself. Feels like I’m staring at you while you’re working.”

She chuckled. “Maybe that’s why I put it there. If I ever find myself clicking over to Twitter or whatever, I just look up and see you there, scolding me for not being on task.”

I sat down on the end of the desk. The surface was covered in papers and baby toys, and I had to move some of them over to make room.

“I mean that with love, of course,” she said with a smile.

“Naturally. But you say that like you need someone to tell you to work hard. The way you’ve been balancing the house with taking care of the kids has been beyond impressive.”

“Doesn’t hurt that I have a handsome man who does his share.”

“It’s my pleasure.” I craned my neck to take in the sight of Anabelle. She was like something out of a dream, her eyes closed, and her little mouth opened slightly as she slept. “How’s the little lady, by the way?”

“Same story, this one’s a night owl. Sleeps like a rock during the day, but as soon as the sun’s down, she’s ready to party.”

“Well, last night you were on duty, so I’ll take tonight. Get some rest.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Got a meeting tomorrow with some investors, so I’ll need to be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for that one.”

My eyes drifted down to the papers on the desk. Years back, Emily decided to do some good with the small fortune her father had left her. After paying off the debts he’d owed to his criminal associates, and thus severing her ties with them for good, she’d taken the remaining money and invested it into turning his house into a shelter for women escaping domestic abuse—the kind of charity she’d needed when she was living with her father, she’d told me.

She’d named the shelter Marta’s House, and it was a total success. The place was big enough to shelter over a dozen women and their children at a time, and Emily had managed to keep nearly all of the staff on the payroll to help take care of the place. I’d helped her a bit at first with investments to keep the place running, but Emily had shown a knack for money matters. I barely helped at all anymore.

“Want to check on the little man?” I asked.

“Let’s do it.”

I scooped Anabelle from her arms, the precious little girl so small against my chest. I kissed her on the forehead as we left the office, making our way to the nursery. As we walked, I found myself glancing down at Ana over and over, noting the kiss of olive to her skin, along with her chocolate-colored hair. George, with his light hair and striking blue eyes, was taking after me. Ana, on the other hand, was all Emily.

After placing Ana in her nursery, we made our way over to George’s room across the way. Pearl was there, standing over George and brushing his blonde hair from his eyes.

“Sleeping well?” I asked.

Pearl turned her attention from George. “Just got him down for his nap. I swear, this kid would run around and play all day if he could.”

“That kind of energy’s going to serve him well.”

Emily and I stepped over to George. Even at a little over three, I could tell he was going to be a handsome young man. He opened his eyes sleepily, his blues radiant.

“Daddy?” he asked. “Can we go to the beach?”

I smiled. “Go to sleep, bud. We’ll talk about it when you get up. Love you, OK?”

“Love you too.”

Emily leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. By the time she stood back up, George was already out.

“I’ll finish up,” Pearl said.

“Thanks,” I whispered before the two of us took our leave.

Once we were out of the room, the task at hand, the issue that had been at the back of my mind for weeks, once again came to the forefront.

“Mind coming with me?” I asked Emily.

“Uh oh,” she said. “Am I in trouble?”

“Not at all. Come on.”

I took her hand, leading her into the master bedroom, and then out onto the balcony. The view was as striking as ever, the garden below us, the beach in the distance, the sun setting to the west. It was the perfect moment for what I had in mind.

Down below in the garden, Marianne was in the middle of painting a portrait of Roberto. We waved to them both, and they waved back. The two had been attached at the hip over the last week, with Marianne— the talk of the New York art world—wanting to finish her portrait of him for her next show before Roberto left in a couple of days to spend a month with his family.

“What’s up, babe?” Emily asked.

I took a deep breath, ready to begin.

“I’m not one for speeches,” I said. “Never have been. And more than that, I believe that the life we’ve shared together over the last few years has stood as more of a monument of our love than anything I could say. But there’s something missing. I think you know what it is.”

I reached into my back pocket, taking out the small, velvet box that I’d had in there. I popped it open, revealing the ring inside. She gasped at the sight of it, putting her hands over her mouth.

“I love you, Emily. I love you and I want you to be my wife.”

Tears formed in her eyes.

“I love you, too. And you’re damn right I’m going to be your wife.”

She threw her arms around me, kissing me hard as I slipped the ring on her finger. Once it was on, she yelled down for Marianne and Roberto’s attention, pointing to the ring on her finger.

“You better believe I’m telling Pearl!” Marianne shouted, her and Roberto rushing inside to come congratulate us.

“Looks like we’re going to have some company,” I said.

“Good.” Emily smiled. “We’ve got a lot to celebrate.”

“And even more to look forward to.”