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Chapter Thirty-Four
Laura
I was falling for this man, for my boss, for the Prime Minister, and there was nothing I could do about it. Spencer Banks was not the man I thought he was. Behind the hard, intimidating, and arrogant exterior was the man who needed to be loved. He was kind, romantic, and caring, but he didn’t want anyone else to see that side of him. He acted all cold and obnoxious because that was his coping mechanism—at least that’s what I believed—but that exterior had started slipping whilst we were in Sicily. At first I only got glimpses of it, but now he was truly showing me his vulnerable side, and I couldn’t resist him any longer.
The surprise, the concert with the most romantic dinner, it all blew me away. I truly hadn’t expected any of it when he’d said earlier on that we were going out for a drive. Rupert was staying in to look after Maja, but something was going on with him, and I had a feeling that this whole thing had something to do with a certain red-haired beauty who was also currently travelling around Europe. I was certain she was somewhere near Italy now.
I watched Spencer when he was talking in Italian to the waiter. He was so relaxed and fun when he was not under pressure. The waiter said something, and Spencer laughed. Each note of his laughter soothed my worries, enveloping a sense of joy within me. I wished he would laugh like that more often.
He wanted to have a relationship with me, he wanted to make things official between us, and I was apprehensive. I was happy he was including me in this decision-making process, but after what had happened with Jake, I wasn’t sure if this was such a good idea.
“You will absolutely love the dessert we’re having,” he said after the waiter had gone and we were left alone again.
There was another tune being played, and for a moment, I listened to it, so incredibly grateful that I was here. It was so good not to worry that anyone would see us here, especially when security stayed behind and we were finally in solitude. I’d felt a little self-conscious after the beach, because I thought his agents gave me funny looks sometimes, but Spencer told me I was just being paranoid.
Then he asked about my sister and was a little sad that I wasn’t able to track her down. It had been so many years, and I often wondered if she had a family of her own and if she’d ever tried to search for me. She must have remembered me, because she was a few years older than me.
“We have to thank the chef later,” I said, drinking the wine as he stared at me with smouldering heat. “I should have become a politician myself when I had the chance. It seems that this job comes with a lot of perks.”
Spencer narrowed his eyes, and in the dim lights around us I thought he was so handsome, wearing a crisp white shirt, and since we had been in Sicily for over two weeks, not only did he have a glorious golden tan, his jet-black black hair was a bit longer, and he had more facial hair, too. I liked that new rugged appearance more than the polished one since he was not in the office.
“So why don’t you go back to it? I read your file. You graduated and you were on the right path towards a career in politics until you weren’t?” He looked at me intensely.
A slight pinch twinged in my lower stomach, but I ignored the pain.
“I've been asking myself the same question for years,” I responded, thinking about my jaded past.
Things had been going well for me after I’d started working for one of the MPs, but then I’d met Jake. He hadn’t wanted me to work, and after a few months it was clear to me that I couldn’t continue being with him and try to climb the political ladder. He wanted me to be with him all the time, he said I was like his anxiety relief pill, and then he asked me to go on tour with him. I’d wasted two years of my life with a guy who’d ended up screwing me over.
“I couldn’t go back to that life after everything that happened. I thought no one would take me seriously when my name was splattered all over tabloids, so I ended up studying child psychology after that,” I explained, and I knew Spencer was probably aware of it, because he’d vetted me himself.
“You’re smart, strong, and you would have made a great politician. I would have hired you,” he said.
I laughed.
“You are biased, no one would hire me then. People were stopping me on the street telling me that they were on my side, but that’s where the support stopped,” I said and bit my bottom lip. “Besides, Jake shattered my confidence. I truly loved him, but after everything that happened, I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. I lost myself being with him.”
Spencer growled, and then he took my hand, squeezing it tightly. His eyes were stormy blue, and I didn’t know what he was thinking in that moment.
“You were always good enough, so don’t you ever dare think that any of this was your fault. That guy was an arsehole, and he didn’t deserve you,” he said, giving me that intense stare.
Butterflies rioted in the pit of my stomach.
“You’re beautiful and intelligent, you make Maja and I very happy, and I want you to think highly of yourself. And I'm sure, one day, you will go back to politics and kick arse, because I believe in you.”
“Thank you.” I felt like I was going to cry. He would really do this for me? Give me a job so I could go back to politics? It would have been a dream come true, but I didn’t want to leave Maja just yet. We had bonded so well since I’d started working as her nanny.
Just then, the waiter arrived again, this time with our dessert, and I was grateful for the distraction. The food here was out of this world, but by the end of the night I was so full and a little tipsy from the wine, because Spencer kept topping it up.
“I need to go to the ladies.” I got up, and then a sharp pain razored through the pit of my stomach. I hissed, trying to control my breathing, touching my stomach.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Spencer asked, suddenly appearing next to me.
Another painful cramp, and then I realised why and groaned with anger. I was getting my period, but it was too soon, I had several days left of my cycle. I groaned, thinking that this couldn’t have been happening tonight.
“Nothing, it’s fine, don’t worry.” I tried to keep a brave face, but then the pain multiplied, and I had to sit back down.
Spencer’s eyes darkened as he kneeled next to me.
