The CEO’s New Baby

He had brought silence to her mind. Sleeping by his side was like taking a painkiller. She didn’t feel anything else, nothing but the happiness he bestowed on her.

“I love you,” was the last thing she muttered before sleep finally took over.

The last time Kayla had cooked something felt like it had been too long ago. She had almost forgotten how bad she was at it or how much she struggled only for some scrambled eggs. But, thankfully, moments like that were there to remind her.

Kayla winced as her finger touched the hot surface of the pan for the millionth time that morning. Her fingertips ached as she tried to unfold the pancake she had wrongly flipped. The entire breakfast thing was definitely not going according to plan. But that did not mean it wasn’t going to be good. Or at least, that was what she told herself.

Taking in a deep breath, she unfolded the pancake and proceeded to check on the bacon, all the while her hips kept swaying to the sound of the song she had blasting through the speakers of her phone.

The smell of coffee was the most prominent, it was strong and aromatic, just the way she liked it. In fact, she would bet that the smell would be the thing that would wake Ryan up. Her daughter was more like her, food would be the one thing that would get her out of bed. In fact, she was expecting them both to wake up any moment now, they usually woke up around ten every morning. She hoped that day would not be an exception. It would have been a pain in the ass to be the one who needed to wake them up.

“I would have asked what have you done with my wife, but the mess in here assures me it is you.” Speaking of the devil.

Ryan was standing in the doorframe, his hair sticking in all directions. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and the same white shirt he had been wearing the day before. His voice was still heavy with sleep, his eyes a bit red too.

“If you say one more word, mister, you ain’t getting any breakfast.” Kayla pointed with the spatula towards him, her eyes narrow, trying hard to look threatening.

Ryan chuckled and rose his arms in defense. The kitchen was small, so it did not take him more than three steps to get to her. He removed the spatula from her hand and pressed his body to her. He was as close as he could be, his breath fanning her face, his lips hovering above hers. His blue orbs met with hers, allowing a wave of electricity to surge through her skin.

He was about to kiss her when a voice came from behind them.

“Good morning.” The little voice made them both jump. Somehow, Ryan landed right by the door while Kayla tried to regain her posture.

“Morning, darling!” Kayla smiled, reaching for her daughter right after turning off the stove. She kissed her daughter on the cheek before giving her a tight hug. “Did you sleep well?”

Emily was still too sleepy to carry on a conversation, so instead of answering, she just nodded as she rubbed her left eye with the back of her hand.

“You made pancakes?”

“Yep. They aren’t as good as your Dad’s, but you have to bear with me.” Kayla chuckled.

“I forgot Mr. Snuggles!” Emily was out the door before either of them got to react. Not that they had much to say about it. It was no news that Emily could not go a second in the morning or at night without her bear.

“Is she ever going to grow out of loving that bear?” Kayla laughed as she placed the two plates she had been holding on the small round table.

“At least she is not attached to an action figure the way I was!”

“You are still upset that she didn’t like that toy, aren’t you?”

“It haunts me every night.” He sighed, as he slipped onto a chair.

“Well, you still have a chance. Pray to God this one does, because I can’t assure you a third chance. Anyway, moving on to more serious matters-”

“Did you just call my action figure unimportant?” Ryan interrupted, trying to look offended. Kayla on the other hand just rolled her eyes and shook her head, deciding to ignore his comment.

“I’ve been thinking since morning-”

“This can’t be good.”

“What can’t be good?” Emily asked, as she entered the kitchen once again, her tiny arm wrapped around her pink bear.

“Mom having ideas.” Unlike Kayla, Emily seemed to find the retort funny, her giggles being the solid proof of that.

“Ryan?” Kayla was in no way offended, but she sure liked to pretend she was. She loved the way Ryan panicked for the slightest of seconds. “I will get you for that,” she threatened, pointing at him with the fork she had in hand.

“Peace?”

“Nice try!” While Kayla and Ryan fooled around, Emily seemed to have the fun of her life. She kept suppressing giggles as she stole spoons of chocolate from the bowl in front of them. What she didn’t know, however, was that her mom had actually seen her but chose to just pose as the good cop that day.

“So, what did you want to say?”

“This morning, I realized I wanted to do something. I am tired of just sitting around. Everything that has been happening made me realize I want to leave something behind me, I want to have my memory imprinted somewhere.”

“What exactly did you think of ‘leaving behind?’”

“A bakery?” She knew Ryan would find the idea funny. Especially with the breakfast he had in front of him. But she was actually serious about it. She had thought about it. In fact, she had been thinking about it for a while now but had been quiet. “You don’t need to be so surprised. I know what you are thinking. But I won’t be the one cooking. We will have a baker and everything. I-”

“Actually, I didn’t mean to say that. I actually think it is a wonderful idea.”