The CEO’s New Baby

“I have something else planned for you.”

Kayla was hooked now. “What is it?”

“It’s a surprise. Now come on, eat up.” He knew how much Kayla hated surprises. She hated to wait, to have to wonder what he was planning. But the more she hated it, the more he enjoyed it. It meant that even after all those years, he still didn’t lose his touch. He was still able to please and entertain his wife.

Kayla did not press him into telling her, nor did she insist on joining their ride, but he was not surprised about it. She was the kind of mother to encourage a healthy bond between her child and her father. She loved it when they spent quality time together.

While Ryan and Emily went on to talk about their ride, Kayla enjoyed her breakfast. She tried to focus on her meal, to reflect the ecstasy caused by the mix of flavors exploding in her mouth. She tried to do it so she would mask the thoughts rushing through her mind. She couldn’t tell anyone about the potential pregnancy. At least not until she did the test.

“Are you okay?” Ryan whispered from beside her. She had been so caught in her thoughts that she failed to notice Emily’s absence. It seemed that time had passed by her without much of a warning. Everyone, including her, had finished their meals.

“Yeah. I am just a bit tired.” She smiled, her lips curling before they pressed themselves against his cheek.

“Take the day and rest then.” He smiled.

Kayla wished she could tell him about the potential pregnancy, she wished she could know for sure even without the test. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t excite Ryan only to have a negative result in the end. She didn’t say much, instead she leaned in to kiss him. She wished they could spend the morning in bed together or cuddled on the couch watching some princess movie Emily would force them to see. But she didn’t mind them spending time together either.

She missed her father a lot and did not want Emily to even come close to feeling that. She loved the way her daughter was not deprived of a fatherly love.

She remembered a time when Ryan would worry if he would be a good father. He had feared repeating his dad’s mistakes. Of disappointing his child the way his father disappointed him. How she wished she could go back in time to tell him he had nothing to worry about.

Pulling back, she looked into his eyes, her hand resting on his cheek, feeling the warmth radiating over his skin.

“How about I prepare a nice dinner for when you return? We could have a nice dinner date for three.” She chuckled, her eyes slightly gazing towards the door through which Emily had disappeared minutes ago.

“Wonderful idea,” he whispered, his lips falling onto hers once again. This time, however, they did not settle on her lips, they moved to kiss the crook of her neck. His breath and quick brush of his lips tickled her, making her explode in a fit of giggles.

“Stop! Emily will see us,” she managed to say in between giggles.

“Let her see how much I love her mom.” He planted one more kiss on her cheek before pulling away, his eyes scanning her with a fire she only saw when they were alone.

“Come on. Go! You have to get ready. I will go dress Emily.” She knew neither of them wanted to leave the table. But they had priorities.

Kayla looked around the kitchen, her eyes searching for the salt. She knew she had used it minutes ago, and apparently she had misplaced it. She didn’t blame herself for the lack of attention though, her mind was a tornado, a thousand ideas rushing through it. She tried to banish the ideas, the images, but whenever she blinked, she found herself seeing the images of the test she had done at the back of her mind.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair right before she spotted the little white container behind a box of pasta. The kitchen was a mess, she had only noticed it. With peeled tomatoes and fallen leaves of mint in the far end, right beside the bowl in which she had initially stored the vegetables for the sauce. Dirty spoons and stained plates accompanied the used napkins and thrown towels on the table next to the door.

It had been a while since she cooked, and it couldn’t be more obvious. Her rather small cooking skills had become minuscule, they could barely be noticed. Thank God, Ryan and their mothers were there to make up for her lack of experience. She didn’t know what she would do if she had to cook pasta for the rest of her life.

“There you are,” she muttered under her breath before letting go of the pan in hand.

She half-danced her way to the counter, her legs following the tune of the song playing in the background. She was tense, indeed. She was anxious, but happy enough to still dance. No matter how much time passed, or how tired she came to be, she would always find the energy to dance.

Whenever she cooked, she would always remember the first decent conversation she and Ryan had. The moment was now years behind, set aside along with other memories they had gathered along the years. She wondered if he ever remembered the day she made those sandwiches, when they first started talking, when they first started to actually see what there was past their facades and cold walls.

Smiling, she approached the boiling pan of sauce once again, grains of salt sipping through her fingers and into the flavored liquid. While her eyes still lingered over the food, her other hand reached for the wooden spoon to her left. Everything smelled great, she could only hope it tasted the same. Carefully, she sipped from the spoon, trying hard not to burn her tongue in the process.

At first, she couldn’t get a hold of the flavors, her brain mainly focused on the heat emitted. But when she did focus on them, she was more than pleased. Everything was exactly as she had hoped. The smell and taste of oregano dominated, just the way Ryan and Emily liked it.

Just as she was about to turn off the fire beneath the pot, she heard the familiar shutting of the door. Hearing it past the music and different sounds around her was a miracle; in fact, she had been so surprised that she came to believe she had been subconsciously looking for it.

Slowly, she wiped her hand with a white kitchen towel and rested her back against the counter, her eyes now turning to face the door. Her little daughter rushed through it minutes later, her arms wide open and hair disheveled. She ran towards her as if they hadn’t seen each other in days.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Kayla whispered, her knees bending beneath her as she tried to lower herself at her daughter’s level. Her fingers brushed through the loose curls around Emily’s face, as their eyes met. “How was your ride?”

“We had so much fun! Daddy bought me cotton candy!”

Ryan entered that same exact second, a pink sweater hanging over his arm. Kayla smiled and stood up, her hand still holding onto Emily’s, but her neck extended so she could kiss her husband.

“You cooked?” Ryan asked, his brows arching as his eyes scanned the kitchen. The funny thing, however, wasn’t Ryan’s shocked expression, but her daughter’s. It seemed that even at a young age you could tell when someone was bad at something.

“You guys!” Kayla complained, trying to look annoyed, but failing miserably. She slapped Ryan across the arm playfully, while her other hand ruffled Emily’s hair. “Stop judging and just go change. Dinner is almost ready.” She ushered them away. Partially, she wanted to have dinner, to finish with it so she could finally talk to Ryan about the test.

She had stashed it somewhere in her closet, underneath a pair of jeans. Her heart immediately started racing only by thinking about it. She hadn’t thought about it much, she had refused to allow her mind to wonder around that specific subject, that would have only stressed her more.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her head swayed, while her vision blurred. Her hands caught the handle of the door as she tried to sustain her weight. The feeling only lasted only a couple of seconds, but it was enough to scare her.

That had not been the first time it happened, and she did not know if it was healthy to blame it on the pregnancy or not. But that was something to worry about on another day.