JAY JAY POV
1 MONTH LATER
I sat on the soft rug of the nursery, the morning sun streaming through the windows and illuminating the colorful blocks scattered around us. It had been a month since our trip to the park, and Kevin was getting more vocal by the day. He was now eight months old, sitting up sturdily and babbling a mile a minute.
He was sitting up perfectly straight now, his chubby legs sprawled out among his wooden blocks. Today, I was on a mission. Keifer had been smugly claiming that a random "Da" sound a few weeks ago was a "professional declaration," but I knew the real first word was still undecided.
"Okay, Kev, look at me," I said, leaning in close.
He looked up, those beautiful hazel eyes wide and curious, sparkling with that same mischievous glint Keifer had. He stopped chewing on his rubber giraffe and focused entirely on my face.
"Kevin, say Ma-ma," I said slowly, making sure he could see the way my lips moved. "Ma-ma."
Kevin let out a soft bubble of spit and tilted his head, looking reached out to pat my cheek with a damp, sticky hand.
"No, not 'pat-pat.' Ma-ma," I prompted again, my heart racing. "Come on, sweetie. You can do it. Maaa-maaa."
He went quiet for a second, his little brow furrowing in deep concentration as if he were scanning his internal files for the right sound. He took a tiny breath, his lips mimicked mine, and then, as clear as a bell, he let out a soft, chirpy sound.
"Ma...ma!"
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. I didn't want to move and break the spell. "Yes! Mama! That's me!"
Kevin's face lit up with a massive, gummy grin, thrilled by my reaction. He bounced on his diaper-clad bottom and shouted it louder this time. "Mama! Ma-ma!"
"Oh my god, you said it!" I squealed, scooting forward and pulling his warm, soft body into a huge hug, burying my face in his neck while he giggled. I felt like I had just won the lottery.
"What is all this commotion?"
I looked up to see Keifer leaning against the doorframe. He had his suit jacket off and his sleeves rolled up, looking like he'd just stepped out of a high-stakes board call, but his expression softened the moment he saw us on the floor.
"Keifer, listen!" I whispered urgently. "Kev, say it again. Say it for Dada!"
Kevin looked over at his dad, those bright hazel eyes dancing with excitement. He pointed a stubby finger at me and let out a triumphant, "Mama!"
Keifer's jaw practically hit the floor. He blinked, stunned, as he walked into the room and sat down on the rug next to us. "No way. It's a fluke. He's just... clearing his throat."
"That was not a 'throat clear', Keifer Watson! That was a clear, concise acknowledgement of the superior parent," I teased, feeling incredibly smug. "The first word is officially Mama. I win."
Keifer looked at Kevin, then back at me, a playful scowl on his face. He leaned in and poked Kevin's tummy. "Traitor. After all the 'Dada' practice we did while Mommy was in the shower?"
Kevin just laughed and shouted, "Mama!" again, reaching out to grab Keifer's nose.
"Well," Keifer sighed, leaning over to press a kiss to my temple, his eyes warm despite his 'defeat.' "At least he has good taste. If he's going to be obsessed with a girl, I'm glad it's it you."
But Kevin wasn't finished with his surprises for the day. He looked at Keifer, his hazel eyes sparkling with pure delight as if he knew exactly what he was about to do. He leaned forward, reaching his chubby arms out toward his father.
"Dada!" Kevin chirped, breaking into a fit of giggles.
Keifer froze for a second, his entire body going still. It was as if time had stopped for him. Then, a massive, radiant grin broke across his face—the kind of look he only wore when he was truly, deeply happy.
"Did you hear that?" Keifer whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "He said it! He said Dada!"
Before Kevin could even respond, Keifer lunged forward and scooped him up, high into the air. He started showering Kevin's face with dozens of tiny kisses, making the baby shriek with laughter. Keifer began spinning him around the nursery in circles, his own laughter mingling with Kevin's high-pitched squeals.
"You little genius!" Keifer yelled, holding him close to his chest. "I knew you had it in you! That's my boy!"
I sat on the rug, watching them with a wide smile, my heart feeling like it was about to burst. "Oh, so now it counts?" I teased, though I was blinking back tears of joy. "I thought we were calling these 'throat clears' earlier?"
"This was a formal declaration of love, Jay Jay!" Keifer laughed, finally coming to a stop and sinking back down onto the rug next to me, still clutching Kevin tightly. The baby was breathless from giggles, his face flushed and his hazel eyes bright.
Keifer looked at me, his expression softening as he tucked Kevin into the crook of his arm, pulling me close with his free hand.
"Two first words in one morning," he murmured, his forehead resting against mine. "I think the Little Boss just gave us both exactly what we wanted."
Kevin reached out, one hand grabbing my hair and the other grabbing Keifer's ear, babbling happily as if to confirm that he was, indeed, the one in charge.
"Mama... Dada..." Kevin muttered softly, exhausted from his sudden burst of vocabulary.
"Yeah, Kev," I whispered, kissing his forehead. "Mama and Dada. We're right here."
Later that afternoon, the house settled into a quiet, productive rhythm. When we first found out about Kevin, Keifer and I made a pact: we would both work primarily from home for the first two years. Even as a CEO, Keifer managed his global empire like a pro , while I had my own creative space down the hall.
I was hunched over my drafting table, the sunlight hitting my sketchpad as I began to outline a custom playhouse for Kevin. I wanted to build it myself—something sturdy with little windows and maybe a mini-porch for him to sit on when he got older.
I was so focused on the architectural details of a "prince's castle" that I didn't hear the door creak open. Suddenly, I felt two strong, familiar hands wrap firmly around my waist, pulling me back against a broad chest.
"Keifer," I said, a smile immediately tugging at my lips as I leaned my head back against his shoulder. The scent of his expensive cologne and woodsmoke always had a way of grounding me.
Keifer chuckled, the vibration rumbling through my back. He slowly turned me around in his arms, trapping me between the drafting table and his body. He had loosened his tie, and his dark hair was slightly mussed, as if he'd been running his hands through it during his meeting.
"Kevin is sleeping," Keifer said, his voice dropping an octave. A playful, hungry smirk danced on his lips as he stepped closer, closing the small gap between us.
"I know," I whispered, my heart starting to race. The house was finally still, the baby monitor on my desk showing nothing but a peaceful, dreaming eight-month-old.
Keifer's hands moved from my waist to my face, his thumbs tracing my cheekbones with a tenderness that always caught me off guard. "My meeting ended early. And since the Little Boss is down for his nap, I figured I'd come check on the woman who taught him his first word."
"Oh, is that why you're here?" I teased, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck. "For a progress report?"
"Among other things," he murmured, leaning down until his lips were just an inch from mine. "I think I recall a certain 'payment plan' from high school. Something about kisses for every problem solved? Well, I just solved a very difficult acquisition..."
I laughed softly, pulling him the rest of the way down. "Developer and CEO... we really are an ambitious pair, aren't we?"
"Only the best for you, Jay Jay," he whispered against my lips before kissing me deeply.
He lifted me effortlessly, setting me down on the edge of the drafting table among my sketches. I immediately wrapped my legs and arms around his waist, pulling him as close as possible. We kissed with a desperate kind of hunger—the kind that builds up when you're exhausted new parents who haven't had a moment truly alone in weeks. Between the sleepless nights and Keifer being so incredibly patient and protective while giving me time to recover, we were both starving for this.
This was finally our time. The silence of the house felt like a luxury we were finally indulging in.
Eventually, Keifer broke the kiss just an inch, resting his forehead against mine. His breath was ragged, and his eyes were dark with affection as he looked at me.
"When is the next one due?" he teased, a wicked glint in his eyes as his hands slid up to cup my face.
I laughed breathlessly, leaning back slightly to look at him. "When Kevin is four," I replied firmly.
Keifer made a face of mock disappointment, his eyebrows shooting up. "Four? I thought we agreed on two years."
"Four," I repeated, poking his chest for emphasis. "I want to enjoy our chubby-cheeked prince while he's small. Besides, I need at least that long to recover from his 'toddler phase' before we start all over again."
Keifer chuckled, leaning in to nip playfully at my earlobe. "Two years is plenty of time for you to miss the smell of baby powder, Jay Jay. I'm an ambitious man. I like a full house."
"And I'm the architect," I reminded him, my fingers tracing the line of his jaw. "I control the timeline of the project. And right now, the project is just us and Kevin."
"Fine," he murmured, his hands tightening on my waist as he pulled me back into another kiss, much slower this time. "Four years. I guess that just means I have four years to convince you otherwise."
"You can try, Mr. CEO," I whispered against his lips. "But you've got a very stubborn partner."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he groaned, sliding his hands down to my hips and making me completely forget about playhouses
He kissed me more deeply, his hands sliding from my waist to my back, pulling me so flush against him that I could feel the thud of his heart against my own.
"I love you," he murmured against my jaw, his voice thick and rough.
"I love you too," I breathed out, my head falling back as his lips began to travel. I felt his transition from soft kisses to something more possessive. He suddenly nipped at the sensitive skin of my neck, a sharp, playful bite that made my breath hitch.
"Keifer," I moaned, my fingers clutching at his shoulders, bunching the fabric of his white button-down.
"For the love of god, Jay," Keifer groaned, the sound vibrating against my skin. He didn't stop, his mouth moving lower, trailing fire along the curve of my neck down to my collarbone. He lingered there, his lips pressing and pulling against the bone, leaving a mark that I knew would be impossible to hide tomorrow.
He was usually so composed, so in control, but in moments like this, the "CEO" persona completely vanished. He was just the man who had loved me since high school, the man who was clearly making up for every second of restraint he'd shown over the last eight months.
I let out a shaky breath, my eyes fluttering shut as I tangled my hands in his dark hair. The drafting table creaked slightly under us, the blueprints for Kevin's playhouse forgotten beneath me.
"You're making it very hard for me to stick to that four-year plan," I managed to whisper, my voice trembling.
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes dark and dilated, a smirk playing on his lips even as his chest heaved. "That's the point, Jay Jay," he rasped, before ducking his head back down to find that perfect spot behind my ear again. "I'm a closer. I don't stop until the deal is signed."
Keifer's hands froze on the hem of my shirt. The atmosphere in the room shifted from heated passion to freezing panic in a heartbeat. The baby monitor gave off a strange, rhythmic thump-thump followed by a soft, metallic click.
"What was that sound?" I gasped, my heart leaping into my throat.
We didn't even wait for an answer. We scrambled off the drafting table, Keifer stumbling slightly as he tried to regain his footing, and raced down the hallway. My mind was screaming a thousand different scenarios—had someone broken in? Had he fallen?
We burst into the nursery, the door hitting the wall with a loud bang.
"Kevin!" I yelled, my voice cracking with pure terror.
Keifer was right behind me, his face pale and his eyes scanning the room like a predator. "Kevin!"
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