His Private Chef (by Amycee) novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Lisa’s gill nearly shattered me. A handmade quilt stitched with words only she and I would understand. Memories, promises, love sewn into every corner.

Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I hugged her again.

Finally, it was time.

Sophia grinned wickedly. “The reveal’s in the cake.”

The garden erupted into cheers as Liam and I cut into the three–tier masterpiece. But when the knife glided through, there was nothing. No pink. No blue.

All eyes turned to Sophia. She grinned wider. “What’s the fun if I make it easy?”

Groans filled the air.

Sophia clapped her hands. “It’s in the balloons.”

That was all it took for Liam and me to start popping them one after the other. Confetti rained down, colors scattered, but nothing about a baby’s gender appeared. Laughter filled the garden.

Jay narrowed his eyes, then charged after her. “Sophia Black!” He caught her mid–run and tickled her until she shrieked, gasping between laughs.

“Stop! Stop! I swear, it’s in the balloon!” she cried. “I promise, it’s there!”

I scanned the garden, and then I saw it.

One balloon hadn’t been touched. A giant white one, floating proudly above the fountain, with Welcome painted across it.

My heart hammered as I grabbed it and popped it.

For a single breath, silence.

Then pink ribbons poured out in a glittering storm.

The screams that followed shook the air.

Sophia threw her arms up. “It’s a girl!” she shouted, then flung herself at me. “It’s a girl!”

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Chapter 168

Laughter, hugs, cheers all around. I jumped with them, screaming, joy bursting inside me.

288 Vouchero

Jay groaned dramatically, pointing at me. “Traitor! You were supposed to sulk with me first.”

I laughed until I couldn’t breathe. “You were the only one on that team, Jay.”

The garden roared with laughter, alive with celebration.

It was official.

We were having a daughter.

Every sunrise brought us nearer to her arrival. Our daughter.

Now that the gender was no longer a secret, the entire family carried a new kind of excitement. Liam, most of all, couldn’t contain himself. True to his word, he had the nursery repainted pink, smirking the whole time as he reminded me that the neutral color had been a “waste of paint.”

Soon after, tiny pink gifts started appearing out of nowhere. Not new purchases, I realized he’d been stockpiling them all along. Blankets. Tiny dresses. A crib mobile with soft pastel flowers. Piece by piece, he brought them out like treasures he had been waiting for the right moment to reveal, filling the nursery with proof of just how much he had longed for her.

I teased him for being obsessed, but the truth was, I was glad. Glad that his wish had come true, that his first child would be the daughter he had longed for. A boy would have been just as loved, of course, but having a girl first carried a special kind of joy.

One evening, when Liam returned from work, he loosened his tie and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I have to fly to France,” he said quietly. “There’s a meeting I can’t skip.”

The words made my chest tighten. Business meeting. My mind flashed back to Monaco. The last time he traveled for business, when Cassie crashed into our lives and everything spiraled out of control. The memory gripped me now, reminding me what it had cost us.

The thought of him leaving again twisted in my stomach.

“Can’t

you send someone else?” I asked quickly.

He shook his head. “This one needs me, Em.”

I followed him into the closet the next morning while he dressed, still bargaining. “You’re the CEO. Doesn’t that mean you get to say no? Or at least delegate?”

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