The CEO Above My Desk (Mckenzie Shinabery) novel Chapter 222

The CEO Above My Desk

Chapter 222

I turned slowly in the middle of the room while trying to picture everything at once.

The bed.

The mornings.

The quiet.

Us.

Rowan stayed unusually quiet beside me while watching my expression carefully. “You hate it,” he deadpanned.

I looked at him in disbelief. “Are you insane?”

The corner of his mouth finally twitched slightly.

I wandered slowly toward the porch doors before pushing one open slightly and immediately hearing the river clearer now.

God.

I could actually imagine a life here. Not survival. Not chaos. A life.

Strong arms suddenly wrapped carefully around my waist from behind while Rowan rested his chin lightly against the top of my head.

“This room gets the sunrise first,” he murmured quietly.

I melted a little internally unfortunately.

Then he guided me gently back toward the hallway.

“There’s more.”

I followed him across the hall before he pushed open another door.

Smaller room. Still beautiful. Still bright. And immediately my chest tightened.

Because I knew. Oh.

Oh no.

I slowly stepped farther inside while staring at the empty room.

The nursery. Or future nursery. Potential nursery.

Whatever emotionally safer wording my brain wanted to use right now.

10:21 am P P P P

Chapter 222

Behind me, Rowan stayed quiet. No pressure. No jokes. Just there.

I touched the edge of the doorway softly while trying to picture it.

A crib. Bookshelves. Tiny clothes. A baby.

Our baby.

The realization still felt surreal honestly.

Rowan’s hand slid slowly into mine. “If you hate this room,” he said quietly, “we can move it somewhere else.”

That man genuinely thought I was crying because of the room placement.

I laughed softly through the sudden sting in my eyes.

Then turned toward him slowly. “I don’t hate it.”

Denise appeared in the doorway looking like she’d already survived at least three emotional breakdowns already.

Behind her, I could faintly hear Camille yelling something about brushed gold cabinet handles while Theo loudly threatened to install a mini fridge in “his side” of the kitchen out of spite.

Denise rubbed one hand against her forehead tiredly before looking between me and Rowan.

“Please tell me one of you has made a decision about this room,” she said weakly.

Rowan immediately looked toward me. Like this decision belonged entirely to me. “Tell her what you want.”

The softness in his voice caught me off guard slightly.

I looked back around the room slowly.

My stomach flipped strangely again. Not nausea this time. Something else. Something warmer.

I walked farther into the room slowly while thinking about it seriously. “We don’t know the gender yet,” I said finally.

Denise immediately pulled out her tablet. “Neutral palette?”

I nodded slightly. “Maybe sage green?” I suggested quietly. “Or even soft yellow.” I glanced toward Rowan briefly. “Nothing too bright though.”

Rowan looked deeply relieved he wasn’t being asked to pick colors.

Denise typed quickly into her tablet.

“Sage is very calming for nurseries,” she agreed. “Soft yellow too if you want warmer lighting tones.”

I nodded slowly before glancing down toward the hardwood flooring. “And I want carpet in here.”

10:22 am P PPP.

Chapter 222

That immediately got Rowan’s attention.

I looked toward him while explaining softly, “I don’t want the baby laying on cold hardwood floors.”

Denise kept typing while I continued quietly. “And the lighting.”

I looked upward toward the large overhead fixture. “It’s too harsh.”

“Dimmer lighting?” Denise asked.

“Muted,” I corrected softly. “Warm lighting. Nothing too bright at night.” I swallowed slightly. “I don’t want it disturbing the baby.”

“We can absolutely do soft carpeting,” she assured me. “And we can install recessed ambient lighting instead of overhead direct fixtures.” More typing. “Blackout curtains too if you’d like.”

“Yes,” Rowan answered immediately.

I blinked toward him.

He cleared his throat slightly. “…For naps.”

Denise’s smile widened slightly. “Perfect. Why don’t we go talk about the master bedroom now and the bathroom?”

Comments

R Visitor

A dream house cones true! Finally something nice and calm

21 hours ago

6