"So, how was the dinner?" Gavin asked Thea during their lunch break.
Thea smiled as she narrated how the dinner with her father-in-law went. She proudly told Gavin how Senior Liu had accepted her for who she was and how he sang her praises for her excellent cooking skills. Senior Liu even joked that she and Jeru should just move in with him at the Liu family’s residence so he could taste her food every day.
Her father-in-law had also stayed the night at their place, in one of Jeru’s guest rooms. Jeru couldn’t drop her off at work today because he had to head to the military base for some crucial matters early in the morning. So her father-in-law offered to do that for her, which she happily accepted.
Because he left early, she and Jeru did not have the chance to talk about last night, either.
"You do know that as the young mistress of the Liu family, you’ll be required to live in their ancestral home for at least six months, right?" Gavin informed her. Thea creased her forehead. She didn’t know anything about it because Jeru had never mentioned such a thing to her.
"It’s a tradition that some aristocratic upper-class families still actively maintained, and the Liu’s, as well as our family, are some of them," Gavin explained, which made Thea’s mouth open in disbelief.
"Jeru didn’t say anything about this? Maybe he’s planning to evade that tradition? But I doubt he could do that. Old Madam Liu would definitely insist, and I’m not sure if Jeru would be able to go against her wish..." Gavin doubted.
"Ouch!" Gavin suddenly screeched when Thea pinched his arm.
"You! Do you know what happened to me yesterday for following your advice about throwing words like ’I like you’ at any chance?" Thea confronted Gavin.
Gavin laughed like a drain after Thea recounted the awkward situation that had transpired between Jeru and her in the car yesterday. "Well, isn’t it great, then? Just be patient for a bit more, and keep acting like nothing happened. Act as normally as possible as you perform your duties as a wife. You see, he will have a dilemma, and soon you will know what he really feels about you."
Thea gave him a worried look, so Gavin asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing... I think I’m feeling nervous," Thea murmured.
"Silly! Don’t be! Everything will go well. Just follow my advice," Gavin encouraged her with a smile. She smiled back ruefully at Gavin, as she was well aware that she hadn’t told Gavin everything that happened yesterday. About the passionate kiss in the kitchen that was interrupted by her father-in-law’s early arrival, and about the smooch that she planted on his lips last night.
Thea emitted a long sigh. Perhaps, it was the pregnancy hormones, but she really had become a bit bolder lately. She looked at Gavin and contemplated whether she should tell him everything.
But she was too embarrassed about it, so she ended up not saying anything.
Her cheeks reddened as she recalled that kiss. And of Jeru caressing her body...
"Geeez, why is it so hot in here? Is the air conditioner broken?" Thea complained as she fanned herself with her hand.
Gavin gave her a puzzled look as he countered, "Huh? Don’t you see how many of us are wearing a vest in here? It’s because the air conditioner is working too well! It’s not broken! It’s not hot in here at all. How come you’re feeling hot?"
Gavin’s bewilderment soon turned into worry, so he made sure that nobody would hear him before he whispered, "Are you okay? Is it the pregnancy?"
Thea laughed at Gavin’s reaction. She quickly reassured him that everything was fine. Yes, perhaps she was feeling hot because of the passionate scene of her and Jeru that kept replaying in her head.
.........
At Russo’s Mansion...
Drey and Cielo were busy checking the internet for a beautiful place to go to for their romantic getaway.
"I want a place by the beach. A cozy beachfront cottage. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a beach," Cielo requested.
"Okay, I will look for it then," Drey concurred. Dice was sitting on his lap and was also looking at the laptop screen with his dad.
"Waaa... Pwetty! Byutifuw..." Dice babbled in his toddler voice, as he seemed to understand what his parents were talking about. His attention was fixed on the photos that his dad was scrolling on and looking at.
Then he looked at his dad and chattered, "Dadda, Dice come too..."
Drey and Cielo looked at each other and laughed.
Dice repeated his words as he pointed his finger to the photos on the screen.
Drey looked at Dice and asked, "Do you want to come too, Dice?", to which Dice excitedly replied, "Uhn! Dice come too!"
Then Drey gently stroked his son’s head as he told him, "But don’t you want a little brother or sister that you can play with? If you do, then Mom and Dad have to go alone. You will stay with Grandpa. Understand? You want someone to play with, right?"
Dice’s eyes twinkled and nodded as he exclaimed, "Uhn! Dice want pway wit fwiends!"
Drey winked at his son as he gave him a thumbs-up sign, which Dice copied. Meanwhile, Cielo was blushing from Drey’s words.
She then held Dice’s small hand and asked, "Do you want a sister or a brother, Dice?"
"Sistheh! Bwotheh!" Dice repeated Cielo’s words in his baby talk while he shook his head side to side with excitement.
Cielo laughed and shifted her gaze to Drey as she challenged him, "Husband, it looks like you will have to work hard during our honeymoon. You’ve promised our son we would give him a brother or sister."
Drey smiled and countered, "Hmm, Yes, I will. But the question is... Will you be able to keep up?"
Cielo chuckled at her husband’s bravado and teased him, "Try then, and you’ll see how great your wife’s endurance is. Let’s see who’s the one that can’t keep up."