Keifer’s pov –
The city lights flickered quietly around us as we sat side by side on the wooden bench.
The small public garden outside her bakery was peaceful, completely cut off from the noise of the rest of the world.
Neither of us spoke for a long time.
The cool evening breeze moved softly through the trees, while the cups of coffee in our hands slowly cooled down.
My eyes drifted toward her wrist again.
Specifically, toward the neat bandage I had just wrapped around it, and the small hand she was trying very hard to hide beneath her long sleeve.
She caught me looking and quickly tucked her wrist away.
“Stop staring at it.”
I raised an eyebrow, leaning back against the bench.
“Stop injuring yourself.”
“That’s rude” she muttered, turning her head away.
“That’s fair.”
She rolled her eyes, but a tiny, playful pout formed on her lips.
For some reason, seeing that little spark in her felt like huge progress.
A few quiet minutes passed before she looked back at me, a curious glint in her eyes.
“You really carry a first-aid kit in your sports car?”
I nodded simply.
“I’m responsible for a lot of people.” I said
She looked at me suspiciously, tilting her head.
I leaned in just a fraction closer, letting my eyes soften as I looked at her.
“Besides, apparently I need it on hand for certain cookiee suppliers who enjoy fainting and bleeding on random doorsteps.”
She gasped dramatically, pressing a hand to her chest.
“I fainted once!”
“Twice” I corrected smoothly.
“Details.”
“Important details, Jay.”
A genuine, quiet laugh finally escaped her lips.
The sound was soft and completely real.
It wasn’t the forced, polite laugh she used for her mother, or the fake, empty smile she had worn at dinner with the Reyes family.
It was just “her”.
For a fleeting moment, I completely forgot about Damien Reyes.
I forgot about the unregistered burner phones, the threatening texts, and the corporate wars.
For a moment, it was just the two of us sitting in a hidden garden, pretending our lives weren’t incredibly complicated.
Then, something cold and wet landed softly on the back of my hand.
I looked up at the darkening sky.
Rain.
One drop fell, then another, and then another.
Jay Jay tilted her head back, looking up at the clouds.
“It’s raining.”
“Excellent observation” I deadpanned.
“Thank you.”
Within seconds, the light drizzle became much heavier, big droplets tapping against the leaves above us.
I stood up, adjusting my jacket.
“We should go to the car.
You’re going to get soaked.”
She didn’t move.
Instead of running for cover, she stood up slowly, stepped away from the shelter of the bench, and walked directly into the open rain.
I stared at her, completely stunned.
“Jay.”
No response.
She simply closed her eyes, tilting her face fully toward the sky.
The rain soaked into her hair immediately, causing her dark locks to curl against her cheeks.
For the first time since I had met her, she looked completely free.
The tension was gone from her shoulders.
She didn’t look scared, she didn’t look worried, and she wasn’t carrying the suffocating weight of her family’s expectations.
She was just a girl standing in the rain.
A beautiful, radiant smile appeared on her face.
It was the most real expression I had ever seen on her.
For some reason, my chest tightened, and I found myself completely unable to look away.
She opened her eyes, wiping a few stray raindrops from her eyelashes, and noticed me staring.
“What?” She asked
“Nothing.” I replied
“You’re staring, Watson.”
“There’s a difference.”
She laughed, a bright, musical sound that completely filled the quiet space between us.
Then, she held her hand out toward me, her palm open in the rain.
“Come here.”
“Absolutely not.” I replied
“Why not?”
“I enjoy being dry, and this suit is custom-made.” I said
She stepped a little closer, her eyes twinkling with pure mischief.
“Come on, Kiki.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“That nickname should be illegal.”
“It isn’t.”
“It should be.”
“Come on,” she pleaded softly, her voice sweet and impossible to ignore.
“Just for a minute.”
I let out a long, defeated sigh.
It was total emotional blackmail, and the worst part was that it worked flawlessly on me.
Five seconds later, I stepped out from under the trees and stood in the pouring rain right beside her.
My expensive hair was ruined, and my suit was getting soaked, but as I looked at her beaming face,
I found I didn’t care at all.
“This is entirely your fault” I grumbled.
“Definitely” she cheered, her smile widening.
The rain fell even harder around us, creating a blurry white curtain that hid us from the rest of the city.
Jay Jay suddenly spun around once beneath the dark sky, laughing softly as water droplets scattered off her dress like diamonds.
For a few seconds, she looked so much lighter, like the rain was washing away all the invisible monsters hurting her.
I found myself smiling.
It was an annoying, unexpected, and completely involuntary smile, but I couldn’t stop it.
She noticed it immediately and pointed a finger at me, her jaw dropping.
“Oh my God.”
“What?” I asked
“You’re smiling!
A real, actual smile!”
“I do that occasionally” I said, trying to force my face back into a serious expression.
“No, you don’t.
You usually just smirk or look like you’re about to fire someone.”
“I absolutely do smile.” I said
“This is a historic event” she teased, stepping closer to me.
“I wish I had my phone to record it.”
I pointed at her dripping wet hair.
“You’re a mess.” I said
“So are you.” She replied back
“Like I said, this is your fault.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She laughed again, stepping backward on the cobblestone path.
But as she did, her wet heel slipped slightly on the slick, muddy stone.
Her eyes went wide with sudden panic as she began to lose her balance.
Before she could fall, my instincts kicked in.
I lunged forward and caught her.
One of my arms wrapped tightly around her slim waist, pulling her against me, while my other hand gripped her shoulder securely to stabilize her.
For a long, breathless moment, neither of us moved.
The heavy rain fell all around us, drumming against the pavement and blurring the city lights into soft, glowing halos behind her.
She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling against mine.
Her wide, brown eyes locked onto mine, so close I could see the tiny droplets of water clinging to her dark eyelashes.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs not from the sudden movement, but from how incredibly close she was.
She blinked up at me, her voice dropping to a soft, breathless whisper.
“You…
you keep catching me.”
I felt a slow, gentle smirk touch my lips, my arm tightening just a fraction around her waist to keep her safe.
“And you keep falling.”
“Maybe it’s a new hobby of mine,” she murmured, a shy smile touching her lips.
“Luckily for me, I happen to know a very capable CEO with excellent first-aid training.”
“Fortunately for you” I whispered back, my eyes dipping down to her lips for a split second before looking back into her eyes.
The intense, beautiful moment lingered in the air, thick with unsaid things, before the rain became too heavy to ignore.
Realizing she was starting to shiver, I reluctantly let her go and led her back to the car, opening the passenger door for her.
“Get in before you freeze.”
“Bossy,” she muttered, though she happily climbed into the warm interior.
“Correct”
The drive back to her house was quiet, but it was a comfortable, completely different kind of silence than before.
The heater was humming softly, warming up the car, while the rain tapped a gentle rhythm against the windows.
The city passed by outside like a blurry watercolor painting.
After a while, I glanced over at the passenger seat.
Jay Jay’s eyes were half-closed, pure exhaustion written all over her face.
The brief burst of energy from the rain had faded, leaving her completely drained.
“You should actually get some sleep tonight” I said softly, keeping my eyes on the road.
“I’ll consider it” she murmured, her voice trailing off.
“That’s not an answer, Jay.”
“Fine…
I will.”
“Good.”
A few minutes later, I stopped at a red light and looked over again.
She was fast asleep.
Her head was resting peacefully against the cool glass of the window, a few damp strands of hair falling across her face.
The worried line between her eyebrows was completely gone, and she looked calmer than she had all day.
I shook my head slightly, a small, fond smile tugging at my lips.
Unbelievable.
I quietly pulled out my phone, putting it on silent.
*Click* The camera captured her sleeping face perfectly.
Absolute blackmail material to use against her later.
When the car finally pulled up and stopped outside her house, the sudden lack of movement caused her to slowly blink her eyes open.
She looked at me suspiciously, then down at the phone in my hand.
“You took a picture of me, didn’t you?”
“Maybe” I said smoothly, slipping the phone into my pocket.
“Kiki!”
“Excellent detective skills, Jay.”
She let out a dramatic sigh, leaning back against the leather seat.
“One day I’m getting revenge for this.”
“Go ahead.
You’ll lose.”
“Probably” she pouted, a small laugh bubbling up anyway.
Before she could open the car door to step out into the light drizzle, I reached out and gently touched her uninjured arm, my face turning serious.
“Don’t remove that bandage tonight.
Let the medicine work.”
She paused, looking at me, her expression softening completely.
“Okay.”
“I’m serious, Jay Jay.
Take care of it.
She smiled softly, a warm, genuine look in her eyes.
“Okay, Doctor Watson.”
I unlocked the doors and watched her step out, wrapping her jacket tightly around herself as she walked toward her front porch.
But just before she unlocked her front door, she stopped and turned back toward the car.
“Thank you,” she called out over the sound of the rain.
“For what?” I asked, lowering the window slightly.
“For today.
For everything.”
I nodded once, my heart doing a strange, unfamiliar flip in my chest.
“Goodnight, Jay.”
“Goodnight, Kiki.”
One day she would stop calling me that ridiculous name.
Probably.
Maybe.
Honestly, probably never.
But as I watched her safely enter her house and lock the door, I realized I didn’t mind it nearly as much as I used to.
Byeeee