Best Man for the Wedding Planner

“It’s like this. I love Adele, and she loves you, and I know the two of you would make wonderful parents. And so I’m offering to help you...by being your surrogate.”

Adele’s heart nearly stopped. “But Harper. That’s... Do people really do that?”

“Sometimes.” Harper smiled softly. “I’m healthy, Adele. And I’m seriously not using my uterus right now or for the foreseeable future. I’d like to do this for you both.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Indeed, she didn’t. This was a huge thing Harper was offering. So huge, she wasn’t sure she could even consider it. “It’s nine months of... Oh, Harper.”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes. Her feelings were so overwhelming. Incredulity, hope, joy, fear.

Harper put a hand on Adele’s back and rubbed gently. “If it’s me, you can be involved every step of the way. You can go to doctor appointments with me, and hear the heartbeat, and feel the baby kick, and you can go to childbirth classes and be my coach. You wouldn’t get to do those things if you had a different surrogate, or if you adopted. It’s the one thing that you want most in the world, Adele. Let me help you.”

Adele looked over at Dan. He was trying valiantly not to cry and not succeeding very well.

“I don’t know what to say,” he murmured, his voice catching. “This is so unexpected. So selfless, Harper. God...”

Adele pulled herself together. “We need to think about it, and talk about what it would mean for us. But, Harper, you are the best of friends. My sister from another mister. That you offered means so much.”

They hugged and Harper cleared her throat a little as emotion overwhelmed. “Listen, you don’t want to go in there

with puffy faces and red eyes. Your photographer can only retouch so much.”

They laughed and the mood lightened as they rose from the bench. Adele reached over and gave Harper’s hand a squeeze. “We’ll talk it over. Promise.”

Harper nodded. “And we can do some research together, if you like. Okay?”

Adele nodded, and Harper slipped away, leaving her alone with Dan.

“That... Adele. Your friend is one in a million.”

“I never imagined she’d offer something like that. I mean, once you and I were together, I told her a lot about what it had been like. My illness, and my feelings about not having kids. But I never expected she’d offer to carry a child for us.”

Dan pulled her into a hug and kissed her hair, and then set her back again and met her gaze once more. “Just so you know, Mrs. Brimicombe, if this doesn’t happen, it’s okay. We have each other and that’s enough. I love you. My dreams already came true today.”

“Oh, Dan.” Her smile wobbled. “Mine, too.”

“But...”

“But...”

With possibilities echoing in their minds, they entered the ballroom together, to start their life as a family.

* * *