Secret Millionaire for the Surrogate

“Of course not.” She knew the stakes. She’d willingly accepted them when she’d offered to do this. “I’ll be careful, you know that.”

The mood had dipped a little, so Harper drank the last of her tea and stood. “And now, I’ve totally overstayed my welcome. I should get home. Thanks for having me over for dinner...again.”

“How are you getting home?” Drew asked.

“Oh, walking. It’s not far.” She laughed. “Nothing’s really far in Banff, you know?”

“I’m going back to the hotel. I’ll walk with you, if it’s okay.”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.” Harper’s place wasn’t exactly on the way to the Cascade, but it was only a small detour. She couldn’t really say no, not after the nice toast he’d given. But she wondered why he’d want to. She didn’t think it was to be gentlemanly. Drew might look all casual and laid-back, but Harper got the impression that everything he did had a purpose behind it.

Dan got up, too, and started gathering glasses. “Didn’t you rent a car, Drew? You usually do.”

“I did, but it’s being delivered to the hotel tomorrow. The one I wanted wasn’t available until today. Besides, it doesn’t hurt me to walk.” He looked over at Harper and smiled. “Not when the scenery is so beautiful.”

Harper wasn’t sure if he meant the town or if he was turning on the charm like he had at the wedding, so she ignored the comment and made her way to the door.

The night had cooled enough that Harper wished she’d thought to bring a sweatshirt, though her intention had never been to stay this late. Trouble was, Adele was a wonderful cook and Harper got tired of eating alone all the time. Now that she was pregnant, Dan and Adele tended to stay a bit close, but she understood. Adele was understandably living vicariously through Harper’s experience.

She hadn’t counted on Drew being around, though, or offering to walk her home. She put her hand on her tummy for a brief moment, wondering what he really thought about the situation. It might be a good litmus test to find out how the rest of his family would react when they found out.

She tucked her hands into her hoodie pockets and looked over at him. “So I guess you were pretty surprised by the news, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I

felt something was off, the way you and Adele seemed to talk in abbreviated sentences. So I came right out and asked Dan.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “This is a huge thing. I can’t believe they asked it of you.”

She smiled then. Was that his issue? In that case, she could set his mind at rest. “They didn’t ask. I offered. Actually, I offered on the night of their wedding, not long before you and I danced. Adele is the best friend I’ve ever had. When I found out that she’d left Dan all those years ago because of her infertility, I knew I wanted to help. I told them that this would be my wedding present to them.”

Harper herself was what her mom called a “miracle baby,” having been adopted since her mom couldn’t have children. Being able to help a family—particularly someone she loved—was fulfilling.

“Carrying a baby is a heck of a wedding gift,” he remarked.

She started walking again and shrugged. “It’s only for a few months out of my life, so why not?”

She saw him shaking his head out of the corner of her eye. “Not many people in this world are completely altruistic. But I can’t seem to come up with a way that this benefits you. I mean, it can’t be the money.”

“No, you’re right. It can’t. Legally they’re not allowed to pay me and since there’s no fee for health coverage... I’m not making a penny off of this, Drew. I hope you didn’t think I was.”

His brow furrowed. “It crossed my mind for a minute or two.”

“Then clearly you don’t know me very well.”

“I apologize,” he said quietly. Then he looked over at her as their shoes made soft footfalls on the sidewalk. “I still find it hard to believe you’d go through something as life-changing as a pregnancy out of the goodness of your heart.”

She laughed. “Life-changing as in the morning sickness, weight gain, swollen feet, stretch marks, and other things I have to look forward to?”

Drew’s voice was soft and hesitant in the semidarkness. “Well, wouldn’t you want to go through those things for your own kid, rather than someone else’s?”

“Maybe. Someday.” She couldn’t keep the wistful note out of her voice but hoped he didn’t hear it. Someday certainly wasn’t today and she wasn’t sure it would ever be the right time. She tended to go on first dates, but not so many second or third ones, and she’d never had a real long-term relationship—not that she’d ever admitted that to anyone. She was twenty-eight years old, had had exactly two sexual partners, and wasn’t confident that she’d ever have that life-partner-and-kid thing.

She had thought it—once. The attraction had been instant and had swept her off her feet. It had been a magical month of bliss on Caicos, an utter whirlwind that carried her away. Jared had pulled out a ring as they walked the beach beneath the stars, and she’d accepted, a 100 percent buy-in to the fairy tale. A week later he was gone, with nothing but a note explaining he’d gotten caught up in the moment and it had been “fun.”

She’d been falling in love and he’d been enjoying falling into bed until he got bored—or scared. Didn’t matter which. The end result was the same.

After that horrible pseudo-relationship, she’d vowed never to let herself get so carried away again.

She was far better off focusing on her business. So much so that she was considering using Juny as more than an assistant in order to train her up to take over a lot of the wedding and other photo shoot duties. The girl had a keen eye for balance and showed promise in creativity and innovation.