Secret Millionaire for the Surrogate

“Is it all about moving around for you?”

“Why not? I’m young and have all kinds of energy for this sort of thing. I love traveling and moving around. And man, the challenge in setting up a new store is really exciting.”

“But what about when that stops? When is it enough, and what will you do then?”

It was an odd question, he thought. And it seemed there was something more behind it than plain curiosity.

The words to tell her how successful he was were on the tip of his tongue, but he held back. If he were honest with himself, he felt more like his pre-millionaire self when he was with her. No expectations or trappings of success. An easy hike in the mountains. Jeans and T-shirts and a little dust on his boots. Hell, he hadn’t looked at his cell phone since last night, and that was nearly unheard of.

So he kept the words back and shrugged.

“I haven’t thought that far ahead. I like my life. I like the challenge and the variety and the ability to move around. I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.”

“I see.”

“You don’t sound convinced.”

They were idling in the passenger drop-off, but it wasn’t overly busy at the moment so he waited for her answer, removing his hand from the door handle and placing it back into his lap. The last thing Drew ever wanted was to feel trapped in one spot. Drew loved his parents, and they’d provided a good, loving home for their children. But sacrifices had been made and resentments had taken root because of it. His dad in particular had sacrificed his dream job for his family, and seeing the defeated look in his father’s eyes had stuck with Drew all these years.

Harper sighed. “It’s a personal thing for me is all. Travel is one thing, and I get that. Who doesn’t love a vacation, going new places and seeing new things? But moving around all the time, that rootless kind of existence? I did that for most of my young life, and it was hard. Really hard. I like having some stability now, is all. But that’s my life, not yours.” She smiled encouragingly. “Of course you should live yours how you want.”

“As should you,” he replied. “I guess we’re not much alike, are we?”

Her gaze touched his, and that spark sizzled between them again. “No

, I guess we’re kind of opposite in a lot of ways.”

“Except we like the outdoors.”

“Except that.”

“And the fact that we both love Adele and Dan a lot.”

Her eyes warmed. “That, too.”

And with that he knew he had to leave. Harper had complication written all over her and as much as he was enjoying this...interlude, he knew it wouldn’t last. “I’d better let you get out of here before the next tour bus lands. Thanks for taking me with you, Harper.”

“You’re welcome.”

He got out and shut the door, then lifted a hand as she drove away.

He couldn’t let himself think about her or why she’d been bounced from place to place, or how her eyes darkened to nearly sapphire when awareness flickered between them.

He was here for three or four days, tops. Surely he could avoid her for that long, couldn’t he?

CHAPTER FIVE

HARPER SAT AT the computer and went over the photos from the morning. There were two that she particularly liked: one of the whisky jack sitting on a spruce branch, and one of the shots of the grizzly looking right at the camera. That had been a lucky, lucky thing and would take only a little editing to make it sing.

Then there were the ones of Drew and the bighorn sheep. She paused over those, unable to suppress a smile as she looked at the one where he’d turned and spoken to the animal, their eyes locked on each other. Then there was another where he was laughing about something and it made her heart give a strange thump. It was unfair he had to be so damned handsome and charming.

He’d been a good sport, too; patient and quiet when he needed to be. And he’d minimized her embarrassment when the nausea had gotten the best of her and she’d been sick.

He was a good guy; she knew that. But that was where it ended. It wasn’t just the awkwardness of the situation. It was his whole lifestyle, traveling for work and opening new stores and not being rooted in one place. Nowhere was really...home. That kind of nomadic existence simply wasn’t for her.

Home was the one thing she’d always wanted. Not that hers hadn’t been full of love; it had. She couldn’t have asked for better parents. But the nature of her dad’s job had been one of moving from base to base, or being alone with her mom while he was deployed. It had been hard to put down roots, and instead of roots Drew had wandering feet.

Good to look at. Even talk to. Not boyfriend material. In March she hadn’t been looking for a fling. She rested her hand on her still-flat stomach. She certainly wasn’t looking for one now, either.