Secret Millionaire for the Surrogate

Juny came into the back room to grab her water bottle and did a double take at Drew’s picture on the screen. “Oh my gosh. Who is that?”

“Dan’s brother, Drew. Remember? From the wedding?” Juny had helped her go through the photos, and together they’d chosen the best ones for a portfolio for Dan and Adele.

“Sure, but he was all done up in a tux then, and his hair was shorter. He’s hot.”

“I didn’t think that hot guys were on your radar.” She grinned up at Juny, waggling her eyebrows. Juny’s girlfriend, Renée, had just moved in with her in an apartment in Canmore.

“Depends on the radar. I can appreciate a fine form, no matter the gender. And Drew Brimicombe is a fine form. I like his outdoorsy look.”

“Me, too,” Harper replied, then realized she shouldn’t have said anything. Juny got a speculative look on her face and pulled up a chair. The bell over the door would ring if someone came into the storefront. There was no way Harper was going to be able to avoid Juny’s prying.

“Spill,” Juny commanded, and leaned forward, ready to get the goss.

“There’s nothing to spill. Like you said, I can appreciate a fine form.”

“Yeah, but he’s on your radar.”

“Not really.” Harper made sure she flipped through another few pictures. “I mean, he flirts but I’m not really interested. I’ve got other things going on.”

She hesitated after that last bit. Juny didn’t know about the baby, but Harper would have to tell her soon. Maybe in a few weeks, when the first trimester was officially over. It felt odd, keeping something that special a secret from the employee she liked so very much.

“Things like what? Wedding season?”

“Sure. It’s busy around here, or haven’t you noticed?”

Just then the bell rang, announcing a new arrival. “Saved by the bell,” Juny advised drily, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harper replied, but she laughed a little.

* * *

The next few days were busy ones, and Harper spoke only once to Adele and not at all to Drew, not that she’d expected to. She’d had a wedding rehearsal and then wedding day, and on Sunday she’d been exhausted. Monday she had a doctor’s appointment in Calgary.

Adele went with her and Dan met them at the office. At a little over eleven weeks pregnant, she was close to being past the first trimester, and she knew everyone would feel some relief. When the doctor put the Doppler against her tummy and moved it around, she flinched a little. Dan and Adele looked so excited and expectant. If something happened and they couldn’t find a heartbeat today, they’d be so disappointed.

But it came through loud and clear. Bu-bump bu-bump galloped in her ears, much faster than a grown-up heartbeat. Adele started to cry. Dan held her hand. And Harper stared at the doctor, marveling that a little human was growing inside her.

For someone else.

It was right and she was glad of it, but something strange and new blossomed in her chest. Maybe this baby didn’t have any of her DNA, but he or she was still a part of her even if she wasn’t a part of them. She bit down on her lip and kept listening to the rhythmic sound of that tiny beating heart. She didn’t want it to stop.

Dan took out his phone and hit the record button. “Today we get to hear our baby’s heartbeat!” Excitement rang through his voice as he angled the camera at Adele’s beaming face and then over at Harper, who felt a little self-conscious with her belly exposed.

But she smiled anyway, unable to resist the joy in the room. The tears on her best friend’s cheeks told her what she needed to know. This had absolutely been the right decision.

The doctor took away the wand and Harper suddenly felt bereft. She loved the sound of that heartbeat, a quicker version of her own. It touched her in ways she had expected and yet couldn’t possibly anticipate. Everything was suddenly so real.

In six months, she would birth this little human and put him or her in Adele’s arms.

Was it wrong that she felt the need to hold them close until then? That she should feel so...attached?

“Harper, are you all right?”

“What? Oh, of course!” She put on a bright smile. “I’m so relieved everything is going well, you know?”

The doctor nodded. “It is. Everything is right on schedule. Are you still feeling sick?”

Harper nodded. “Yes, in the mornings. But it’s nothing I can’t handle. By midmorning I seem to come around okay.”