Secret Millionaire for the Surrogate

“Then I’m glad I was here.”

“Please don’t say anything to Dan or Adele. They’re so excited about the baby and they’re my best friends. I wouldn’t hurt them for the world.”

“Of course I won’t. But...” A smile curved his lips as he tapped a few buttons on his phone. “Guess what I have on here?”

She frowned a little, curious. “What?”

He tapped another button and leaned closer to her, smiling. A steady bah bum, bah bum sounded from his speakers. Her heart gave a little leap. “You have the heartbeat?”

“Dan sent it to me, dying to share it. And now you can hear it, too.”

The steady, quick sounds of the baby’s heartbeat filled the air. She knew the recording would end, but the moment it did, it merely looped again so it started over. She put her hand on her tummy, sucked in a shaky breath. “Oh,” she said quietly, feeling that same overwhelming awe that had struck her in the doctor’s office.

“Pretty incredible, huh?”

She nodded, unable to erase the smile from her face.

“How do you feel?”

Oh, that he would ask. No one else had really thought to. She was emotionally invested; how could she not be? She swallowed against the tightness in her throat and reached for his hand.

“Humbled,” she whispered, letting out a breath. “And powerful at the same time. That little heartbeat...that’s in here.” She withdrew her hand and pointed at her abdomen.

“Pretty crazy, huh?” He let it play again, and she took his hand and placed it on her belly, which had only the slightest little bump. Not even noticeable if you didn’t have previous shape to use as context.

His gaze locked with hers. “That’s my niece or nephew in there.”

She nodded.

“And still so tiny.”

“I know. I’m not even showing yet. But this...this made it all real to me. More than an idea, you know? Thank you, Drew. So much.”

“I can forward it to you if you want.”

“Would you?”

He nodded and handed over his phone, pulling his other palm away from her belly. “Go ahead and program your number.”

She did and handed it back, then let out a happy sigh. The afternoon was waning, and Drew checked his phone. “They’ve countered again. We’re making one more counteroffer and if he won’t come down, the deal’s off.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Just like that?”

Drew grinned and shrugged. “He’ll come down,” he said with confidence. “If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. I think this would be a great location for our first Canadian store, but there are other spots. I’m not going to overpay for real estate.”

“You love this, don’t you? The bargaining.”

“Kind of. What I really love is taking something from scratch and building it, and watching it all come together.”

And then moving on to the next challenge. She couldn’t forget that. She’d told him before that she wasn’t a challenge or a trophy. Now that she knew him better, she knew he didn’t see people that way. But it was how he viewed life. Challenges and adventures. In her eyes, a lot of adventures meant confusion and trying to carve a new spot for herself in a strange place with strange people.

Still, he’d listened to her, and he’d given her the moment she’d missed in the doctor’s office. He was a good man. A friend, and those were hard to come by.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” she asked. “I know you’re waiting for another update, and I’m an okay cook...for a vegetarian.”

“I’d love to.”

“You would?” She looked over at him, surprised. She’d half expected him to decline, since they’d spent all afternoon together.