Secret Millionaire for the Surrogate

He chuckled, too. “No, but I kind of hoped you were. Because then I wouldn’t have taken it so personally.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “I’d feel bad, if I thought you really meant that.”

His grin grew. “I like how you challenge me, Harper. I like it a lot.”

Money really didn’t turn her head, but she had to admit that she did see him differently now. Not better, not worse, but just different. He was a millionaire at age twenty-eight with a chain of his own stores. It was difficult not to respect that. It also widened the gap between them significantly. There were months she could barely pay the rent.

But none of that really mattered when they were together. Sure, days like today didn’t make him bat an eye, but deep down, Drew was the guy who’d talked to a bighorn sheep and enjoyed a cone of ice cream on a busy street. The one who rubbed her ankle while she slept on a porch swing. Who made her laugh without trying, and made her toes curl when he kissed her.

They ordered dessert—Earl Grey panna cotta for her and chestnut tiramisu for him, and she let the flavors sit on her tongue. “I’ve never had something like this in my life,” she sighed happily. “Today has been...oh, Drew. It’s been like a fairy tale. And tomorrow I get to go back to my humdrum life.”

It also appeared the storms weren’t over. A new front rolled down through the mountains, a wall of foreboding cloud that brought with it unsettling wind and flashes of lightning. Thunder growled and then boomed, close enough that she jumped when it rattled the crystal on the table.

“You should see your eyes,” he said, smiling a little.

“I’m very glad we’re safe and sound inside.” The lights flickered but stayed on. “And you didn’t even flinch.”

“I love thunderstorms.” At her raised eyebrow, he laughed. “We’re really different in some ways, aren’t we?” He reached over and took her hand. “I know you moved around a lot as a kid. That you had a hard time making friends and establishing relationships. But there’s more, isn’t there? Something that holds you back.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it’s not friends you shy away from. It’s intimacy. Someone hurt you.” His gaze locked with hers. “I know because you have the same look in your eyes as someone else did once, when I broke their heart.”

The rest of her dessert was forgotten. Whether he’d initiated the breakup or not, he hadn’t come out of it unscathed.

And for the first time, she spoke about Jared.

“The truth is, I did meet someone once, and it was one of those crazy whirlwind-attraction deals. I fell like a ton of bricks at the ripe old age of twenty-two. He was hot and funny and sexy and I was really swept away, thinking he could be The One. He proposed, and I was thrilled. We were going to elope and just be crazy. Instead, he broke off the engagement and disappeared. I was heartbroken—and blindsided yet again. Oddly enough, that was when my photography really started to take off.”

“Because you kept hiding.”

“And damn, but I was good at it.”

His thumb traced circles over her hand, and she blinked back a little moisture that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. “I feel so foolish now. But then...it was as if no one thought I was worth hanging around for.”

“So what changed?”

“Adele. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I’ve made a life for myself here. I put down the roots I’ve never really had before, but I’m still not totally happy. I’ve been so busy trying to protect my life I stopped really living it. I want to start living again, even if it’s just for a few weeks.” She held his gaze and took a breath. “With you.”

The lights flickered again, but his thumb kept circling, the pressure warm and soothing. “As long as you know that I can’t stay. That the plan hasn’t changed.” The smile had slid off his face, and he was as serious as she’d ever seen him.

“Oh, I know that. I’m just tired of denying myself things that make me happy because they might not last forever. That not living, that’s pure avoidance.”

She turned her hand over and linked her fingers with his. “I’m going to miss you when you’re gone. But I want to look back on this time as a happy memory, not another case of me choosing the safe route and missing out.”

She’d never considered Drew the kind of man to blush, but right now heat was creeping up his neck and into his cheeks. “Then don’t leave yet. When we finish dinner...come back to my room. The night doesn’t have to end.”

“We don’t exactly have time to waste, do we?” Her words came out breathy, as if she’d been walking too fast.

He let out a big breath. “I don’t... I just...” His eyes were wide and serious. “Despite what you may think of me, this isn’t something I take lightly. Or casually.”

“I’m glad.” Nerves bubbled, both from anticipation and from anxiety. This was all new territory.

Moments later Drew signed the slip charging the meal to his room, and then held out his hand. “Shall we?” he asked.

She put her hand in his again and let him lead her out of the restaurant. They were going to his hotel room. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to happen, but she knew something was going to. She wanted it to.

They rode up the elevator in silence, nervousness flooding her from head to toe. Her sandals made slapping sounds on the hall carpet until they reached his door and he waved his key card over the sensor.