The Baby Contract

“Bran Erickson’s office. Can I help you?”

I blew out a breath of relief that I wasn’t going to have to talk to him yet. “This is Anne Francis. I received a letter from Bran today about meeting with him. I was told to call this number.”

“Yes. Mr. Erickson is free for dinner tonight if you’d like to join him.” She rattled off the restaurant’s name and address.

I didn’t want to join him. The grumble of my stomach told me it wanted to join him. It liked the idea of a fancy meal.

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

Once off the phone, I went to my closet and looked through the wardrobe I had left. I had sold all my most expensive pieces of clothing, but I tried to hold on to a few basics such as a cocktail dress and, of course, the all-purpose little black dress.

It was well worn, but hopefully the restaurant would be dim enough that the elite of the elite wouldn’t notice.

I showered and washed my hair, deciding to let it dry naturally instead of wrangling it into an updo. I put on makeup, but not too much. I didn’t want Bran to think that I was over eager or trying to impress him.

I slipped on a pair of Dior slingback shoes and, after studying myself in the mirror, decided I wouldn’t look too out of place in the high-priced restaurant.

My nerves grew as I drove over to the location. I didn’t know why I was nervous. It wasn’t like I hadn’t argued with Bran before.

Perhaps it wasn’t really nervousness, but the discomfort that came from having other people take pity on me or look down on me.

I walked into the restaurant and let the host know I was there to see Bran.

“Right this way, miss.” He started toward the back of the restaurant, going through a door into a private dining area. I resisted rolling my eyes at Bran trying to show off his wealth. If he was trying to impress me, it wasn’t working.

He stood looking like a million bucks. What a waste of a great face and body on such a disagreeable man.

He smiled, but it looked smug. Like he knew he won. Maybe he had.

But he’d only won the battle, not the war.

I sat down in the chair. “As you can see, I’ve been able to swallow my pride so that I can get a free meal and ten thousand dollars, but I’m not agreeing to anything else.”

Bran nodded and put his hand over an envelope on the table. “I’ve got the money here in cash. But you’re going to have to listen to my proposition before I hand it over to you.”

I figured as much. So, I put my napkin in my lap, trying to ignore the slight titillation at his use of the word proposition. I shushed down my hormones.

“I hope you don’t mind. I went ahead and ordered our meal and wine.” He nodded toward the waiter who left the room and then, moments later, several waiters streamed in, setting dishes on the table.

My stomach growled as the most delicious scents filled my nostrils. I hoped I wasn’t drooling. I picked up my fork and began eating, moaning as the wondrous flavors hit my taste buds.

Bran laughed. “We're not on a time limit here and I’m not going to take your food from you.”

His words made me realize I was shoveling the food in. I forced myself to slow down. I set my fork down and took a sip of the wine, again wanting to moan at the exquisite taste of it.

“I’ve asked you to meet me because I’ve decided that you are the woman that I want to be the surrogate for my child.”

I was glad I wasn’t eating or drinking at that moment because I would’ve choked. “You’re joking?”

“I’m surprised you think I can tell a joke. But no, I’m being serious.”

“You’re still planning to do that?”

It seemed like such a weird thing for him to do.

He nodded. “I am. Family is important to me. I think you know that.”

My eyes narrowed with suspicion. There had to be some sort of trick here.

“You don’t like me. Why would you want me to be your surrogate?” What I really wanted to say was that I didn’t like him and the last thing I wanted was to tie myself to him for nine months.

He shrugged. “We don’t have to like each other. We don’t need to fuck. We aren’t getting married. And we won’t be raising the child together. This is all about finding the perfect woman to combine my DNA with.”

My jaw dropped open. I couldn’t decide if I should be flattered or offended.

I studied him, trying to decide if he was playing a joke on me.

Maybe he was proposing this ridiculous idea so that I would tell Harper and she would take pity on his loneliness and stop ignoring him. But as I looked into his light blue eyes, all I saw was sincerity.

Bran Erickson really wanted me to have his baby.