CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Anne
I was driving myself mad with uncertainty. I sat on the balcony off my bedroom having tea and toast for breakfast thinking about the other day when Bran confused me to no end.
What did all the gifts mean?
He paid the twenty-five million now instead of after the baby was born. When he touched me, I could swear there was something different. But maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. After all, he never said anything that indicated he felt something for me. In fact, when he gave me the check, he told me I deserved it for working so hard.
You’ve been a perfect surrogate.
Those weren’t words from a man in love. They were praise for a job well-done.
One thing was for certain. Something did change that night although it was just with me. I was helplessly, hopelessly in love with Bran.
Sure, I’d fallen for him already, but I’d been doing my damnedest to keep some semblance of a wall up to protect my heart. After the other day, when he touched me so tenderly, when I swore that he said, “mine,” that wall crumbled.
I was doomed to heartache for sure. At least that was what the rational part of me said. The part of me that must still believe in unicorns said I had a few months before the baby came to earn Bran’s love.
Surely, the gifts and money meant something. Maybe not that he loved me, but he’d softened to me. After all, we enjoyed each other’s company more than we bickered. If he liked me more now than he used to, maybe he’d come to love me by the time the baby was born.
Don’t hold your breath, my rational voice warned. But what choice did I have? I couldn’t go back to despising him.
For a few moments, I thought I might confess my feelings, but I remembered how’d he snuck from my bed after we’d had sex and how he said the gifts were to show his appreciation. I didn’t want to make things awkward by telling him I’d fallen for him.
Still, I could do something nice for him to show my appreciation of his generosity. Now that I had twenty-five million dollars, I could do something really nice for him.
God, what a relief it was to know that my future was set. Whatever happened between me and Bran, I wouldn’t be homeless or hungry.
No, you’ll be alone. Ugh. Sometimes I hated my rational mind.
I pushed that away to think about what I could do for Bran. The guy had everything he could want or need. What could I possibly get for him that would seem special?
I thought of the only two men I’d ever spent time with who had money like Bran; my father and brother. What sorts of things did they like to get?
My father used to have an antique watch. It didn’t work, but he kept it for sentimental value. I think it had been my mother’s grandfather’s watch. She kept it to remember him, while my father kept it to remember her. It made me wonder how could a man who was so devoted to his wife be so cruel to his daughter?
I sighed and picked up my phone, dialing my brother’s number.
“I don’t have money for you, Anne,” he said as a way of greeting.
“I don’t need money.” Why was I calling him? Did I really need to know the brand of watch my father had?
“Oh. Let me guess, you finally found a sugar daddy.”
I was offended by his words even though there had been a time I’d pursued Dane to secure my financial future through marriage. Hell, my relationship with Bran could be seen as sugar related. I was a surrogate with benefits.
“Did you ever like me?”
He paused. “What do you want, Anne?”
“What was the brand of the watch dad used to carry around? It had been mom’s I think.”
“You can’t afford it.”
“I didn’t ask you if I could afford it, I asked what the brand was.” Jerk.
“Breguet. It’s Swiss. Why?”