The Baby Contract

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE

Bran

When my parents died, I'd been shocked and devastated. At nineteen, I was technically an adult, but I wasn't prepared to face life without my father's guidance or my mother's nurturing.

Even as I’d been worried that their marriage would end once Harper left home, I knew I could always count on them to support me and Harper.

The same feeling of anguish and terror that I had when my parents died filled me now as I sat on the plane flying to Sonoma County. I knew I shouldn't have indulged in a fairytale because those weren't real.

My illusion came shattering down all around me when Anne told me that she didn't have anyone in her life, except Harper. I wanted to yell, "what about me?"

Then she finished her comment by reminding me of our deal. That's all this was to her. It broke me in two. But along with the pain came anger. Anger at Harper and Anne. It had me lashing out, telling Anne that I had paid her enough that she could buy new friends.

For a moment, I had a sick satisfaction at the way she flinched at my words, but then I felt guilty for being so offensive. I wanted to apologize, but by then, our relationship, such as it was, had deteriorated.

The make-believe life was gone, replaced by a bitter reality and I’d be a fool to try and go back to the fantasy. So I left the room, going to my office.

I heard her as she walked out the door with Dax to hunt for Harper. It was hard to tell what Harper would do when Anne found her. In my experience, Harper wasn't understanding or forgiving, but maybe she would be different for Anne.

I felt like a putz sitting, waiting, hoping for her to return. So on impulse, I decided I would fly to Northern California to check out the winery.

To be honest, I wasn't really interested in buying it anymore. I'd only been partly interested when I told Anne about it earlier.

Her interest and knowledge of wine had tilted my decision over to buy. Clearly, buying a winery for her was out of the question. But the trip gave me an excuse to get out of the house.

When I arrived at the airport, it was the middle of the night. The vineyard was off in a rural area between the county airport and the coast. There weren’t many options for shelter this time of night, so I found a hotel in town for the night.

I'd left a message with my broker before I left home to let him know that I was on my way. It was rude to thrust my visit on him and the vineyard owner at the last minute.

But I knew that money talked and made people bow to my whims, so I felt certain the broker and winery owner would be available tomorrow.

I was emotionally and physically exhausted, but as I lay in bed, sleep eluded me. Anne's words, she's the only one I've got, played on an endless loop in my head. I was such an idiot to fall for her.

The next morning, the alarm on the new watch woke me. Pain was the first emotion of the day. I tossed the watch in my bag, unable to bear wearing it.

I called Mr. Joseph who told me that Anne had decided to go stay at her place last night. If I didn't think we were already broken by now, the news that she had left my place certainly would have made that clear.

My next call was to Dax who assured me that she was safe at the condo.

I was relieved to know that she hadn't tried to get rid of her security, yet at the same time, I was insanely jealous that Dax was with her in her place. I imagined she thought the situation would help her hide the surrogacy deal from the world.

With Dax there, she’d have an easy way to explain her pregnancy.

Her adamancy of hiding me and baby was like a stab in the gut. The hurt man inside me wanted to contact Harper and tell her everything about the surrogacy and the baby, and how Anne had willingly taken twenty-five million dollars to help me.

But that type of petty retaliation was below me.

So I’d focus on the task at hand.

I spent the day meeting with the broker and touring the winery, and by the end, I was surprised by how interested I was to make the purchase. But with Anne gone, I was hesitating.

Every time I thought of this place, I would think of her and how one moment I was blissfully happy and the next, I was demolished by heartache.

When I left my broker that afternoon, I told him I was interested but would be in touch. I immediately returned to the airport where my plane was ready to fly me back to Los Angeles.

When I arrived home, it was nearly nine in the evening. Mr. Joseph informed me that Anne hadn’t returned yet. I’d give her another day, but a deal was a deal.

My house was safer and had everything the baby needed. If she couldn’t stand to be with me, we could avoid each other. Except when it came to the baby.