A Mother's Secrets (Parent Portal 4)

“I do see one of our doctors, but I go to her office.”

“So you’re good to go?”

“As soon as I ovulate.” Okay, that was awkward. She’d never talked to a guy about her cycle before. Not even Nathan, Ryder’s father. Two loves she didn’t allow herself to think about...

Because they were both gone from her life forever. One by his choice, the other by hers.

“I stipulate in there that I want to use my own fertility specialist—the same one who worked with you and Emily so I’m assuming that won’t be a problem—and my own ob-gyn for the delivery. You can speak to either of them about the fertilization process if you’d like.”

He shook his head. “I’d just as soon hear it from you. That is, if you don’t mind and it’s appropriate.”

Yeah. Right. That. She sighed. “This whole thing is a little...off the normal course...” she told him. “But not at all illegal,” she quickly asserted. “As long as we both have separate lawyers who are well versed in surrogacy law, and sign an agreed upon contract, we’re fine. I’ll be acting as an individual, not in any official capacity with The Parent Portal,” she added, getting back on track again. “It was decided that that was best, easiest and the least risk to the clinic. It’s all in there.” She pointed to the unsigned contract she’d handed him. “I’m choosing to use our fertility specialist and one of our ob-gyns, but as a private client, with private billing. So you’ll need to do the same. You’ll need to pay the doctors directly, not through the clinic.”

Which meant costs could likely be a little higher. Her doctors gave The Parent Portal a preferred rate—as they did all of the fertility clinics they worked with.

“It’s generally recommended that surrogacy participants go through an agency for the entire process, but I’m only going to be able to do this for you if we have a private arrangement.”

Because she’d made that choice. She wasn’t going to do anything that in any way impacted the clinic. Or even had a chance of doing so.

He was nodding. Seemingly unfazed. And she didn’t know if she was relieved or not. She was really offering to do this. But did she hope that he’d change his mind? Balk at the stipulations? These were all nonnegotiable, as he’d see when he actually looked at the contract, which started on the page beneath the preface letter from her lawyer she’d seen him looking at.

“You’ll notice an escrow agreement in there, as well as your right to prove that I’ve undergone both medical and emotional screening and have passed both.”

There’d been no point in spending time thinking about whether or not she could grant the Howes’ request without knowing that she had the ability to do so.

“And there are insurance stipulations as well.” He’d need to purchase a special surrogacy plan on her behalf, with all premiums paid up front so that if anything happened to him, or if he was in breach of contract, her and the baby’s health would still be covered. If his own health insurance didn’t offer a plan, there were plenty in the state of California that did.

She’d been taking care of her “family” for too long to put any of them—her home, the clinic, its employees and clients—at risk.

He still hadn’t done more than glance at the cover page of the document. “So what’s the process from here? Once I have my attorney look this over and it’s signed,” he said, holding up the contract.

Glancing down, she took in the other small piles in front of her, deciding which to choose next. Her face warm, she was embarrassed. Feeling his presence like she’d never felt a client—or anyone else—in her life. As though he was touching her from across the desk. As though she wanted him to.

It was because she was planning to have his baby. She knew that. They had, and would continue to have, purely a business arrangement between the two of them. She knew that, too. What they were doing was completely accepted and professional. But when it involved your most intimate parts...

She chose the calendars first—a page for each month she’d be under his employ. “This is the tentative schedule I’ve worked out,” she said. “This is based on all of the information I’ve gathered and on when giving birth would fit best in my schedule.” The dates were all in the contract, too. “This is all assuming that, biologically, everything happens as expected.” The contract held a caveat that the dates could change, without consent needed, if things didn’t work out the first time around.

He looked at every single page. She hadn’t intended him to read the specifics about the various pregnancy-related appointments she’d be having during her prenatal care. Not right then, at any rate.

The last pages were a repeat of July and August, with implantation dates again, instead of ob-gyn appointments.

“What’s this?” he asked, holding up those last two pages.

“Those start the original cycle over, a month and two later, in case it takes more than one implantation to result in pregnancy.” The contract gave him three tries with her body before they’d reassess her viability.

He went back to the first page. And she slid the last pile of papers across her desk. “This is all reading material I’ve gathered about the procedure. There’s a sheet in the back that gives a list of credible surrogacy clinics if you decide you’d rather go that route. Or even just call and talk to someone before you take this on. They have all kinds of resources available to you...”

He was already shaking his head. “I’ve done my homework,” he said, meeting her gaze openly. And then he smiled. “I just can’t believe you said yes,” he said. And then continued, “Except that in my mind, I knew you would. I also knew that thought made no sense.”

Her life had to make sense. Always. And this did, helping him. She’d held a staff meeting, let everyone know what she was contemplating and why. Every single one of them had offered their support and told her how much they admired her for what she was doing.

Of course, she was their employer, but the doctors who worked with her certainly didn’t need her as much as she needed them.

“I’m assuming we’ll be doing this on your regular cycle then, instead of having you on fertility drugs that will regulate you to a specific date, since the embryos aren’t going to be freshly prepared.” He’d ignored the contract, but this he was reading.

“That’s right,” she said. Which was why his original question about timeline had had her blurting out about her ovulation. “Five days after mid-cycle is best as it generally takes a naturally forming embryo that long to travel through the fallopian tube.”

Talking about their reproductive parts was routine at The Parent Portal. Discussing them with Jamison Howe made her a little uncomfortable. Embarrassed. And kind of like she was getting a little bit naked in front of him.