I stopped mid-stride. He looked at me and his eyes widened. I knew those eyes anywhere.
“Ms. Andrews is everything okay?”
I cleaned my throat and shook my head. “Yeah, yeah sure.” I walked into the room and sat across the table from the woman and Charlie.
Charles Hampton. The man I lost my virginity to. The man who turned the best summer of my life into the worst one in a matter of days. I was so sure I’d never see him again. What were the chances? I knew that he was based in New York but in a city of eight million people what were the chances that we would run into each other? And at a place like this for that matter. I felt my heart start to pound and I felt hot even though the room was airconditioned.
Damn, he still looked good. Shit, why couldn’t he have lost all his hair?
“Brenna Andrews?” the woman in the suit said. “I’m Rachael. Thank you for coming to join us on such short notice. What we want to do today is simply talk you through the surrogacy process here at Nova Fertility with both parties present.” I nodded because she had stopped talking, not because I actually heard her say anything. I studiously avoided Charlie’s gaze.
The thought that I was going to be carrying his child chose to hit me right at that moment and I would have passed out if I wasn’t already seated. This wasn’t real. I didn’t really submit myself for surrogacy services. No way. Why would I do something as crazy as that? This was an alternate dimension where ridiculous things happened. It had to be.
“So, are we clear so far?” she asked.
“Huh?” I asked. I hadn't heard a single word out of her mouth. Charlie cleared his throat.
“Sorry, what was that?” he asked her.
“I said there is going to be a delay in the implantation process because we are yet to secure an egg donor for you.”
“No. No delays. I want this as soon as possible,” Charlie said.
“Sir, it’s not something we can avoid. We can expedite it as much as possible but egg donor screening is even more rigorous than surrogate screening. This person is going to be your child’s biological mother. People usually spend a lot more time selecting for the egg donor because their baby will be inheriting half of her traits.”
Charlie leaned in over the table looking at me. “I don’t want to wait. I’m willing to pay a substantial amount more if Ms. Andrews is willing to donate the egg.”
I swallowed. “I beg your pardon?”
He didn’t break eye contact. “I said, Brenna, I want your egg.”
5
Charles
My heart slammed so hard in my chest it almost hurt. I couldn’t breathe. It was her. Brenna Andrews, in the flesh in front of me. This wasn’t a dream.
She was the woman who was going to carry my baby and if that was the case then it wasn’t enough. I hadn’t seen her in seven years.
Seven long years and this was the way she walked into my life.
If I wasn’t so overwhelmed, I’d laugh. I swallowed because my throat had dried out.
“I was only interested in carrying the pregnancy, not in donating an egg.”
“No, I want your egg,” I said. Her eyes widened and I realized how I sounded; like a maniac. At the moment I was insane. I would lose my mind if I let Brenna Andrews walk out of my life again. It was a lot to spring on someone I hadn’t so much as spoken to for seven whole years but I could explain later. I needed to make sure she didn’t walk out that door without the reassurance that I’d see her again.
“I’m willing to offer a very generous sum of money for you to do it.”
“I really don’t think this is something I can put a dollar amount on,” she said.
“How much do you want?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I can’t…”
“A million dollars. All yours if I can have your egg and you carry the baby too.”
She was visibly shaken. I didn’t like stressing her out but I had to do it. I couldn’t let her go without asking. What were the chances that she was in front of me again after so long? Almost as low as the chances that we would remain in touch if she walked out that door again.