“Ijust hope I can be a good fit for both of you.” I almost choke on my coffee at the expression on Jameson’s face. I know him too well to read that look as anything other than filthy, dirty thoughts.
I kick him under the table. Our potential surrogate is sitting there, trying to reassure us, and he’s thinking about fucking her. While it absolutely sounded dirty, especially in that breathy voice of hers, I’ll kill him if he messes this up.
Well, not literally, but I certainly won’t blow him anytime soon. Probably. Unless I feel like it. Hailey misses me kicking him, but she seems to have caught on, anyway. A pink blush stains her cheeks, spreading under the collar of her white tank top.
“—as soon-to-be parents. Obviously.” The words leave her mouth at warp speed, her voice tight with the barest hint of a squeak.
It’s not that I blame him. From the first second we saw her profile, he was smitten. I mean, how could anyone not be? Hailey is nothing short of stunning. She watches the world through hazel eyes, a swirling mix of gold and palest green.
Her hair falls in a thick, dark curtain, shining and catching the light with every movement. Every time she pulls it over her shoulder, I catch a burst of citrus, and I’d be lying through my teeth if I told you it didn’t make my dick twitch. Hell, it’s about ready to sit up and beg.
Now I feel a teeny bit bad for kicking Jameson. If we met her under other circumstances and she showed the slightest hint of interest, we’d both be all in.
Surrogate!I chide myself, ignoring the shy smile on her lips and the way it makes my heart pound a little harder each time I see it. We don’t just need her to like us. We need her to like us enough to put herself through a pregnancy, and that is a tall order.
Obviously she’ll be paid, but still. It’s like a billion doctors appointments. She’s sacrificing her privacy, her lifestyle, and from what I’ve gleaned from Reddit, it sounds like every person on earth will try to touch her stomach at some point.
And at the end of all of that, she still has to birth the baby. That alone should qualify her for sainthood. I remember hearing a woman tell her husband that the male equivalent of giving birth would be pushing an egg out of his urethra. That image has haunted me ever since.
“We appreciate that, but there’s no judgment on our end either,” Jameson speaks up, and thank God he does, because now I can’t shake the egg thing. “We’re just really grateful you agreed to meet us.” He leans back, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“I’ve… really been looking forward to it. You two are so fun. Your kids will be lucky to have you.”
Jameson smiles at me, his eyes affectionate. A little wave of relief washes over me. Part of me was terrified that we’d get here, and he’d back out. We both wanted to do this the “old-fashioned way”, particularly Jameson.
But year after year, we never found the right person, and it got harder and harder to wait. I put my foot down once I saw Sutton cooing over her newborn at the last Carpenter family get-together. Holding that tiny baby, so full of potential and love… I just couldn’t keep looking anymore.
I got so tired of waiting for life tohappento us. I needed to make something happen. Even if it means spending all of our savings—and then some—to hire a surrogate.
Hailey licks her lips, chewing on the bottom one nervously. “I just wanted to make sure you read my file. The whole thing, but especially the family history part…” her voice, already soft, trails off.
“Yeah,” I say with a frown, glancing at Jameson, who gives me a matching expression.
Hailey purses her lips, opens them to say something, and then shuts them again. Her eyes drop to the table between us. “So, you understand that I don’t have any info from my paternal side, right?”
“Yeah.” Jameson answers this time, but his frown deepens. “Why?”
She meets his eye, pulling her shoulders back. It’s like she’s choosing to be brave, even though she really doesn’t want to. “Because my mother wouldn’t tell me anything about him and I don’t have contact with her—”
“Oh! No, Hailey, I’m sorry. You misunderstood me,” he interjects. “I wasn’t trying to dig. I mean why were you worried we didn’t know?”
She lets out a breathy little laugh. “No one has wanted to move forward once they understood that.” Hailey gives us a forced smile. “I mean, it’s understandable. Surrogacy isn’t cheap and genetics are—”
That strikes a nerve. “People suck. We don’t care. We want a baby, not a thoroughbred. Are you planning to stay in Portland?” I ask, watching the way her eyes brighten. “We’re happy to drive down for appointments and help you with anything you need.
“Actually,” her voice is hesitant. “I was considering renting an apartment in Sugar Creek for the year. I figured pregnancy might be easier if I didn’t have a fourth-story walk-up to contend with. I can work from anywhere as long as I have my laptop, and I think it would be a nice change of pace.”
Jameson glances at me, his right eyebrow climbing a fraction of an inch. I know exactly what he’s thinking, because I’m thinking the exact same thing. We built our own house a couple of years ago, just outside of town. Neither of us expected things to take this long, so we built it with plenty of room to spare. I think of all those empty rooms and the guest bath that hasn’t even been used.
I nod at him. If Hailey wants to stay with us, we could look after her. We’d get to watch the pregnancy progress, and we could make her meals and make sure she got plenty of rest. We could spoil the shit out of her. The mental image of her, full and round with our child… I grit my teeth, shoving the thought way down deep.Surrogate, asshole.
“We have plenty of room,” I say hesitantly. “We wouldn’t ever want you to feel pressured, but you’d be welcome to stay with us.”
“I don’t want to be an imposition.” The words fly out of her mouth so fast they might as well be greased.
“You wouldn’t be,” Jameson says with a frown. His eyes dart in my direction, and I know he’s worried we crossed a line, but I rub his back, fingers and palm tracing the ridges of muscle that runs along his spine. “But like my better half said, no pressure. The offer stands.”
Hailey pulls her lips between her teeth, the wheels of her mind turning behind her eyes. “I’d have to check with the agency. They’re… specific about things.”