Donna Alward - Secret Millionaire For The Surrogate

Which was an out-and-out lie.

“Well, he seems very happy with what you’re doing.” Adele reached over and touched Harper’s hand. “As we are. We’ll never be able to repay you.”

Harper smiled and turned her hand over, squeezing Adele’s fingers. “So you’ve mentioned a time or two.”

“Sorry. I know I probably go on a lot.”

“It’s okay.” Harper withdrew her hand and dipped her tea bag up and down. “I know you’re excited, and I want you to be a part of this pregnancy, every step of the way. It’s all good.”

Except Adele had a tendency to hover a bit, and Harper wasn’t sure how to deal with that. With understanding, surely. She’d rather bite off her own tongue than hurt Adele’s feelings. Adele was the sister she’d never had.

They took their tea back out to the deck. The sun had dipped behind the mountains, the air cooling. Once Harper and Adele returned to the table, the discussion morphed into things to do around town, and some of their favorite outdoor activities and spots.

“Of course, Harper has to be extra careful now,” Dan said, aiming a smile in her direction. “Precious cargo and everything.”

Harper shrugged. “I do, but the exercise is still important. I still love going out in the mornings and getting some sunrise pictures. I can do some cool things with the lighting.”

“Surely you don’t go alone, though,” Adele offered, sipping her tea. “I mean, anything could happen. The wildlife alone...”

Drew stepped in. “I’m sure Harper takes proper precautions. She’s not naive, after all. She’s been doing this a long time.”

She appreciated the support and it annoyed her at the same time, as if he felt he had to speak for her when she could obviously speak for herself. Still, she didn’t want to upset Adele and Dan. “I am careful,” she replied. “And there’s no reason why I can’t maintain my regular schedule for months. I do intend to work right up until the date.”

“Even wedding bookings?” Dan asked.

She shook her head. “No. I’ll book until I hit eight months. I don’t want to disappoint any brides. And once the baby is born, I’ll take a few weeks off to recover and then get back to it.”

Once the baby was born. It was a weird thing to think about. In reality, she was just the incubator. But there was no way she would come through this without having some emotions about it. She was going to feel the baby kick. Bring it into the world. She figured getting back to a regular schedule would be important.

“Still,” Adele said quietly. “You won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“Of course not.” She knew the stakes. She’d willingly accepted them when she’d offered to do this. “I’ll be careful, you know that.”

The mood had dipped a little, so Harper drank the last of her tea and stood. “And now, I’ve totally overstayed my welcome. I should get home. Thanks for having me over for dinner...again.”

“How are you getting home?” Drew asked.

“Oh, walking. It’s not far.” She laughed. “Nothing’s really far in Banff, you know?”

“I’m going back to the hotel. I’ll walk with you, if it’s okay.”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.” Harper’s place wasn’t exactly on the way to the Cascade, but it was only a small detour. She couldn’t really say no, not after the nice toast he’d given. But she wondered why he’d want to. She didn’t think it was to be gentlemanly. Drew might look all casual and laid-back, but Harper got the impression that everything he did had a purpose behind it.

Dan got up, too, and started gathering glasses. “Didn’t you rent a car, Drew? You usually do.”

“I did, but it’s being delivered to the hotel tomorrow. The one I wanted wasn’t available until today. Besides, it doesn’t hurt me to walk.” He looked over at Harper and smiled. “Not when the scenery is so beautiful.”

Harper wasn’t sure if he meant the town or if he was turning on the charm like he had at the wedding, so she ignored the comment and made her way to the door.

The night had cooled enough that Harper wished she’d thought to bring a sweatshirt, though her intention had never been to stay this late. Trouble was, Adele was a wonderful cook and Harper got tired of eating alone all the time. Now that she was pregnant, Dan and Adele tended to stay a bit close, but she understood. Adele was understandably living vicariously through Harper’s experience.

She hadn’t counted on Drew being around, though, or offering to walk her home. She put her hand on her tummy for a brief moment, wondering what he really thought about the situation. It might be a good litmus test to find out how the rest of his family would react when they found out.

She tucked her hands into her hoodie pockets and looked over at him. “So I guess you were pretty surprised by the news, huh?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I felt something was off, the way you and Adele seemed to talk in abbreviated sentences. So I came right out and asked Dan.” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “This is a huge thing. I can’t believe they asked it of you.”

She smiled then. Was that his issue? In that case, she could set his mind at rest. “They didn’t ask. I offered. Actually, I offered on the night of their wedding, not long before you and I danced. Adele is the best friend I’ve ever had. When I found out that she’d left Dan all those years ago because of her infertility, I knew I wanted to help. I told them that this would be my wedding present to them.”

Harper herself was what her mom called a “miracle baby,” having been adopted since her mom couldn’t have children. Being able to help a family—particularly someone she loved—was fulfilling.

“Carrying a baby is a heck of a wedding gift,” he remarked.

She started walking again and shrugged. “It’s only for a few months out of my life, so why not?”

She saw him shaking his head out of the corner of her eye. “Not many people in this world are completely altruistic. But I can’t seem to come up with a way that this benefits you. I mean, it can’t be the money.”

“No, you’re right. It can’t. Legally they’re not allowed to pay me and since there’s no fee for health coverage... I’m not making a penny off of this, Drew. I hope you didn’t think I was.”

His brow furrowed. “It crossed my mind for a minute or two.”

“Then clearly you don’t know me very well.”

“I apologize,” he said quietly. Then he looked over at her as their shoes made soft footfalls on the sidewalk. “I still find it hard to believe you’d go through something as life-changing as a pregnancy out of the goodness of your heart.”

She laughed. “Life-changing as in the morning sickness, weight gain, swollen feet, stretch marks, and other things I have to look forward to?”

Drew’s voice was soft and hesitant in the semidarkness. “Well, wouldn’t you want to go through those things for your own kid, rather than someone else’s?”

“Maybe. Someday.” She couldn’t keep the wistful note out of her voice but hoped he didn’t hear it. Someday certainly wasn’t today and she wasn’t sure it would ever be the right time. She tended to go on first dates, but not so many second or third ones, and she’d never had a real long-term relationship—not that she’d ever admitted that to anyone. She was twenty-eight years old, had had exactly two sexual partners, and wasn’t confident that she’d ever have that life-partner-and-kid thing.

She had thought it—once. The attraction had been instant and had swept her off her feet. It had been a magical month of bliss on Caicos, an utter whirlwind that carried her away. Jared had pulled out a ring as they walked the beach beneath the stars, and she’d accepted, a 100 percent buy-in to the fairy tale. A week later he was gone, with nothing but a note explaining he’d gotten caught up in the moment and it had been “fun.”