The Cowboy's Baby(13)

Constantly.

Of course, if it had been a while since she’d been laid, Esme always got kind of antsy. She tended to be particular about the men she dated, and even more particular when it came to hopping into bed with someone. One night stands weren’t her thing. Her restaurant shifts usually went too late to allow such a thing anyway.

Even so, she usually found herself woefully disappointed when it came to sex. Perhaps it was just that she waited too long between interludes and found herself painfully unsatisfied when things didn’t meet her expectations, or maybe it was just that her expectations themselves were too high.

Now, sex was pretty much all she could think about.

She found herself eying random men on the street as she ran her errands, thoughts passing through her head so in clandestine that she thought it must be ridiculously obvious what she was fantasizing. Still, she hadn’t been caught yet, so she supposed she should be thankful for that. As the young woman slid into her car, taking a seat behind the wheel, she placed a hand over her flat stomach through the chef’s coat she wore.

It was still hard to believe that she was going to swell up like a balloon. She’d been slender and athletic all her life. Her first nutrition appointment was this Friday, where she was sure she’d be told to give up all the junk food and goodies that she loved in favor of rabbit food. She’d already thrown out all the alcohol in her house, which had been painful enough, but she was pretty sure she was going to fight for her Twinkies.

The appointment would also mark the first time she would see Daniel Hartsford and his girlfriend since the day the paperwork had been signed. The very thought made the young woman’s stomach clench in a mixture of anticipation and uneasiness. It had been bad enough to see the man before her hormones had gone haywire. His crystal clear blue eyes, devastating good looks and southern drawl had done things to her she couldn’t have imagined, and ultimately, she’d been glad her job interview had saved her from spending another moment in his presence.

It was clear exactly how Alyssa felt about Esme eying her man – apart from the woman already being a straight up bitch anyway, she was also possessive – and so, of course, Esme had done her utmost to try and stay out of the couple’s affairs – at least, anything that didn’t involve her carrying their child.

At the doctor’s appointment, however, she’d be faced with their dysfunction again; and more poignantly, she’d be faced with Daniel Hartsford himself. It was already all over the news that the man had decided to have a child via surrogate with his partner of three years, but thankfully, very strict privacy contracts kept her out of the spotlight. It wasn’t however, the threat of exposure that worried Esme the most.

It was the fear that her bat-shit insane pregnancy body wouldn’t be able to keep from jumping his bones on sight – right in front of his girlfriend. Could she help it if the man was a long, tall drink of Texan sunshine? He practically oozed allure – from the Stetson cocked at an angle on his head to the stubble she ached to feel against the more tender parts of her body…

What the hell was wrong with her?

The man was in a happy relationship – well, a relationship, at least – and she was just the surrogate! Was she utterly losing her mind? He was a multi-billionaire who could have absolutely anything he wanted and the only reason she was in the picture at all was because he wanted a child.

She had no business being interested in him, even if her pregnancy body was all for it.

Taking a deep breath, Esme closed her eyes, trying to shut out everything from the way her hormones felt to the thoughts swirling desperately in her mind. When she had the doctor’s appointment with Hartsford and his woman, she would be perfectly cordial. She would nod when she was supposed to and take any abuse the bitch could dish out with a smile. After all, she was really doing this for the baby – for it to be born into a healthy family who would surround it with love and affection.

Daniel, she had no doubt, would love the child with every fiber of his being. It was clear in every glance, in every word, that he wanted a child more than anything else in the world. And why shouldn’t he? The man was getting to the age where the desire for family began to weigh down on one – the do or die period.

Whether Alyssa was on the same page or not…she certainly wasn’t making things easy for Daniel…or Esme. The young woman could only hope that Daniel’s desirable dish came around in time for her child to be born. “Or else your mom might be crazy, little bean.” Glancing down at her stomach in the darkness, she spoke lowly to the miniscule life growing within. The moment after she had, she felt as though she should feel ridiculous for talking to a child that wasn’t even hers. But when the sensation didn’t come, she merely smiled, rubbing her flat abdomen lightly.