The Cowboy's Baby(15)

Upon trying it on, she was delighted to find the garment still fit, and for a moment, she contemplated the sweetheart neckline indecisively. She didn’t want to seem like she was trying too hard. What she did want was for Alyssa not to treat her like chopped liver – and perhaps to take advantage of her slimmer figure while she still had it.

If Daniel happened to silently appreciate, well, so much the better. Not that she thought he really would. If he was with Alyssa, Esme was sure he was the type of man to only have eyes for his woman.

After putting on the slightest bit of makeup and wrestling her hair into some semblance of order, Esme was on her way to the restaurant. She tried to ignore the butterflies winging their way to life in her stomach. She was just going to breakfast with the baby’s parents to discuss pregnancy matters. That was all She was more than well-equipped enough to handle this, and she would take their concerns very seriously into account. The meeting would go off without a hitch – and so would the doctor’s appointment Friday.

There was a valet at Reginald’s even at nine in the morning, and though Esme felt rather silly giving them the key to her beat up black Volvo, she did, tipping the young man who took charge of her car before heading inside. All it took was one inquiry of the hostess before the woman was tripping over herself to lead her to a secluded table in the back of the restaurant, away from the breakfast crowds.

For all the positive thinking Esme had done in the car, the sight of the beef baron sitting at the corner table stopped her in her tracks. His tall form was folded casually into the booth, wrapped in a crisp navy blue button-up and dark wash jeans. He was, again, wearing his beat up cowboy boots, but Esme liked the allure they gave him. The man’s Stetson sat on the white tablecloth before him, revealing still damp golden hair curling over his collar. The moment she appeared, Daniel shot to his feet, towering over her at his substantial height. “Esme.” His voice still held all of the tension from the previous night. “Thank you so much for coming.” Even as nervous as the man obviously was, his low, smooth tones were enough to make her shiver.

Esme wrestled with her hormones as she joined him at the table, trying not to salivate as the man’s sleeve stretched taut over prominent muscles when he reached to pour her a cup of coffee. “It’s no problem.” She gave him a smile as wide as she dared. “I know you guys must be really excited about your little bundle.” She glanced back towards where the restaurant washrooms were expectantly. “Did Alyssa just head to the ladies room?”

It was the only reason she could think of for why she wouldn’t be at Daniel’s side, guarding her man with her life.

Daniel cleared his throat as he poured his own cup of coffee. “Actually, that’s what I called you here to talk about, Esme.” The man exhaled hotly, before raising strikingly blue eyes to lock with hers. In the depths of those eyes, Esme caught an edge of desperation before the man continued. “Alyssa is gone. She left about four days ago after a…particularly bad argument. She hasn’t answered my calls and I’m not sure where she is.”

The blow couldn’t have hit Esme harder than if it had been physical. The breath was stolen from her lungs and her head spun as she tried to absorb the gravity of Daniel’s words. Alyssa was…gone? The woman had just walked out on her partner – on the unborn child she had planted in another woman’s belly not three weeks before? Where the hell had she gone? And what argument could have been so devastating as to cause her to storm out?

For a moment, Esme struggled to maintain her composure. What would this mean for her? Would she have to abort the baby? Terminate her contract? She’d hoped that a portion of the stipend she received for her surrogacy would help to keep her afloat while she sought out a permanent head chef position; the job she held now couldn’t last long – that she knew. If she had to find another couple…it would be harder. It wouldn’t be her first pregnancy, so that might be a black mark on her formerly pristine health record. She’d have to go through all the rigorous tests all over again.

Her panic must have shown on her face, for immediately, Daniel’s hand covered hers where it was clenched into the white tablecloth. “Esme, I still want the baby.”

The young woman’s gaze jerked to him in surprise. While she never would have doubted that Daniel wanted the child, wanting one and raising one alone were two completely different prospects. “I still want to go through with this.” He continued in a soft tone, his gaze earnest. “And there’s no reason that I think we can’t. Alyssa…she just needs some time. Hopefully she’ll come around.”