Oh, well…for a moment, she’d thought that a billionaire sexpot had been attracted to her. A girl could dream, she supposed. Taking a deep breath, Esme bent over her paperwork to sign the next nine months of her life away. There were few better things she could do, she supposed, than helping someone have the child they so clearly desired.
Daniel desired.
Tearing her eyes from his long, lean form, the young woman glanced at her watch, her eyes widening. It was almost two in the afternoon. She had an interview at the new Brazilian place in town in under an hour and she was severely overdressed. Leaping to her feet, she struggled to make her excuses. “Carmen, Daniel...I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have an appointment I have to get to. If all the paperwork is in order…” She trailed off, looking first to the facilitator and then to the man that inadvertently made her womb clench in longing.
“Well…certainly…if everything is signed…” Carmen trailed off, looking to Daniel for confirmation. “Daniel, did you have any other questions for Esme before she has to run? Pressing questions, of course. You two will be in contact very soon.”
“Just one question.” The man’s thick southern drawl had Esme swallowing thickly as the man’s gaze swept over her from head to foot. He was, she reminded herself, only looking at her as a means to an end – the container in which his child would be grown. There was no appraising here, only rational assessment. “Would you call yourself an emotionally driven person, Esme? Someone prone to quick changes in ideas or decisions?”
It was on the tip of the woman’s tongue to answer in the negative. She considered herself very contemplative – and while her emotions could drive her to split second reactions she later regretted, she had never made a decision in the heat of the moment that had come back to bite her. In an instant, however, she saw the underlying question Hartsford was asking her – what he really wanted to know.
And that was whether or not she’d grow attached to the child inside of her. He was asking if she thought she might change her mind –fall in love with the baby she’d carried in her womb and refuse to give it up.
A small smile curved Esme’s lips. For her, babies weren’t in the cards. She planned to have a thriving career one day, doing what she loved. Travelling the world, from kitchen to kitchen, and conquering wherever she went. In that scenario, there was no room for husbands, let alone babies. In so far as being a surrogate went, she thought of it as duty and duty only – and it would delight her to tell Daniel that there was nothing that could take his child away from him.
“Mr. Hartsford, I consider each decision carefully before I make it. And having my own children is something that has never even occurred to me.”
Instead of smiling at her answer, however, the man only arched a brow in surprise. “You’ve never even considered having children? Not at all?”
“Never.” Esme’s voice was firm, and above all, completely honest. “This child will be yours, and yours alone. I guarantee it.”
**
Sitting on the front porch of the main house, Daniel gazed over the expanse of his property. Only weeks before, winter had reluctantly relinquished its hold on South Dakota and the snow had thawed. Now, it was warm, all the plants were flowering, and the thousands of animals on the immense ranch were allowed to roam freely – save a few prized steers and his own personal stallion.
He watched a group of at least a hundred cattle graze their way across the immense field before him under the light of the setting sun and felt more content than he had in a long time. Though he might be a successful businessman, this was where he was king. His ranch. His home.
Soon to be the home of his new son or daughter.
The thought made Daniel’s heart swell. For at least the past decade, he’d found himself alone in bed at night and pondered what it might be like to feel the downy head of his progeny against his chest. Other men might want to run free and sow their wild oats even into their later years, but all he had ever wanted was a family, for as long as he could remember. He was so indebted to his own family for believing in him enough to take the steps that he had to become the man he was.
Besides, he’d done just about everything else. He had more money sitting in the bank than he knew what to do with. In the process of establishing his business, he’d travelled to over twenty different countries, meeting and interacting with all kinds of people. He’d rubbed elbows with princes, presidents and prime ministers, and overseen meetings where millions of dollars were at stake.
But at the end of the day, he was happiest at home – surrounded by his own land, situated in his favorite chair on the porch with a cold beer in his hand.