From the moment Alyssa had caught sight of the picture, she’d been suspicious. Daniel attested that he’d chosen her for her impeccable health record, because she was unattached and independent…
She knew why he had chosen the bitch. Because she was a pretty face and supposedly had a relatively high IQ. She didn’t know what he saw in the woman, but the moment they’d met, Alyssa knew he wanted to plant his seed in a more carnal way.
She’d caught him looking before, and thank God she’d always been there to steer him back in the right direction. Now, he thought he could get smart with her. He thought he could be alone with the woman, claiming it was only for the brat’s sake, and let the fucking surrogate supplant her?
Well, Alyssa had sure showed him exactly how she’d felt about that notion.
The problem was, upon walking out, she realized just how much she’d come to depend on the man. Used to a certain standard of living, she’d run out of the money she’d saved in just a few short weeks and now had few places left to turn. She didn’t dare tell her mother that she was broke now – in the elder woman’s mind, Alyssa was the future Mrs. Daniel Hartford – even though Alyssa herself didn’t ever plan on marrying the man.
Just keeping him wrapped around her little finger.
But now, as loathe as she was to admit it, she needed him. It had been a couple of months, and God knew what he’d been up to with the little piece he’d been trying to run off with, but Alyssa wasn’t too worried.
If there was one thing she’d always been good at, it was manipulating the man into anything she wanted him to do.
And now, she wanted him back.
He was hers, after all. What would a man as emotional – as vulnerable – as Daniel do without her?
**
Daniel tried his damndest to suppress a smile as Esme frowned at the printed image in her hands. It was an enlarging of the latest ultrasound image of the child within her – now six months along – and every time she looked at it, she seemed to be trying to find some unknown object.
He himself was humbled every time he looked at the thing.
He and Esme either went to the clinic or had Amos visit the house every two weeks, and frankly, even though he’d known what to expect, he still found himself in awe of the life developing within her. He watched her stomach slowly swell as the weeks went by, growing until it seemed to dwarf her slender frame.
Of course, there were other parts of her that filled out as well. Her breasts had gone from pert handfuls to spilling out of the confines of most of her undergarments – a fact that she despised but he adored. Her hips rounded out ever so slightly, her thighs softening from their lean musculature as her body gained curves that flattered her figure more, even, than he’d ever imagined they might.
And unlike any woman he’d ever come across, Esme had sexual appetite that rivaled even his own. She had mentioned to him upon several occasions that she believed hormones from her pregnancy had put her libido into overdrive, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. One had to wonder what she’d been like before – because now the woman was like a tiger on the prowl.
The meek figure who’d been hesitant during their afternoon dalliance had completely disappeared and Daniel didn’t think there had been a time since then that she had even begun to play coy. The moment he touched her, she was all over him – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Furthermore, she said nothing about the intensity of his loving. It was something Alyssa had complained about all the time – at least, after the first few months together. He was too rough – too persistent, and she had never wanted to be with him because she was tired of dealing with it. Esme, however, only encouraged the heights of his passion.
Daniel knew that things couldn’t be this way forever –that the further along the young woman progressed in her pregnancy, the more gentle he’d have to be – but at this particular juncture, she wanted him to toss her onto the bed. To bend her over and cleave deep, clutching her to him as he lost his mind in her clenching depths. He, on the other hand, was always concerned that he might have hurt her – or the baby – but Esme had assured him that her moans, her sighs and her screams came from divine pleasure.
It was absolute bliss – to be able to lose himself in her without fearing reproach, or worrying about the argument to come. Once the sexual tension between them had dissipated, he found himself engaged in conversation with her almost constantly – and not once did they ever have an argument. Esme, it seemed, was fairly unconfrontational.
Unless it came to one thing: she wouldn’t sleep with him. When it came to the literal act of lying in bed with him in the wake of their physical intimacy, Esme always made soft but firm excuses, slipping back to her own bed.
It left him feeling bereft – just when he thought he’d begun to get used to sleeping on his own. It wasn’t, Daniel told himself, for any emotional attachment. Rather, he craved the feel of her soft skin against his as he slept. To him, it seemed only natural that she should rest nestled against his side in the wake of their loving – but Esme had her own ideas.
What those ideas were, he had no clue.
All he could do was hide his disappointment when she slipped from his arms every night before lying in the dark, trying to let sleep find him. The rancher was lucky there was enough residual excitement over the development of his child to distract him when the situation called for it.
Every time they spoke with doctors, something had changed. The eyes were visible, they could see limbs, and recently, the baby had begun to move to the point where Esme marveled at its tiny tantrums in her belly. She cited that the baby must be unusually active, tracing her fingertips over the ridge of her stomach throughout the day in observation.
She was beginning to reach the point in her pregnancy when things started to be acutely uncomfortable with women. The amount of weight they’d gained, their efforts to move around when their bodies seemed against them, sleepless nights exacerbated by tiny movements within them; but Esme endured it all with aplomb.
She never complained about her weird cravings or the intense change her body was undergoing. On the contrary, at times, she seemed more concerned for the baby’s safety than for her own. Though she had confided in him that she hated substitutions more than anything when it came to her work in the kitchen, she had cut out several specific ingredients from her cooking because of the potential harm they might cause an unborn child.
She listened carefully whenever the doctor gave her instructions and swallowed ungodly amounts of vitamins and supplements, even though some of them made her cringe at their taste. She poured over the lists of information that had been provided for her by the clinic, careful to make sure that, in everything she did, she committed to the baby’s health first.
While Daniel had never doubted his commitment to his own child, it continually amazed him exactly how dedicated Esme was to her position as surrogate – far more, funnily enough, than the baby’s mother had ever been. She constantly asked questions about different stages of the baby’s growth, if there was anything more she could do to ensure its healthiness.
He caught her sometimes – staring at the ultrasound monitor, looking over her own belly almost fondly as she stroked it. She was caring, kind, and involved – and whether it was out of necessity or a facet of her character, she knew exactly what was needed as a protective parent- whether she knew it or not.
The fondness he found in her expression – when she gazed over her body or beamed at the doctor when he conveyed that she and the baby were healthy – it warmed his heart in a way he’d once wondered if he’d ever feel again.
When Alyssa had left him, Daniel had been ready to accept that he’d never be attached to another woman again. His child would be the first and foremost important person in his life, and he hadn’t the slightest reservation about it.
Now, however, he could feel things beginning to change. Esme was the kind of woman that made a man reconsider his values – everything he thought
he knew about his feelings. And she did it completely effortlessly. She didn’t try to curry his favor, to suck up to him or ingratiate herself. She didn’t try to hold anything above his head, to suggest that she was integral to his life or hold him hostage by his gonads.
She simply was.
She puttered around the house jotting down ideas for her most recent recipe. She fooled around in the kitchen mixing, stirring and tasting – lost in her own little word. As summer segued into fall, she enjoyed hours by the pool, her face buried in various volumes - and all the while, she provided for him without even realizing it. When she made her meals, she always made sure to cook enough for even his gargantuan appetite. She asked what kinds of things he liked so that she could incorporate them into her creations. Whenever he ventured out onto the ranch to work with his cattle, she packed a lunch for him – delicious fare that made his staff jealous every time they caught a whiff. When he asked her to join him on a picnic, an outing, or even just to sit with him as he unwound for the day, she never denied him.
She was there when he needed her to be – with a soft smile, a reassuring word, and some of the most delicious food he had ever tasted. For he, who had never since his mother experienced a relationship with a woman who truly cared for him, it was like she had opened his eyes to things he’d never known existed.
And she did it all just by being herself.
When Daniel was honest with himself, he wasn’t quite sure what to think of her. He desired her -that much was certain. And he was more grateful for her carrying his child than she could ever possibly know. Everything else, however, was mired in confusion. He cared for her.Even if it weren’t for the baby in her belly, he’d still feel remiss if anything were to happen to her.
Then again, if it weren’t for the baby, they would never have met.
The child – the sex of which they’d decided to keep a secret until its birth – was, of course, the inexorable connection between them, and after its birth…he had no idea where they would stand. Esme would most probably want to get on with her life - and the kitchen career she’d always dreamed of.
He only hoped that he could somehow dissuade her from walking away completely. He knew she wasn’t ready for children, and he wouldn’t be so selfish as to expect her to take on his…but to be finished with him? To walk away abruptly as soon as their biological partnership was over? He didn’t know if he could fathom it.
And somehow, he doubted Esme could be so callous.
“He looks funny.” He was drawn back to the present by her soft statement as she turned the ultrasound image she held back and forth in an effort to clarify it. She continued to refer to the baby as a he – convinced that it was, indeed, a boy. He himself would play no favorites, and from the time he’d begun, hesitantly, to call in a decorator to work on the nursery upstairs, he had insisted that everything be gender neutral.
While he’d never take for granted the money that his business made him, when it came to organizing the baby’s room, he was glad he could afford the best money could buy. It would make things a lot easier for him in the long run – and ensure the child’s room had the right feminine touch.
A touch that would, no doubt, be absent for the rest of its life.
“What do you mean ‘he looks funny’?” Daniel hid his heart’s heaviness with a smirk, shaking his head in amusement. “He’ll be handsome and charming. Just like his father.”
“He or she.” Esme shot back with a clever smile, her almond eyes gleaming with mischief. “As you have still yet to be convinced.”
They sat on the front porch of the house, watching the sun sink below the horizon as herds of cattle grazed their way across the land. It was a picturesque sight – one Daniel had always loved – and as he took in Esme rocking back and forth, one hand curled protectively over her abdomen, he knew she appreciated it too.
“Little bean is going to love it here.” She mused, using her bare toes to rock her chair back and forth slowly. “There’s so much space. And you can teach him to ride horses and wrangle cattle,” she cut her eyes at him quickly, “Though maybe wait until he’s about eighteen for the latter.”
Daniel had once come back from a full day out among the animals with a cut lip and a blacked eye from where a cow had gotten the jump on him. Esme had been somewhat shocked at his injury, asking how often such things happened, and he’d been forced to tell her he faced injuries a few times a year. One of the perils of the profession.
Since then, she often looked over him with worry when he left in the mornings, and he did his best to avoid further injury that might further incite her concern. For him, it was commonplace – nothing an icepack and a beer couldn’t fix. Of course, it might be a little harder convincing her of that
“What I could do,” He mused, taking a sip of his Budweiser, “Is teach him or her the business. See if they have a good head for it. Administration has never been my strong suit. A necessity, yes, but to have someone I trust at the helm…that could work wonders. This would, of course, also be after eighteen.” He winked at Esme before setting the bottle aside. “What do you think?”
The young woman closed her eyes with a thoughtful smile. “I think if he’s anything like his father, he’ll be more content on the back of a horse than in a board room, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
For a moment, Daniel was struck absolutely dumb by her statement. He didn’t think he’d ever directly mentioned to her exactly why he didn’t often visit his offices. Which meant that, simply by watching him, she’d discovered the reason herself. And instead of railing at him for getting others to do what he wasn’t comfortable with, she accepted it without a single qualm.
He stared at her gently rocking form, and then at the divine curve of her belly – and in that instant, he envied any man who might come after him. When all was said and done – when he had his child to contend with and Esme walked out of his life, he would have to live knowing that some other man touched her…loved her, and perhaps even slept beside her.
The notion twisted his gut, making him swallow thickly.
He needed to see her again – after all of this. Even if it was just once or twice, in the most casual of environments.
Which was why he needed to speak with her about an offer he’d pondered for the past few weeks.
“Esme?” His voice was quiet as he watched her rocking slow. “Are you asleep?”
“Mm-mm.” She shook her head serenely, deep brown eyes opening to slits. “Just resting.”
He took a deep breath. Of all business decisions he’d made in his career – all the billion dollar mergers and risks he’d endeavored upon, this one made him the most nervous. It would decide whether Esme would remain within his grasp or if he never saw her again.
“Esme, I’d like to talk to you about something important.”
Almost instantly, the young woman was completely awake, straightening with a wince at the soreness in her back. “Sorry, I’m awake. Is it something about the baby? Did the doctor call?”
Like a protective mother hen.
“No.” His lips curved ever so slightly. “The baby’s perfectly fine, I’m sure. Nowhere safer for him.” His expression sobered as he steeled his nerves. “What I want to talk to you about is a job offer.”
Esme arched a brow in surprise before a soft laugh escaped her and she relaxed back into her chair. “Hate to break it to you, Daniel, but my talents don’t particularly lie in cattle breeding and business dealing.”
“Well, I’m sure you could do anything you put your mind to. You’re smart enough, that’s for certain.” He drawled in true admiration, before continuing more carefully. “But seriously…I know where your talents lie. And I know what you love to do. And it just so happens that a restaurant I frequent up in Kinnit is in need of a new head chef.”
Esme froze in her seat, her eyes widening as she stared at him in disbelief. “The company provides nearly all their beef, and I’m a large shareholder in the conglome
rate. If you’d like…I could arrange an interview for you.”
“You’d do that…for me?” The tone of her voice suggested that she was truly surprised and Daniel leaned forward in his chair to fix her with the intensity of his blue gaze.
“Why wouldn’t I, Esme? Anything between us aside, no one could possibly dispute your talent in the kitchen. Your food is absolutely amazing. You deserve a shot at running your own kitchen.”
For a moment, the young woman’s eyes filled with a hope so poignant he felt his own heart seize, before they darkened and she looked away. ”I…I don’t know if I’m ready.”
Didn’t know if she was ready? This was what she had waited for – had worked towards her entire life, and now she didn’t know if she was ready? He could hardly believe such a thing.
“Why wouldn’t you be ready, Esme? You’re an amazing chef who has years of experience. You’re capable of five star work.”
“I…” She appeared to take a deep breath before hauling herself from her chair to begin to pace up and down the long length of the porch. “I just...you’re the only person to ever say that to me, Daniel.” The light evening breeze picked up tendrils of her hair, making them dance around her face. “And it’s not as if I don’t believe you, I swear. It’s just…this is a lot. And all so suddenly.”
“I would think it’s no more difficult than carrying a stranger’s baby.”
The quip made her pause and stare at him for a brief moment before a small smile graced her features. Exhaling slowly, she made her way over to the railing of the porch, leaning against it with one hand on her lower back as she rubbed it gently. “When would this hypothetical interview be?”
Daniel’s heart leapt. She was interested.
There had been no doubt she would be – but being interested and showing up for the interview were two totally different things.
“We could go as early as tomorrow.” He tried not to sound too eager, leaning back nonchalantly in his chair. “We’d drive up to Kinnit, you could have your interview – we do a bit of shopping, have dinner…make a day of it, really.”
The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance Page 10