by Simply BWWM
“I do watch cooking shows, and now you know that I’m even more of a geek than you thought I was to begin with.” He laughed and she shook her head.
“I think it’s great that you have taken such an interest in it. I like cooking, but I’m just not good at it. I guess I haven’t spent too much time at it, but I do make really good banana pancakes and I like to do that on the weekends when I’m being lazy and indulgent.” She laughed a little.
He watched her, studying her and grinning as the vision of her walking around her kitchen on a sunny weekend morning making banana pancakes formed in his mind. “What’s that like for you?” he asked curiously, almost wishing that he could join her in that indulgence.
She shrugged as she rested her hands on the counter of the island and faced him where he was standing across the island from her, leaning his back against the other counter with his hands slid down into his pockets.
“Oh, it’s peaceful and fun. I play old jazz music, you now, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Satchmo, Duke Ellington… and I make fresh ground coffee and open up the windows and the curtains when it’s nice, and I take my time making banana pancakes from scratch. I enjoy the effort and time I put into it, and when I finally get a plate of hot buttery pancakes, it’s absolutely worth it. I love it.” she laughed again and saw that he was enraptured by what she was telling him.
“That sounds like the perfect weekend morning to me.” He shook his head and smiled widely.
She shrugged. “Well, I’ll have to have you over for pancakes one of these weekends. With the warm weather coming up this summer, we’ll have time to enjoy it outside. I have a patio by my garden that’s really sweet. I think you’d enjoy it.”
“I’m sure I would.” He watched her happily, lost in the moment they were sharing, and her wide smile slowly brought him back out of his reverie and to the present with her. “Well, we’ve missed pancakes this morning, but we’re ready for dinner tonight!” he chuckled softly as he turned to the stove.
“It smells amazing in here. I’m not sure what you cooked, but I can tell you right now that I already like it!” she closed her eyes and breathed in the scent.
“It’s braised beef tips with fresh vegetables in a savory broth. I cooked long grain wild rice and mushrooms to go with it, and I made a salad. The salad came from the garden in the back. The garden is by the hen house.” He nodded out of the back windows and she looked over to where he was indicating and laughed out loud.
“You have chickens?” she gasped in delight.
He nodded. “I have chickens. I like fresh eggs, and they’re very sweet.”
She couldn’t begin to wrap her head around him. A good looking, single, sweet, thoughtful, billionaire computer genius who loved to cook and had chickens in his backyard. “You are an anomaly, I think.” She smiled as she shook her head, thinking of it all together.
He looked up at her curiously. “Do you think that’s a good thing?” It almost felt to him as if he was holding his breath while he waited to hear her answer.
“I think it’s a very good thing. This baby is going to have a wonderful home with the best father. You’re perfect for this. You really are.” She gave him a sweet and earnest look and he blinked and had to look away from her, feeling emotion rise up in him.
“I’m glad to hear that. Taking on the role of fatherhood on my own is going to be a big enough challenge. I will hire a nanny to help me, but still, choosing to be a single father is one of those things that takes a serious commitment, and I’m willing to make it, but I have no doubts whatsoever about the sacrifices that I’m going to be making with that choice.” he took a breath and turned his attention to the dinner in the oven, pulling it out carefully and setting it on the stove.
“Is there anything that I can help you with?” she asked, watching him.
“You could take the salad out of the refrigerator.” He suggested as he lifted the table ready ceramic pan from the larger pan that he’d been cooking the meat dish in.
She opened the refrigerator and gasped with a smile at what she saw. “This looks almost exactly like mine… I mean, as far as what you buy. Don’t you love goddess dressing?” She looked over her shoulder at him and he nodded.
“I do, would you grab it please? And anything else in there that you’d like.” He carried the ceramic dish to the dining room and set it on the dining room table.
She walked in with the salad and he went back to the kitchen for the rice and mushrooms. “Can I get you anything to drink?” he asked. “I have everything.”
She asked for lemonade, and he was delighted that he had some of the best lemonade that she had ever tasted. They enjoyed their meal, talking and laughing, and sharing each other’s company. She told him that his cooking was incredible, and he replied that he couldn’t wait to try her banana pancakes.
When the meal was over, she helped him with the dishes and just as they were finishing loading the dishwasher, she stood up and gasped, her hand flying to her belly as she stared straight ahead of her.
His eyes grew wide and he went right to her. “What is it? Are you alright?”
She lifted her eyes and looked up at him in amazement. “I’m not sure, but I think the baby just moved!” she whispered.
He gaped and laughed, looking from her face down to her belly where her hand was set. “Really?” he whispered in reply, and she nodded slowly.
“Yes… it’s still… yes! It’s moving!” she laughed and smiled in wonder as she felt the butterfly turning beneath her palm. “Give me your hand!” she said without hesitation.
He did, and she took it and placed his palm snugly against her belly. They waited a few moments, and to their wonder and delight, the little one beneath his hand moved and turned, and he felt it lightly under his touch.
“That’s… that’s amazing!” he laughed and gasped, as he looked up at her. “I can’t tell you how excited I am that it happened here with both of us tonight. It… it means so much.”
“It does to me, too. I’m so glad that you were able to be part of that.” She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He hugged her tight in return, and when slid his arms away from her slowly, he paused to kiss her cheek. Her skin was warm and smelled again of spring, and as he moved his mouth from her cheek he found that her lips were so close and inviting that he wanted to kiss them as well. Without a thought to it, he brushed his lips against hers gently, and then pressed them there again, softly and slowly, feeling her kiss with his.
She kissed him in return, stunned that he was kissing her at all, but discovering to her surprise that it was sweet and warm, and she wanted to kiss him back. He closed his arms around her, bringing her to him as their kiss grew deeper, and for a moment they both lost themselves in each other, but then something in the back of his mind clicked, and he remembered that she was hired to have his child, and their business relationship should not experience anything beyond friendship. He was worried that he was taking advantage of her, and taking his liberties a bit too far.
Cameron pulled away from her and released her from his embrace, lowering his arms to his side as he looked away from her and spoke quietly. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have done that. I guess I got caught up in the moment.”
She caught her breath and tried to slow her heart from its fast pace. “I understand. Don’t you worry. It was a special moment, and that was a nice way to see it past. We’re fine.” She gave him a smile and a nod, and he smiled back at her in earnest.
“We really are.” He agreed whole heartedly.
Chapter4
He visited her the following Saturday morning to enjoy banana pancakes with her. She cooked for him and he helped her, singing along with her as the old jazz played in the background. They laughed and had fun, and when the lazy morning was over, the coffee and the pancakes were gone, they went to a local farmer’s market together to go treasure hunting for fresh fruit, vegetables, honey, and flowers. They spent most of the
day together and they loved sharing their time.
A week after that he invited her to go with him for a walk through Golden Gate Park as the weather was perfect, not too hot, with a nice breeze. She had told him that she wanted to get more exercise, and he thought that the walk was a good way to do it. They talked as they had begun to do all the time, about every subject that could be talked about from their childhoods to their favorite movies to their views on different aspects of the world. They agreed most of the time, and when they didn’t they were both interested to hear the other’s perspective and reasoning for their positions.
They had begun texting each other almost daily, each of them was glad to hear from the other, and here and there they shared a phone call. Their friendship was growing strong, and both of them were enjoying it enormously.
At five and a half months she went in to see her doctor for a checkup. He did a sonogram and printed it out for her. She could see the baby’s head and hands and that was about all, as it was curled up most of the time.
Dr. Clayton looked as handsome as ever, and was glad to talk with her while she was his captive audience.
“I can tell you you’re having a girl.” He announced with a smile, and she felt her heart lurch a little as she bit her lip with concern. He saw it and tipped his head a little, curiously.
“What is it?” he asked with a genuine tone of interest.
“Oh,” she sighed, “the father of the baby is hoping for a son. He’s actually got his heart pretty set on it. He wants an heir.”
Andrew Clayton frowned and leaned toward her. “Well, that’s not good. I think a daughter would be just as equal an heir as a son, don’t you?”
His eyes were steady on hers as they talked. She felt that she could trust him, and that gave her some relief.
“Well, I agree, but he’s the one who hired me to carry his child. He’s the one who’s going to be the parent, and he has been very specific about having a boy.” She looked at him with disappointment.
“Andrew crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, if it’s a girl and he doesn’t want it, what are you going to do? Will you keep it and raise it? I’ve talked with Cameron Elliot, and you’re right, he is bent on having a boy. I think he’s so determined to do it that he isn’t going to stop until he gets one.”
She thought then of the woman who she had met in the waiting room at that very same office. Eva Cruz. The beautiful lady from South America. The other one who was pregnant with Cameron’s baby, and who was also a patient of Dr. Clayton’s. She was going to ask if she could know what Eva was carrying, a boy or a girl, but then she remembered that Eva was a month behind her in her term and they wouldn’t know yet. She was also fully aware that it wasn’t any of her business and that Dr. Clayton probably couldn’t break his patient-doctor confidentiality.
“I don’t know what will happen. I guess I’ll have to talk to him and see.” She sighed and frowned as she rubbed her belly, feeling sorry for the poor little girl in her who might not be wanted because of her gender.
Andrew reached over and patted her hand. “Well, whatever you decide to do, I fully support you. I know you’re a good woman, and you’ll make good decisions for this baby.”
She nodded and smiled at him. “Thank you, Dr. Clayton.”
He kept his hand on hers and leaned a little closer to her. “Please, call me Andrew.” He hesitated only a moment then as he watched her. “Have you… given any more thought to my request to you? Have you considered going out with me for dinner at all? I don’t want to push, but I also don’t want to let you get away. You’re a wonderful woman, and if there’s any chance at all with you, I’d like to try.”
Andrew gave her a winning smile and she laughed a little, her apprehension fading. “I understand, and thank you, it truly is very flattering, especially because I’m getting such a big belly on me now, but I have to tell you that I still think it’s not the right time for me. I do know that you want to, and if I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”
“Okay, as long as I’m on your radar somewhere.” He gave her a wink and left her in the room. She picked up the sonogram print out that he gave her and stared at the pictures. They were pictures of her and Cameron’s daughter, though there was no way to see that in the images that he gave her. She chewed on her lower lip, coming up with a plan.
Patting her belly, she said quietly, “We’re going to keep you a secret little one. He can’t see from these pictures, and you and I aren’t going to tell him yet. We’re not going to tell him unless he brings it up and asks, and then we will, but hopefully between now and then I can convince him that it doesn’t matter if you’re a girl. Then everything will be alright.”
She drove to his office after her doctor appointment and went up the stairs again. The receptionist waved hello to her and told her to go on in. Cameron was happy to see her, coming around his desk to hug her warmly.
“So? How did it go?” he asked, anxious to hear the news. “I was thinking that if it’s alright, I’d like to go with you one of these times.”
She nodded and smiled, thinking that she was lucky that he hadn’t been there that day, or he’d already know that it was a girl, and she needed time to convince him that gender didn’t matter.
“It went really well! The baby is growing just as it should, and it’s healthy. I’m doing well, although I’m measuring a little bigger in the belly than most women at this stage, but that’s fine. Part of that is where the baby is sitting, so I looked bigger than most ladies at five and a half months.” She laughed and patted her round belly.
He shrugged. “I think you look beautiful, don’t you worry at all about that.”
She held up the sonogram for him to see and he came to stand next to her to look at it. His hand drew near to hers as she was showing him the outline of the baby and explaining to him what he was looking at.
Jasmine could feel the heat from his body against her and she could smell the clean fresh scent of him. Every one of her senses became heightened, and she wanted to turn to face him, but she knew that if she did, she would want to be nearer to him, to kiss him, and she knew that that couldn’t happen.
He brushed her hand with his and felt a tingle go through him. He wanted to hold her hand, and wanted to take her in his arms, but he told himself that he had no business thinking of her that way. She was the surrogate mother of his child, and nothing more.
“That’s fantastic.” he said, stepping away from her just as she turned to look at him. Her eyes met his and his breath caught in his chest. Looking away, he walked back around to the other side of his desk and took a seat. “I love the photographs, and I’m so glad that all of the news is good about the baby.”
“Yeah, I am too.” she said, suddenly feeling bad that she had wanted to kiss him a moment earlier. She realized that it must just be the hormones that she was feeling and she told herself that all she needed was some fresh air and she’d be alright.
“Well, I should be going. I know you’re busy here, and I have some errands to run before it gets too late,” she said with a casual voice and a wave of her hand.
He agreed, waving and smiling at her. “That sounds good. Thank you for coming in today. I’ll see you soon.”
She left with a smile, and she sighed and closed her eyes as she rode the elevator down to the first floor. She knew that she had to stop thinking about him that way. It had become an uncertain navigation for her, as their friendship grew and so too did her thoughts about him as a man rather than as a father. She pushed them away every time they came up, but they were coming with more regularity, and when he stood as near to her as he had in his office minutes before, she tended to forget that they were business partners first and friends second.
Two days later she got a call from Cameron, and she was thrilled to hear from him as she hadn’t heard from him since she had left his office and she wondered if he had felt the awkwardness that had come over her during their visit.
“I hope I’m finding you at a good time. I had an idea and I was wondering if you’d be willing to do something for me. I’d consider it a big personal favor, if you wouldn’t mind.” He sounded slightly apprehensive, but very determined.
She laughed and smiled. “Of course, whatever I can do for you, just name it.”
“Well, after looking at those pictures that you brought in, I got to thinking that it would be nice if I could have a professional photographer take some maternity photos of you while you’re pregnant. My son might want to know someday what his mother looked like while she was pregnant with him, and I know it would mean a great deal to me just to have the documentation of the pregnancy for photo albums and years to come. What do you think? Would you mind if we did a photo shoot for the baby with a professional photographer?” he sounded so hopeful.