Single Dad's Surrogate

by Annie Young

  Lily frowned. “That hurts my heart to hear that Maggie isn't happy all the time, but I'm glad that I'm able to make her smile when I'm here at least. We have to remember that it's only been a year since Caroline passed away. I'm confident that Maggie will come around soon. I'm sure the past twelve months have been hard on her, but I don't think you need to worry. She's a strong girl.”

  Wyatt sighed. “Yeah, you're right. It's hard not to worry about her, though.”

  The two stood silently for a bit, just watching Maggie. Then Wyatt cleared his throat. “Alright, well I'm going to get out of this suit and head upstairs. I might try to sneak in a nap before dinner. Ms. Maggie woke me up ridiculously early this morning and my lack of sleep from last night is starting to catch up with me.”

  “Sounds good,” Lily said.

  Wyatt turned to leave, then glanced over his shoulder. “So just to confirm, you're up for playing nanny for the next ten days, right?”

  Lily nodded excitedly. “Yes, definitely. I couldn't be happier to do it. It's going to be a lot of fun.”

  Wyatt smiled. “I believe it will. I'll see you on Friday then. Let me know how things go as far as getting your shifts covered at work and which of your coworkers I need to send checks to. Thanks again for doing this Lily. I really do appreciate it. Maggie and I both do.”

  “It's no problem at all,” Lily said.

  Wyatt began walking back toward the house. Even though Lily had consciously decided not to see him in a sexual way, she found her eyes dropping down quickly to check out his butt. As soon as she realized what she had done, she looked away.

  Stop it, Lily, she told herself. Yes, he's hot. No, you can't think about him like that, though. Not any more. You already dream about him every now and again. You don't need to be staring at his ass in the middle of the day.

  “Push me higher, Aunt Wiwee!” Maggie said, causing Lily to snap back to reality.

  “Yeah, sorry, I'm pushing,” Lily said. “Hey, did you hear what your dad and I were talking about? I get to hang out with you this entire weekend and all next week while Mildred is out of town.”

  “You do?” Maggie said.

  “Yep,” Lily replied. “I get to be your nanny for ten whole days. We're going to have so much fun.”

  “Yay!” Maggie shouted with excitement.

  This might be the vacation I needed, she thought. I mean, I'll still technically be working, but hanging out with Maggie is twenty times more relaxing than the coffee shop. Plus, with the extra money that Wyatt is paying me, I'll be able to easily pay all my bills this month. That will be nice for a change. It's perfect, really.

  As long as I can keep my eyes off Wyatt’s butt…

  Chapter 4

  Lily

  In the backseat of Lily's car were two suitcases. One was packed with the essentials, like a toothbrush, makeup and perfume. It also had about ten days worth of clothes in it, which was really more like twenty days worth, since she had the tendency to over pack for everything.

  In the second suitcase were some things for Maggie to play with. She had brought board games, kid's movies and had even stopped by the store to grab a few toys for her. Lily wanted this week to be extra special for Maggie and wasn't about to spare any expense to make that happen. In addition to a brand new Lego set, she'd also bought Maggie a stuffed dog and a cute little doll with blonde hair. The doll reminded Lily of Maggie and it even had red bows in the pigtails.

  Okay, she thought, parking her car in her usual spot in front of Wyatt's garage. I'm here. I hope I don't screw this up somehow. I'm not at all worried about taking care of Maggie, but making dinner and keeping the house in order does make me a little bit nervous. I mean I'm used to living all by myself. Now I've got a man and a kid to take care of, too. I guess that kind of makes me the woman of the house, at least temporarily.

  Lily kind of liked the thought of that, but shook it out of her mind quickly. She hopped out of the car, grabbed her suitcases and made her way to the front door. By the time she got there, Maggie was already opening it up for her.

  “Aunt Wiwee!” she squealed. “I heard you pull up!”

  “Hey, sweetie,” Lily said. “Are you ready for me to be your nanny for a week?”

  “Yes!” Maggie said, emphatically. “It's going to be so much fun.”

  “I agree,” Lily said.

  Right then, Wyatt popped around the corner. He was dressed in gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. It looked like he had just recently stepped out of the shower. His hair was still wet and pretty messy, as though he'd just dried it off with a towel and hadn't had a chance to comb it yet.

  “Oh, hey, Lily,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “Did Maggie let you in?”

  Lily laughed. “Yep. She was at the door waiting for me.”

  He smiled. “I told you that she loves it when you're here.”

  Maggie reached up and grabbed Lily's hand. She began pulling on it, dragging her toward the back of the house. “Come play with me. I want to show you a sand castle I'm building on the playground.”

  “Honey, I need to talk to Lily for a second,” Wyatt said to Maggie. “I want to show her around and get her settled in. You two will have plenty of time to play over the next ten days. Why don't you go to your playroom in the basement for a little while and Lily will meet you down there when we're done talking?”

  Maggie hesitantly released Lily's hand. “You promise you'll come play with you're done?”

  “I promise,” Lily said, patting Maggie on the shoulder.

  Maggie's smile returned in an instant. She spun around and made her way toward the doorway that led to the basement

  “She's so cute,” Lily said, watching Maggie until she disappeared around the corner.

  “She's cute and she knows it,” Wyatt said, with a chuckle. “I want to thank you again for agreeing to do this, Lily. It's helping me out more than you can imagine.”

  “Like I said the other day, I'm happy to do it,” Lily said. “To be honest, I'm really glad I'm here right now and not making coffee for grumpy people.”

  Wyatt laughed. “Yes, well, I can imagine that this is a lot more relaxing. To be fair, though, Maggie can get a little grumpy in the afternoon.”

  Lily raised her eyebrows. “Trust me, she'll be nothing compared to some of the soccer moms that come into the shop on any given morning. I've never seen anybody get so upset for having too much caramel in their coffee. It's almost like they'd kill someone for getting their order wrong.”

  Wyatt sighed. “All of these first world problems, huh?”

  “Pretty much,” Lily said.

  “Come on,” he said, turning and walking toward the stairs. “Let me show you the room you'll be staying in.”

  Lily followed him across the main entry way of the house and then up the grand staircase in the center. She only been up there a handful of times and that was when Maggie wanted to show her something in her room. Other than that, though, her time in the mansion had been spent either on the main level, in the playroom in the basement or outside in the backyard.

  They ascended the stairs until they got to the third floor. They took a right at the top and made their way down the long hallway.

  “My room is at the very end,” Wyatt said. “Maggie's is on the left, right over here.” He pointed toward the door on the left side of the hallway. Lily peeked inside, smiling at how girly the room was. The walls were painted pink and all of the furniture was white. It looked like a big version of a doll house.

  “I haven't been up here in a while,” Lily said. “I'm guessing you redecorated Maggie's room?”

  Wyatt laughed. “Yeah, she said she wanted a princess room. I hired someone to do it and this is what they came up with. It's bright, I know. Maggie absolutely loves it, though.”

  “It's really cute,” she said, taking a quick glance around.

  “The guest room is across the hall,” Wyatt said.

  Lily turned around and followed him t
o the door directly across from Maggie's.

  “I had Mildred change the sheets on the bed for you,” Wyatt continued. “There's a walk-in closet and you have your own bathroom as well. Feel free to make yourself comfortable and to unpack. These dressers are all empty for you and are yours to use.”

  “Wyatt, this is great,” Lily said, walking across the floor and toward the closet. She poked her head inside and her jaw hit the floor. The closet alone was twice as big as her bedroom in her apartment.

  “If there's anything you need at all, please just let me know,” Wyatt said. “I'm here to help as much as I can. The next week I've got a lot going on at work, though, so I can't promise a lot of my time. But I want to make this as fun for you as possible, so don't be afraid to ask for something if you need it.”

  Lily turned around to face Wyatt, who was standing in the doorway of the room. “I can't think of anything right now.”

  “Great,” he said. “Oh, I wanted to ask you. What kind of things do you know how to cook? Like I mentioned on Wednesday, Mildred usually does the cooking around here. I'd like you to take on that role like we had agreed.”

  “Of course,” Lily said. “I actually printed up a few recipes at my house that I was going to try. I wanted to make chicken Parmesan one night, maybe homemade pizza another night. Oh, and I was also planning on giving meatloaf a try.”

  “All of that sounds good to me,” Wyatt said.

  “I'll have to go shopping to get ingredients,” Lily said. “I was planning on taking Maggie to do that tomorrow.”

  “Tell you what.” Wyatt crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. “I'll go with you to the grocery store tomorrow. I've got a couple of hours in the afternoon. Would that work for you?”

  Lily nodded. “Yes, definitely. Any time works for me. I'm all yours for the next ten days.”

  She felt her cheeks tingle and she knew she was blushing. Something about that last sentence she said sort of came out weird. She didn't mean anything by it, but it came out sounding kind of sexual for some reason. Luckily, Wyatt didn't even seem to notice.

  “As far as food tonight, there's leftovers in the fridge from the dinner that Mildred made yesterday,” Wyatt said. “Or you're welcome to order a pizza if you'd like. I'll leave money on the counter, so you can do whatever sounds good. There's a Chinese place nearby that also delivers. I'll put there menu out along with the money.”

  “So you won't be around tonight?” Lily asked.

  Wyatt shook his head. “No. I have a gala to attend. It's a meeting of the pharmaceutical minds. Should be interesting. I shouldn't be out too late. I honestly hope to be home by midnight if it all goes as I want it too.”

  “Okay, well I brought some movies and games to keep Maggie and I busy,” she said. “Anything important I should know before you head out this evening?”

  “Maggie's bedtime is eight-thirty,” he said. “However, since it's Friday and also a special occasion with you being here, you're welcome to let her stay up until ten. I'll be surprised if she makes it that long, though. She's usually pretty sleepy before then.”

  “Awesome, well I'll let you get ready for your event,” Lily said. “In the meantime, I'll head down to the basement to play with Maggie like I promised her.”

  Wyatt smiled and reached forward to place a hand onto Lily's shoulder. He gazed straight into her eyes and she felt her knees turn to rubber.

  “I know I've said it a few times now, but thank you a million times over, Lily,” he said. “I can't tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me. It makes me feel so much better that Maggie gets to spend the time with you rather than some random babysitter that I found online.”

  “It's no problem,” she said. “Honestly. I'll do this any time. Don't ever hesitate to ask.”

  Wyatt nodded and lifted his hand from her shoulder. “You have my cell phone number, so please call or text if there's anything you need while I'm out. I'll keep my phone on my the whole night.”

  “Okay, that sounds good,” she replied. “I don't expect there to be any issues, but I'll of course let you know if there is.”

  “Alright, well, the house is all yours,” Wyatt said, as he turned and headed out of the room. “I've got to get changed into something a little more appropriate for a gala. Some how I don't think anybody would approve of me showing up in sweat pants.”

  Lily laughed and watched as he disappeared out of the room.

  This is a dream come true, she thought, glancing around what would be her bedroom for the next week and a half. I'll get to feel like a rich person, if only for a little while.

  Lily headed out into the hallway and back downstairs to the main room. She still needed to get unpacked, but before she could do that, she had a promise that needed keeping. So without any further hesitation, she headed down to the basement to meet up with Maggie.

  Maggie and Lily had spent the better part of the afternoon in the playroom. After several tea parties with stuffed animals and playing hide and seek to the point where they'd run out of places to hide, they headed back upstairs.

  The rest of the day they were outside on the playground. Lily pushed Maggie on the swings and went down the slides with her. They laughed and had fun the entire time. So much fun, that Lily didn't realize how fast the time had flown by. When she checked her watched, she realized it was already almost time for dinner.

  “Hey, Maggie, we should go in and figure out something to eat,” Lily said.

  Maggie agreed and they made their way back into the house. The timing was perfect, too. Wyatt was just about to leave for his gala when they stepped into the kitchen.

  “Hey, guys,” he said, as he clasped his gold watch around his wrist. “Have you been having fun?”

  “Yes!” Maggie said. “We've been on the swings and earlier Aunt Wiwee played tea party with me.”

  “Lucky you,” Wyatt said, turning to Lily and flashing a wink.

  Lily chuckled. “Tea parties are serious business, you know?”'

  “Oh, I know,” he said. “Trust me. I've spent lots of time down there with Maggie having deep conversations over tea.”

  Wyatt was dressed to impress. He had on a sleek-looking, gray suit. Underneath it, he had on a black shirt. The top couple of buttons were undone, revealing just a tiny bit of his chest. A light gray tie was draped over his shoulders, which obviously still needed to be tied. He still looked gorgeous without it, though, and Lily noticed herself giving him a quick glance up and down his body. It was almost as if her eyes had a mind of their own.

  “Are you leaving, Daddy?” Maggie asked.

  “Yes, Daddy has to go to an event tonight,” Wyatt said.

  “Okay,” she replied.

  Wyatt seemed a little shocked by her response.

  “You don't mind that I'm leaving?” he asked.

  Maggie shook her head. “No, because Lily is here.”

  Lily's heart melted and she turned to look at Wyatt. He shrugged and smiled.

  “That's honestly the best thing I've heard in a long time,” he said. “I'm glad she's not upset.”

  Wyatt squatted down and opened his arms.

  “Come here, Mags,” he said. “Give me a hug.”

  Maggie ran over and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly. Lily just watched, admiring the genuine love between Wyatt and his daughter. It always made her feel so good to see how well Maggie was taken care of by him.

  “Alright, well you two have fun tonight,” he said. “I'll be back in a little while.”

  With that, Wyatt left the house. Lily heard the sound of his Lamborghini starting up and listened until the rumbling faded off into the distance. She turned to Maggie and said, “Well, how do you feel about pizza and movie tonight?”

  Lily got her answer when Maggie started jumping up and down in excitement.

  “Pizza and a movie it is,” Lily said, with a smile.

  The living room was dark, except for the flickering television scree
n. Lily had dozed off and opened her eyes right when the movie credits were beginning to roll. She glanced over to the other side of the couch to find that she wasn't the only one who had fallen asleep. Maggie was wrapped in a blanket with her head relaxed onto the arm of the couch. Her eyes were closed and she looked about as peaceful as could be.

  I guess I tired both of us out today, Lily thought, while exhaling a giant yawn.

  After a long day of playing, Lily and Maggie stuffed themselves with pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Then they decided that they'd have a double-feature movie night. Both of them had stayed awake through the first movie, but clearly, they hadn't been so lucky with the second one.

  Lily reached her hands above her head and stretched, then slowly stood up. She made sure that Maggie was tucked in and cozy under the blanket.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” she whispered. “I'm going to go take a quick shower. I'll take you up to your bed in a few minutes.”

  Maggie didn't stir. She was sound asleep.

  Lily admired the girl she'd carried in her womb for nine months. She was so beautiful and so sweet, that it almost made her want to have another one. Although, she told herself that if she ever got pregnant again, it would be with her own child.

  As much as I loved being a surrogate mother, I think I'm at the point in my life where I'd want a kid that I could call my own, she thought. Plus, I don't think I could ever give a child away again. Not after carrying it in my belly for that long.

  Lily knew that the situation she had with Maggie was very unique. There weren't many surrogate mothers who were as involved with the child's life as she was. She was so grateful that Caroline and Wyatt had been open to it. She couldn't imagine how drab and empty her life would feel if she never got to see Maggie.

  She gazed at Maggie's sleeping face for just a moment longer, then headed upstairs to take a shower. Between the playing and movie watching, she had somehow found a few moments during the day to get her suitcases up to her bedroom. They were still unpacked, though, piled up on her bed.

  After a bit of digging, she found her favorite night shirt. It was just a simple white t-shirt with the logo of her favorite band, The Dominions, on it. She'd got it at a concert years before, but it fit well and was super comfortable. It was the perfect shirt to sleep in.