Page 42 of Billionaire Hunt

Chapter 9

I was a coward. I didn’t tell Erik how I felt the next day. I didn’t even tell him how I felt the day after that. Instead, I told myself that I would wait until the conversation occurred naturally. But now that I was fully accepting of the fact that I had let Erik into my heart, I was having a hard time not telling him.

Thankfully he didn’t mention the surrogate issue again. And after a couple of weeks, it was almost as if that conversation had never happened. We were back to our normal playful selves.

In fact, I was finishing up his nursery when he came in catching me off guard.

“Hey there,” I said, busily arranging the decorative toys.

He looked around and ran his hand over the crib. He looked contemplative and sad.

“No luck yet?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“None,” he said softly.

“Can’t you just lawyer up and get out of the contract?”

“I could, but that would be messy. It’s not their fault finding a surrogate for me has been nearly impossible.”

“That’s very diplomatic of you.” I didn't know what else to say. I was tense, knowing what was coming up next.

He cleared his throat and leaned his lower back against the crib. He crossed his arms in front of him and said, “So have you given what we discussed any thought?”

I nodded. “I've given it a lot of thought,” I said as I lowered myself to the daybed that sat across from the crib.

“And?” he said, looking at me as if trying to read my eyes. “What did you decide?”

Now’s your moment, Misha. Tell him. Come on. Just spit it out. Tell him no and tell him why you said no. Tell him that you love him. Tell him that you want to be with him. Tell him.

As if knowing my answer was going to be no he turned away and started slowly picking up the baby toys that he had already collected. And that simple motion was heartbreaking. Watching him so carefully and lovingly handle toys for a child that might never exist broke my heart. If there was something I could do to stop the hurt then I would. I hated to see him hurting.

“Yes,” I said in a whisper.

“What?” he said, turning back to look at me.

“I’ll do it,” I said, my voice a little stronger.

“Are you serious? You’re actually going to do it?”

“Yes,” I said softly.

“You’ll be my surrogate?”

“Yes,” I said, feeling my stomach drop and my heartbeat pick up. It wasn’t out of excitement. It was out of fear. What the hell was I doing?

His face instantly transformed. Gone was the weary, guarded expression, in its place was pure happiness. He pulled me up from the daybed and wrapped his arms around me and gave me a long hug. He then looked up and kissed me gently, holding my face between his hands as he did so.

“Thank you so much. Thank you for doing this for me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

I finally felt at peace. I didn’t know what the next 9 months would hold, but if it meant Erik’s happiness, I was willing to face the unknown.

“We’ll set you up an appointment with the doctor. This is so great. The greatest moment of my life.” He stepped back to look at my face and said, “You made this happen. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I also have a request. A minor stipulation.”

“Sure, anything.”

I took a deep breath. “I hate doctors. If I could minimize my visits there..starting with conception, that would be great.”