Page 46 of A Really Bad Idea

“Oh, yeah. It’s definitely a good thing.”

He opens the back door of the car and stands there as Salvatore welcomes me into the lobby, and he waits as I call the elevator and eventually get in. Even as I enter and the doors close, Christian is still standing there, waiting and watching.

Now, in the safe space of the elevator, I place my hand to the spot where his lips just kissed me. It wasn’t even a real kiss, yet it did more to ignite my body than any kiss I’d ever had in my life.

“That is a really bad idea.”

I pick up a pair of topaz heels and grimace at the price tag. I place them back on the shelf. “You’re right. Nine hundred dollars is ridiculous for a pair of shoes.”

Beth and I are shopping at Bloomingdale’s on my lunch break. According to her, blue is the in color this year, and she is on a mission for a hot summer sandal.

“I’m not talking about the shoes. I’m talking about you and Christian having a baby together.” She points a Vince Camuto wedge at me, waving it in the air.

I grab the shoe from her and give it an appreciative once-over. “These are gorgeous!” One look at the price tag on the bottom has me handing it back to her and turning to continue my perusal of the luxury shoe section.

Beth is quick on my heel—pun intended. “Meadow, you and Christian having a baby together is a recipe for disaster.”

I do a one-eighty and look her dead in the pale blue eye. “Do you think we’d be bad parents?”

“Bad parents?” she mutters. Then, she closes her eyes and shakes her head a few times, her blonde tresses whipping her in the cheeks. “No. You’d make great parents.”

When Christian and I agreed to each tell one person about our plans, I immediately thought of Beth. Now, I’m wondering if she was the right person to tell.

“Then, what’s so wrong with it?”

She drops her shoe-filled hands with an exasperated sigh. “Nothing. Everything. Have you even discussed how complicated this will be?”

“We’ve discussed it, and we’ve both decided that the time is right,” I explain, watching her perfectly lined eyes roll.

“That’s it? You decide you want to have a baby, and poof, you have one with the first man who says he’ll give it to you?”

I can feel my jaw hitting the marble floor. “I’m going to try to not be wildly insulted by that comment.”

When Beth texted that she would be in the city and asked to meet up, I jumped at the invitation. While I take my breaks in the office, I was looking forward to talking to her in person.

I’ve been keeping this colossal secret to myself for over a week, pondering every outcome and biting my thumbnail as I scour the internet and medical journals on anything that discusses the psychology of two friends having a baby of convenience. Turns out, there’s not much out there.

I was hoping Beth could give sage motherly/sisterly/best-friendly input, and knowing she’d have concerns, I tried being nonchalant in my delivery of the news. I’m now realizing she must think I’m being a two-bit ditz.

“That’s not what I meant … entirely.” She puts the shoes on the shelf and walks up to where I’m standing. Her features soften as she sets a hand on my shoulder and speaks in a low tone, “Listen, I’m all for doing what you want with your body, but admit this is crazy.”

I fall back with an exaggerated sigh and hit the back of my head against the shelf. “It is. It’s insane. I’ve talked myself out of it and then back into it a hundred times already. I know it worries you for all the right reasons, but I promise we have thought this through. It’s happening.”

“How exactly is this happening?”

“The conventional way,” I say.

Her pale blue eyes bug out of her head. “You don’t understand how this is going to get complicated?” she says in a whisper-yell.

“It’s foolish to go through a medical procedure when we can just … you know …”

“You probably won’t get pregnant on the first try.” She crosses her arms in front of her cashmere-clad body.

“I’m a nurse. I’m well aware,” I deadpan.

“So, it could be months. Years.”

There’s a line forming on her porcelain forehead. I would bring it up, but she’s already upset, and I decide not to aggravate her more.