Page 14 of Royal Surrogate 1

I blink at her a few times. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected her to jump into my arms, as excited by the prospect of our new partnership as I am. But I must admit, part of me was hoping she’d show a little more…enthusiasm.

But I can’t have her back out of our arrangement now. I’ve worked too hard to find her.

She pulls her hand from mine before she stands. “Can you take me home now?”

“Of course,” I say, standing to face her. I’m not sure what it is, but I don’t really want the evening to end. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t already imagined her lying naked in my arms, and I’m more than happy to begin our courtship tonight if she’s willing. “Or we could go somewhere more private. Get to know each other a little better?—”

She interrupts with a bitter laugh. “I think not.”

The feeling in my chest is odd—almost as though I’ve been stabbed. This must be what it feels like to be rejected, I think. Rejection isn’t something I experience very often—if I can’t win a woman over with my charm, I only need mention I’m a Montovian royal to get her into my bed.

Is that what I want? I suppose I’d assumed we’d spend the night together—it wasn’t anything I’d planned out in advance, but it’s just the logical ending to an evening such as this one.

She must see my wounded expression. “You don’t get told ‘no’ very often, do you?”

“I can’t say that I do.”

“Hm,” she says, giving me another wry smile. She places her hands on my lapels, pretending to straighten my jacket. “I only have one thing to say to that, Lord Caspar.”

“And what is that?” I’m not certain what it is about this woman, but my cock is already hard at the placement of her hands, and I can only imagine what they’ll feel like on my bare skin.

“You’d better get used to it.”

CHAPTER 10

Renae

TEN DAYS LATER

My head is still spinning from my unexpected agreement to be Caspar's surrogate a mere ten days ago. So much has happened since our chance meeting in the diner. I still can’t quite believe I’m doing this.

Earlier this week, I was approved for a leave of absence from my job. I probably should just bite the bullet and quit, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. It’s a safety net. Something stable and normal I can run back to if this all goes wrong—which it very well might.

I passed Lord Caspar’s required genetic screenings and medical exams, which means this is happening. I’m going to carry his baby. I might be the biggest idiot on the planet.

Or maybe, finally, I might be a girl who just caught her first lucky break in a long, long time.

Taking a deep breath, I walk into my dad’s room.

He’s still in bed, his eyes closed, so I move quietly to my usual chair on the far side of the bed, near the window. This facility was the nicest state-run care center I could find, but even with the touches I’ve added—fresh flowers every week on the dresser, a woven rug for the floor, and of course plenty of photos—it still feels far too sterile. I’m not sure it makes a difference to my dad, who prefers to tune out as much as possible, but I’d like to think it does something, even if he won’t admit it.

The TV is still on, broadcasting a news channel at a volume so low I don’t even notice it at first. I grab the controller and turn it off.

Almost instantly, my dad’s eyes open. “I was watching that.”

“So you did hear me come in?” I lean over and flick a lock of hair away from his brow. He turns his head in my direction, almost smiling. He’s having a good day, then.

And I’m about to make it even better.

“I have news,” I tell him.

“You finally told off that jackass boss of yours?”

“I wish.” I’ll admit, before asking for leave I had some fun fantasies about marching up to Donald and giving him some brilliant “I quit” speech, but I ultimately decided against it, just in case. “But trust me, this is better.”

His eyebrow rises, and he must hear the excitement in my voice because there’s a glint of curiosity in his eyes. This is more life than I’ve seen in him for a long time.

“I didn’t want to say anything until I had all the details sorted out,” I tell him. “But remember that new treatment I told you about? The one developed by Dr. Seidel?”

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