Page 58 of Geordie

“Shit, Molly, just say it.”

“I told him you were living with Geordie MacTavish and that you're planning on having a baby on your own.”

“When did you talk to him?”

Her eyes narrow, screwing up her face in concentration. “Two, maybe three days ago. It wasn't a long conversation; he said he was getting ready for a business trip.”

That's why he showed up at Dalliance offering to have a family out of desperation, not that he discovered any latent fatherly tendencies. And I was considering his proposal.

“Are you mad at me?”

“No. He needed to know that I've moved on.” I pull the laptop into view to check if any results have come back. “Look, we have some hits.”

Molly leans in to get a better view of the screen. “Why don't any of these matches have a photo?”

“I'm looking for an anonymous sperm donor. They don't show you a picture, only the relevant information about them like physical attributes, blood group, genetic testing, things like that.”

“This is no better than sticking your hand in the bag and pulling out a name or, in this case, a profile. Does the sperm guy donor get to know anything about you?”

“No, he'll be notified if I use his sperm, but nothing else.”

“I don't understand why you're allowing a third party to select your baby's daddy. I mean this guy, Hank,” she says as she jabs a finger at the screen, “if that's his real name, is 6'4", brown hair and dark brown eyes, a software engineer with an MS in Applied Math. I know he looks good on paper, but he might be hideous with a horrible attitude.”

She's right. There are pages of potential applicants with the genetic material I need. At least I'd like to know if the donor has a nice smile.

“That's exactly why you're here helping me.” I click another link. “This bank collects physical characteristics, and they are required to submit an essay about themselves, their personalities, family history, and take a personality test. I can view all the information they've gathered. This bank also includes photos of them as a child, and I can listen to the donor's interview.”

Molly grabs for the popcorn bowl, pulling it towards her. “I don't know about this. There's no substitute for getting to know the man before his sperm swims up your fallopian tubes to find the golden ticket.”

I frown at her, but I can't say she's wrong. “That would happen in an ideal world, but there's no one I can ask to do this for me. Even if I found someone through a friend's distant cousin, that person could reconsider and want to know my child, and that could get messy. I don't want the man who's donated sperm to have a say in my child's life. The man needs to be anonymous.”

She places a protective hand over her belly, as if to shield the child she's carrying from my outburst.

I huff a sigh, tired of explaining. “Molly, this is my decision. You said you'd support me.”

“Of course I'll support you. You're my best friend. Do you think I'd let Harv help you pick potential daddies? He'd select men that fit his characteristics. I can see Harv as a grandpa, bouncing a little facsimile of himself on his knee.”

I giggle at the picture. Harv would have the baby in a chef's tunic, holding a wooden spoon before the child could walk. I scroll down to the bottom of the long information-filled page, searching. “There's another feature of this site I forgot to mention. They have a photo-matching service. After I select a few profiles, I give them a list of what physically is important to me, like height, weight, eye color, and give them pictures of what I prefer.”

“Anyone?”

“I guess,” I say, distracted. “I haven't researched this part of the service yet.” I click the link to open the page.

“Lily, look at me!”

My gaze snaps away from the screen. “What?”

“Name four really hot guys.”

I stare at her.

“Now!”

“Regé-Jean Page, Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, and Sam Heughan,” I say, spilling out a hunky Hollywood list of A-list leading men.

“Really? Is that your list?” She shakes her head. “You never had a type.”

I grin. “What can I say? I like men. I can rattle off a few more if you like.”

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