Page 10 of The Wolf's Surrogate

She nodded. “I bounced around in foster care as a kid, so I met a lot of different people. Made a lot of different friends.” The spark in her eyes dimmed slightly. “The boys at the place in New York had a set of dull daggers they liked throwing at a stump.”

“You’ve thrown knives?”

“I like to think I can handle myself in a fight.”

At that, her confidence diminished almost entirely. I reached for her hand, driven to comfort her at every turn. For what? I didn’t know. Maybe it was just my parental instinct kicking in.

She tilted her head back to look at me again, a sadness leveling her golden gaze into burnt ochre. “There’s certainly a lot of survival in me. That’s for sure.”

“That’s a good instinct to have.”

“Is it good enough for your baby?”

I blinked and released her hand. Right, we were still in the middle of an interview. I’d almost forgotten about the entire process while looking into her eyes.

They were that hypnotizing.

After a second, I nodded. “I’m a fighter myself.”

“I’m sure you don’t mean arguments.” Her grin told me she was joking.

I chuckled as I sat back down, feeling a lightness in my heart. “No, I don’t like arguing. I don’t see the point. I like solutions.”

“I think that’s a great attitude to have as a father.”

“Really?” I frowned for a split second, then wiped it away in favor of my usual grin. “I mean, I can always adjust the course if I need to change tactics.”

She sat down and folded her hands together in front of her. “I think that’s an excellent way to do things. Do you like solving problems?”

“I feel like I’m the one being interviewed now.”

“Does it bother you to have the table flipped around?”

There was more of a daring hint to her tone than I wanted to admit. In any other context, it would have been flirtatious. Hell, it would have been the start of a pretty eventful night given how she blinked slowly and methodically at me. Much like a cat having a staring match.

But that kind of hot encounter had to be saved for some other time, some other place.

Some other woman.

I tapped the table rhythmically with my right forefinger. “Like I said, I can readjust as needed.”

“I think it’s important we’re on the same page about this pregnancy. We should be candid about it, right?”

“Absolutely. I think it’s better to talk frankly.”

She gave me a flustered smile. “Would you be open to being present during the process?”

“Yeah, I want to be there every step of the way.”

“Even the ultrasounds?”

I nodded excitedly. “Especially those.”

She grinned. “Great. I think we just have to sign the paperwork from here.”

My muscles felt heavy when I moved. Slow, languid waves warped around me as I moved to the door to call for Patricia. Dreamy as it was to feel satisfied, I knew I had to get my head in the game to accomplish my next task.

Which would be to sign the paperwork without trying to make Anita blush one more time.

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