Page 5 of Royal Surrogate 1
“Hm.” She frowns, obviously unsure of whether to believe me or not. “Where is that accent from? It’s not quite German. Not quite Austrian.” She cocks her head. “Montovia?”
“You’ve heard of it?” I smile. Perhaps this will go better than I thought.
She nods, still frowning. “What is this about?”
“We’ll get to that.” I drum my fingers on the table. “Now, this illness of your father’s…it was an accident?”
Her gaze narrows again. “You know, it’s rude to eavesdrop?—”
“Be that as it may, I am in a position to help you.”
She only hesitates for a moment. “Yes. He and my mother were in a car accident three years ago. She didn’t make it. He wishes he hadn’t.”
“I see. Any other family members?”
“I have a brother.” She cocks her head again. “What is this about?”
“Any mental health problems?”
“Other than him being an asshole? No.”
I nod. “Any cancer or genetic issues in your family?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“Did your mother have any difficulties with her pregnancies?”
“No. This is weird.” She blinks at me a few times. “Why?—”
“And what about you?” I interrupt. “Any pregnancies?”
“No!” Her eyes go wide. “I knew this was a weird sex thing?—”
“It’s not at all, I promise.” I suppose it does seem strange, but there’s really no other way to ask.
“This is really…weird.” She shakes her head. “Anything else you need to know?” She reaches for the money beneath the saltshaker.
I rest my hand on hers, and a warm rush of energy jolts my arm. “A few more things.”
She looks into my eyes—perhaps she’s felt it, too. I can’t imagine she feels nothing after that kiss we shared. But if she feels anything, she doesn’t mention it as she slowly pulls her hand away. “Well, make it quick. I need to get to work. You have no idea what my boss is going to do when I show up. He already thinks I’m late.”
“What is it you do for work?”
“I’m a librarian.” She narrows her gaze again. “It’s a lot harder than you think. I pretty much have to know a lot about a lot of things. I?—”
“I have no doubt that you’re quite intelligent.” After all, she recognized my accent. I’ve found that’s quite a rarity—people can’t place Montovia on a map, let alone identify our accents.
“Hm.” Her gaze narrows again. “So, what’s this all about? You’re asking me health questions, genetic questions… It’s almost as though you’re shopping for a…” Her eyes go wide. “Forget it.”
She stands, gathering her things to her chest before she makes a beeline to the door.
I grab the money from the table, following her out. “You forgot something!” I call after her.
She spins to face me, grabbing the bills from my hand before hastily shoving them in her pocket. “You’ve got some nerve, you know that?”
“Why would you say that?” I shake my head. “I offered you quite a sum of money, only to answer my questions?—”
“You think I’m going to…what? Donate my eggs to you and your partner? Forget it.”