Page 8 of Royal Surrogate 1
It’s just dinner, I tell myself. And it wouldn’t be the worst date you’ve had this year. I almost laugh at that. Agreeing to dinner doesn’t mean I’m committing to…everything else. And he’s right—this will give me time to think up any other questions I have. Or talk myself out of it once and for all. Worst case scenario, I can just blow him off and go on my merry way, right?
He stops the car right in front of the library, looking at me expectantly.
“Dinner, then?” he asks. “My treat.”
“Okay,” I say. “Dinner.”
I might be a gullible idiot, but I’m not in a position to be passing up a free meal.
And maybe, just maybe, this strange man is the answer to all my problems.
CHAPTER 5
Caspar
I feel as though I’ve been planning for this moment forever. Though it’s only been a few months since I’ve been actively searching for the mother of my child, it feels as though it’s been years. Even with all the cities I’ve visited, the books filled with photos of young women, eager to sell their wombs to the highest bidder… None of them felt remotely right for the job.
It didn’t take long to run a background check on Renae. On paper, she’s perfect—never married, master’s degree from an accredited university, no criminal history, reputable family.
And she’s lovely. Definitely not the sort of woman I’m usually attracted to, but beautiful all the same.
I glance in the rear seat. All the paperwork has been prepared. She’ll only need to sign on the line—and pass a series of genetic tests—and I’ll finally have the woman I need to bear my son.
I can already imagine him in my arms, cooing up at me. I’ll teach him everything I know, and one day, he’ll be the next Guardian of Wintervale, much as I will be. And more than that, I’ll teach him to be a man. To have a sense of purpose, to know he’s needed in this life.
It’s perfect. Everything about this is perfect, from Renae’s appearance to her need for my money. It’s as though the universe conspired to give me exactly what I wanted.
I just need to get her to agree that this is also what she needs.
A bit after half-past nine, Renae exits the side door of the library, exactly where she said she would. She walks over to my car—not waiting for me to get out to open the door for her—and climbs into the passenger seat.
“Sorry I’m late.” She sighs, leaning back into her seat. “My boss is a true douchebag. And the law students are about to graduate, so of course they’re all in there fighting over the…” She glances over at me. “You don’t care about any of this.”
I turn the ignition over, smiling at her before I pull out of the parking lot. “Of course I do.”
“Why would you?” She shakes her head, letting out another heavy sigh. “I didn’t even get a chance to think about your offer today. I’m going to need some time?—”
“There’s no rush,” I say, though it’s far from the truth. Likely for both of us, if what she says about her father is true.
She’s silent for a moment before she turns to me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” I say.
“Really?” she replies with an edge in her voice. “You don’t know me. I don’t know you. You’d really tell me anything?”
“I’ve asked you to give me a child,” I reply. “You deserve to know whatever you like.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Very.”
“You’re a good-looking guy, though. Why not just have a kid the normal way?”
I lift a brow, glancing over at her before turning back to the road. “It would be too complicated.”
“Getting a girl pregnant would be complicated?” She laughs. “They do teach sex-ed in Montovia, don’t they?”
“The relationship part would be too complicated. And the sharing of custody. And the rest of it.”