The Surrogate's Secret (6 page)

Sometime later, Miguel caught up with her at the hospital and heard the good news. Rafael would be released soon. Sheri, finally able to relax, eased into the chair and nuzzled and crooned some of his favorite songs to her sleepy boy.  The distressing particulars of the morning, pushed to the back of her mind, stayed away until Miguel reminded her.

He stood across the room, hands on hips, voice firm. “Sheri, we have a lot to discuss. Will you come out to dinner with me tonight? Then, when I pick you up, I’ll bring my suitcase so after we eat, we can go straight back to your apartment.” He must
have read the look on her face, because he added with less confidence. “Unless you’d rather we spend the night at my hotel?”

An
eruption began forming in her stomach before she felt it appear on her face. Uncontrolled words spewed from her mouth. “No. I won’t have dinner with you.” She hissed the words at him, trying not to wake the sleeping baby. “And there is no way in the Kingdom of all that is Holy that you will you be staying with me in my apartment, spending the night, doing God knows what!” The sound she made resembled a sigh mixed with a groan forced through a tight throat. “Look, when you coerced me into marrying you, not once did you mention the rules of this arrangement. I know it’s the twenty-first century, and that girls today are promiscuous and take sleeping around in their stride, but I don’t. I would never sleep with any man unless…” She lifted her hand from where she’d been caressing Rafael’s head and stuck out her index finger. “One, I’d have to believe I loved him. Or two.” Now she added another finger. “I’d have to be drunk as a skunk.”

His smile was slow to build, but when it did, she had to catch her breath.
God! That face and those eyes
…
damn and double damn! Concentrate, his lips are moving.

“Which were
you
? In love or drunk?” he asked.

Busted!
Sheri sighed deeply
.
She spoke without taking her eyes away from Rafael. “Miguel, I know we’ll have to come to some arrangements for the future, but right now, all I want to do is hold my little man here and later get a good night’s sleep. There’ll be no ‘tickle and slap’ until we know each other a whole lot more, and I like you a whole lot better. Capisce?”

“Si. All I ask is that you give us a fair chance to make this union a success, for the twins’ sake, if for no other reason. Just so you know I find you very attractive. I’ll be the best husband I know how to be if you’ll only be up front with me about your wants and needs. For now though, I do agree with your edict. Our agenda will be to discover more about each other.”

The fact that she got her way so easily made the tightness in her body uncoil and she calmed down. “It’s a deal. I promise to think over what you’ve said. I have a lot to do in the next while so, don’t rush me. Give me space to breathe. Let me assimilate everything that’s happened.”

He nodded, and came to lean over her. He reached his big hand and gently cuddled the sleeping
infant’s face, which had a much better color. Then Miguel turned so his lips were inches from Sheri’s. Staring into her soul, he whispered. “You make beautiful babies. Thank you.” Hesitation lasted a few seconds and then he lowered those devastating lips to hers.

Weightless, her neck fell back while pressure from his mouth gave him entry. His tongue worked magic with her shyness until she joined in his game. Heat rode up through her chest, hit her breasts and then slammed back down to bypass her stomach and settle between her legs. She peeked to see his long eyelashes resting on his cheek, sighed and fell back into wonderland.

Rafael’s murmur broke them apart, and they both glanced down to see his gray eyes watching. He smiled first at his mother, and then aimed that beautiful grin at Miguel.

One minute she was in the man’s arms, smelling his special scent of sexy masculinity, and the next minute she
was staring at the door closing silently behind him. Before he’d turned away, she’d caught a glimpse of glassy eyes and a face full of love as he’d returned her son’s smile. 

“Rafael
, my beautiful boy, I think your big strong uncle is a mushy fake and a truly certifiable kisser. Maybe life in Chile won’t be so bad after all.”

***

Waiting in the living room, Charly pounced when Sheri arrived home.  “You went through with it. You’re married.” Charly spat the words out and pointed at the thin gold band on Sheri’s left hand, third finger. 

“Don’t start on me. I told you, I had no choice.”

“Don’t give me that. There’s always a choice.”

“Not when it comes to my son’s life. He needed that operation, and I didn’t have time to hold up a bank or sell my body.” Sheri caught the flash of humour
Charly couldn’t hide. “Don’t be mad at me, my friend. I couldn’t take it right now. I need your sympathy and support.”

“I can’t help being angry. What am I going to do without you guys around? I’d already started sorting out my things to move into our new house. Now, I find out I’m losing you altogether. What am I gonna do?”

“Sell that damn book you’re working on and get a fat advance. Then come halfway across the world and look us up.”

“Could do that I suppose, but in the meantime, I’d better not be in the same room with that bastard. I’d want to rip his throat out for taking my family away.”

“He’s really not that bad, Charly. In fact, before Rafael’s operation, he’d treated me very kindly.”

Charly
’s tone hardened. “Setting you up for a major fall, the creep.”

“No. I think his mother’s health worried him to the point where he’d felt forced into coercing me to do what he wanted.
”

“To get those babies, you mean. Listen, my girl, don’t let your smarty-pants notions rule out your common sense. He came here wanting his brother’s child, and now he has both of them. Watch your back, Sheri. What if you’re the odd
woman out? What if he’s taking you because he has no choice? Does he intend to keep you?”

“For heaven’s sake
Charly, don’t make me play the devil’s advocate here. Most of the time, I’m madder than hell at the guy and you’re forcing me to stick up for him!”

Sheri stuck her face close to her friend’s and saw the guilty expression before
Charly could hide it. “You’re doing it on purpose, playing the old reverse psychology, you conniver. God, I’m gullible.” Sheri fell back against her well-worn sofa in a huff.

Charly
pointed at Sheri’s childish hairstyle. Her raised eyebrows started them both laughing. “My friend, you have some huge ballitos.” At Sheri’s questioning look, she added. “I’m practicing my Spanish. And don’t change the subject.”

“I never said a word. And what is the subject?” Sheri’s knew her expressive eyes smiled even while she forced her mouth into a straight line.

“I have to know.  Girl, whatever possessed you to wear your hair like a teenager and no make-up?”

“I guess my smarty-pants
pissiness overrode my common sense. I don’t know. It just seemed to fit the occasion at the time. You know he brought me a lovely bouquet of pink magnolias all wrapped up in baby’s breath and bows. They smelled heavenly. Then he made me mad so I threw them in the garbage.”

“Yeah? So where did you get that fantastic bunch of flowers I saw you
sneak into the kitchen when you came in? You know the pink ones with the baby’s breath?

“Oh. You saw me, did you? Funny thing. I went back a little while later to check the bin, and there they were. Couldn’t leave the poor things to rot away now could I?”

“You slay me, you sucky. I’ve never known you to stay mad at anyone for longer than it takes you to put yourself in their place. I’m
so
going to miss you.”

“Don’t try and weasel into my good
graces with your butt-kissing, Charly. Just sell that damn manuscript.”

Lack of organization, one of Sheri’s worst traits, slowed down the moving process. In fact, it got so bad everything would’ve come to a halt if not for Charly. Super quick on making decisions, her logical mind overrode much of Sheri’s dithering and procrastination. Full days of visiting Rafael at the hospital had to be cut back to half a day so Sheri had the time required to argue with her ruthless packer. Charly’s ‘Get rid of this shit’,” became one of her most hated phrases. 

During these gruelling days, she saw very little of
her new husband. They would relieve each other at Rafael’s bedside, but without their actually meeting. Where he tended to be wrapped up in business during the days, Sheri, sometimes with Charly and Carrie-Anne, would spend those hours with the recovering infant. Once Rafael went down for his afternoon nap, they’d head back to the apartment to get to work, and Miguel would arrive to cover the night shift.

Finally,
this evening, everything wound down. She had time to think and her thoughts went directly to Miguel. Unable to understand her longing to see her husband, she put it down to not being comfortable with the whole outdated, ridiculous scenario. Hell, if anyone had told Sheri in advance that she’d marry a man from half way around the world, whom she neither knew well nor loved, she’d have offered to make them an immediate appointment with a reputable shrink.

T
hen again, who would have believed she’d end up the mother of twin babies? Add in the facts that there wasn’t a father in the picture and that she would soon be moving thousands of miles from her home and it boggled the mind. She stood still, contemplating for a minute and then gave it up. Life sprung surprises. Maybe that’s what made it exciting.

She picked up Carrie-Anne and smooch
ed her neck, enjoying her daughter’s giggles of delight. “Beddy-byes for you little girl. Since Auntie Charly isn’t here to hassle your poor old mom, I think I’ll have me a nice long, hot bath and an early night. What do you think? Mommy deserves some spoiling, right?” Her little angel cocked her head to one side and gave Sheri the adorable open mouth gummy smile that had the power to twist her into a marshmallow.

A
knock at her door interrupted. She held Carrie-Anne over her shoulder and headed down the hallway. Surrounded by the sweet smell of baby power, Carrie-Anne lay contentedly in her mother’s arm, her rosy cheek on her mother’s shoulder. The child’s hair, a halo of golden softness curled around her face, giving her such an appealing look that Sheri had to stop and kiss the plump cheeks before another knock reminded her where her she’d been going.

“
Charly, I thought--”

“You were expecting
Charlie?” Miguel’s rough voice startled her, made her jumpy.

“Actually, no. We’d packed up the van earlier and decided tomorrow would be soon enough to haul the last of the boxes to where I’m going to store them.” She stood in the middle of the doorway blocking his entrance and
wearing a silly grin. Now why in the world did seeing him please her so much?

He stood in front of her and grinned back. Neither moved until Carrie-Anne decided enough was enough. Past time that the big dude paid some attention to her, she reached out her chubby hand toward him. It caught his attention and Sheri watched his whole face undergo a metamorphosis from flirty to
, well enchanted. She’d seen it happen before. Her daughter had a coquettish way of enthralling adults and used the charming card whenever it suited her purpose.

The pizza box he’d been holding
, wafting with delicious scents got exchanged to her for her daughter, who, by leaning toward Miguel, showed clearly her decision to trade places. Both little arms extended while her tiny hands opened and closed. He hurried to accept their invitation.

Almost as if she knew she belonged, the baby first stared into his eyes, smiled her delight and then laid her head on his chest and sighed. Her thumb made its way home
, straight into her mouth.

Perhaps Carrie-Anne’s instant
acceptance or maybe her innocent trust brought the yearning to his features. Sheri couldn’t tell because Miguel soon hid his face against the baby’s curls to conceal the look in his eyes. All she knew was she had a lump in her throat big enough to make swallowing difficult and a few more pieces of the ice encasing her heart peeled off.

“Come in,” she said, stepping back and out of his way. “How did you know I hadn’t eaten yet?”

“I just took a chance. When I talked to you earlier, it sounded like you had so much on your list of things to get done, I didn’t know if you’d take the time to fix yourself a meal. I won’t put up with you starving yourself. My mother would have me drawn and quartered.” His smile mellowed his words, and the offhand kiss he placed on Carrie-Anne’s cheek melted Sheri’s instant animosity.

“Can you stay and share this with me?” She waved the large box between them.

“I’d like to if it’s okay. I figured you’ll be having some questions by now, and it’s easier to talk face to face than over the phone.”

“I do have questions, lots of them. I’ll put Carrie-Anne in her crib and dish up the pizza. Make yourself at home.”

“Look, why don’t you set up the food and let me deal with this angel? I promise not to drop her.” Can a grown man well over six feet beseech? He could and did.

A
nervous giggle broke out before Sheri even knew it had formed. “Sure, go ahead. She’s all ready for bed. I’ve fed and bathed the little monkey as you can tell by looking at my wet clothes.”

She hadn’t meant to bring his attention to her silky blue blouse now plastered to her lacy bra.
Seeing his eyebrows rise and a dangerous smile appear, she quickly lifted the box to cover herself. Flustered, the nerves in her lower body began a dance of delight.  To get both their minds back on the matter at hand, she cleared away the dryness in her throat and said. “Her crib is in my bedroom next to my bed, and there’s a pink fuzzy blanket folded on the end that you’ll need to give her, the one with the satin edging. She likes to cuddle the woolly part and rub the sleekness over her face.”