“I like to hear that,” I say, unable to hide my smile. As before, the two of us have instant fire. It is a wonder that we don’t get burned. “But I suppose you want to hear what it is I invited you here for?”
“So much,” she responds, smirking slightly as she does.
“Well, I was going to wait until after dinner, but here it goes. As you know, it was my high-school reunion the other night. There, I was subjected to seeing all my old friends again, and although I feel like I’ve outperformed them in certain aspects of my life, my career for example, there is one thing they have I am missing out on.”
“That was?” She asks, leaning forward. She looks a little confused.
“A family,” I say. “Children to be more specific. Despite everything I have done, everything I have accomplished, I don’t have any children. I have been thinking about this for a while, and after that night at my old school, it confirmed that I do want children. I can’t stop thinking about it. I think it’s about more than just having a kid, too, but having someone to pass on my legacy to. Someone to help grow and see grow. There is something so pure about it, so real. I make movies, but they won’t last. A child will. You see what I mean?”
“Okay,” she says uncertainly, looking at me like she doesn’t understand. “And where do I come in?”
“Don’t freak out, but I’ve been thinking. Well, I’m just going to come out and say it. Carrie, I’d like you to have my baby.”
Chapter 10
CARRIE
“Excuse me?” I say, unable to hide the surprise on my face.
Any game that I have been playing, any attempt to try to assert my dominance has been immediately blown out the window. I have never been so caught off guard.
“Hear me out, Carrie” he hurries, taking my hand. I let him, barely even noticing. I am still in shock. “I am willing to pay you, of course. A rather large sum. And I’m also willing to do anything that is needed to make the process as easy and comfortable as possible for you.”
“Oh, how generous,” I say quietly, still having trouble processing all of this. I’m not even sure if I’m being sarcastic. It’s like a semi-trailer to the face as I work to take in his proposal.
“Look, I may have come off a bit over the top there. I just didn’t know how to say it.”
My face must be betraying my feelings. Blake is clearly aware that he has come on strong. Although, it’s not like there’s a subtle way to tell someone you want to get them pregnant.
“I know that I want a family,” he says. “Not a wife or anything, but a child of my own. And I felt something between us the other night. A spark. And even tonight I’ve felt it. Tell me you haven’t, too?”
I have felt it. Of course, I have. From the moment we met, I’ve felt that spark, and tonight, as soon as I saw him, I could feel that same wave of unbridled enthusiasm hit me. I am able to be myself around Blake like no other man before him. But still. Does that mean I am ready to have his baby?
“I don’t know, Blake,” I say hesitantly. “It’s just that I don’t know you. And yes, I’ve felt the spark, too.” I hurry as I see him about to speak. “But don’t we need more than that?”
“How come?” He responds seriously. “I’m not asking you to marry me. Or even date me. I’m asking you to carry my baby. And like I said, I will look after you during the entire process and make sure that you are paid enough that you never want for money again. I want it to be as comfortable and as little of an inconvenience as possible for you.”
“Such a gentleman,” I say scathingly, not even on purpose. It is just the way he is asking me that makes me feel like a vessel, rather than a person. Sure, he says that he chose me because of the connection between us. But is that the only reason? Or am I just sex to him?
“Don’t get upset,” he says, and I suddenly become aware of the fact that he is still holding my hand. “I mean, it’s not like that. I like you, Carrie, I do. And I will prove that to you every day that you go through this. We will do it together, every step of the way. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think that you were the perfect woman for it.”
“And after the baby is born? What then?”
“You will still be involved as much as you like,” he says, then he pauses with a frown.
“Only I won’t be the mother,” I say, catching on quickly. “You’ll let me see my baby, but I won’t live with you or have any say in its upbringing.”
“Of course, you will,” he hurries. “But not to the same degree that you would usually. You would still be the child’s mother, but I would be the father. The baby will live with me and be raised by me. But you will be able to visit whenever you want, and I will still ask you for advice.” He finishes. “So? What do you think?”
“I think I need to go to the bathroom.”
I pull my hand from his and hurry to the bathroom. I don’t even notice the other people in the restaurant as I walk past them. I have tunnel vision, and I head for the bathroom like a woman on a mission.
I just need some fresh air. Or, unable to get that, some space away from Blake to think clearly. It is all so much and totally unexpected. I never, in my wildest imagination, thought that this is what he is going to ask. It is
