Doctor's Baby Plan: A Doctor's Surrogate Romance (Doctors of Denver Book 5)

by K. C. Crowne

  I explained it to her, filling her in on my decision and how I needed to take a physical before being accepted for the surrogacy.

  Another slow nod. “Alright, so you want to make sure you’re in ship-shape for carrying a baby. We can definitely do that.” She cocked her head to the side, as if seeing something that she hadn’t noticed before. “Are you doing alright?”

  Nothing made less sense than trying to lie to a brilliant woman who’d known you since you were little.

  “I don’t know. I’m on-board for doing this. But at the same time, I can’t help shake the idea that I might have regrets later.”

  “Well, let me ask you this,” she said, her arms crossed over her chest. “Do you want to be a mom? For some women it’s easy to compartmentalize surrogacy – they have the kid and move on with their lives. But for others it makes them realize motherhood is what they’ve really been wanting.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “No way could I be a mom right now. I’m single and I’m working like crazy, and on top of that I’ve got Adam to look out for.”

  “How is the kid, anyway?”

  “Barely a kid anymore. And he’s awesome – good grades, basketball pro in the making.”

  “Good to hear. But let’s talk about this surrogacy thing. It’s no small undertaking. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you, but once that egg is in there, you’re going to be pregnant – along with all of what that entails. Eight months from now you’ll have a beachball under your shirt and ankles so swollen you’re not going to want to even put on a pair of shoes.”

  “You make it sound so glamorous,” I chuckled. “Are you trying to talk me out of it?”

  “Not at all. I just want to make sure you know what you’re in for. Pregnancy’s an amazing thing. I’ve got three kids and each time was special. But you’re not going to be holding that little baby in your arms when it’s all done with.”

  I sighed, wringing my hands together. “That’s the weirdest part. You have this idea of going into labor and dealing with all that pain, and then the reward is this perfect little baby who’s all yours. But for me, it’s going to be a big mound of money into my bank account.”

  “And that can be nice too. But also think about the fact that you’re bringing a baby into the world who’s going to be loved like crazy. After all, people wouldn’t go to all the trouble of a surrogacy unless they’re excited about being parents.”

  Part of me wanted to mention that it would only be one parent. But did that matter? Ryan was ready to be a dad, and there was no doubt in my mind he’d be a good one. Sure, it’d be rough not being able to see my own son or daughter, but at least he or she would be in good hands.

  “You’ll handle it well,” she went on. “You’re healthy, and I’d be all kinds of surprised if you weren’t in good enough shape to carry a baby.”

  “There’s something else,” I said. “While I’m here.”

  “Shoot.”

  I told her about the strange sickness I’d been dealing with over the last week, along with the bouts of fatigue.

  “Hm,” she said when I was done. “Well, considering everything you just laid out, I’m inclined to think it’s nerves. But stomach aches and nausea and fatigue…those are about the vaguest symptoms in the world, and they can mean lots of things. Best course of action is to do your physical and your blood work and see what it brings back.”

  “Sounds good.”

  With that, we went into the physical. Blood work was first, and after that she went through the usual battery of questions. When she asked about my sexual history, however, I froze up. Did I want to tell her that I’d slept with the guy I was planning on doing the surrogacy with?

  Nah – unnecessary detail.

  When we were done, Dr. R had me wait for a little while as she went to get the results of the bloodwork. As I waited, I decided to text Ryan and let him know what was going on, that he’d have an answer very soon on whether I’d be able to carry his child.

  Hey. At the doctor’s now getting my physical. I’ll kept you posted, OK?

  The text came less than a minute later.

  Awesome. Thanks for keeping me in the loop. Hope it’s going well.

  My eyes lingered on the text. It wasn’t anything earthshattering – just a quick response written with his usual professional tone. But as I thought about it, I considered just how good of a guy Ryan was. Funny, charming, smart, and handsome as hell; Ryan was the total package.

  Not to mention that he was amazing in bed. That didn’t matter, of course, but how could I not think about it?

  The guy would be the best dad ever. Sure, I wouldn’t be in the picture, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind he’d love that baby enough for two. A smile formed on my face as I thought about him. If he were to ask me right then and there if I was ready to do this, I surely would’ve said yes.

  Dr. R returned to the room, a strange expression on her face.

  “Uh-oh,” I said, my stomach doing a quick flip-flop. “Is something wrong?”

  “Well, kid, here’s the deal. You’re good and capable of having kids. But you’re not about to be doing any surrogacy anytime soon.”

  I was confused. What the hell did that mean?

  “I checked your bloodwork, Carly. And, well, I’ll just give it to you straight – you’re already pregnant.”

  Chapter 17

  RYAN

  Carly’s text put me in a damn good mood. After what I’d been through with my fiancé, I’d learned in the worst way possible the lesson of not allowing your emotional state to lie in the hands of someone else. When it came to women, I did my best to be cool and composed – the captain of my ship.

  But with Carly, that all went out the window. Just feeling my phone buzz in my pocket with a potential text from her was enough to make my heart skip a beat, and to put a big, dumb smile on my face.

  What the hell was going on with me and this woman?

  I had one more appointment for the day, so I tried to put her out of my head as best I could. As usual, I left my phone in my desk so I wouldn’t be distracted by texts and calls while I was with a patient.

  The appointment went well – just a routine checkup for a mother-to-be – and when I was done, I didn’t waste any time hurrying back to my office so I could see what the news was from Carly. But when I took my phone out of my desk drawer and saw that I’d missed a call from her, my stomach tensed.

  Was something wrong?

  I’d missed a text, too. Without wasting a second, I swiped the screen of my phone to see what it was all about.

  Hey. Are you busy tonight? I was thinking we could do dinner at my place if that works for you.

  While the idea of having dinner with Carly was about the best thing I could imagine, I couldn’t help but notice that she’d side-stepped the issue of how the appointment had gone.

  A shiver ran up and down my spine. I was concerned about the surrogacy, sure, but more than that I wanted to know if Carly was OK. Nightmare scenarios formed in my mind of her going in for a routine checkup and leaving with some kind of horrible diagnosis.

  Dinner sounds great. Everything good? No surprises?

  I stuck my phone into my pocket as I grabbed my things and threw on my coat. The reply came just as I put my hand on the doorknob to leave my office.

  Everything’s good. Seven, at my place?

  I was relieved, but just like with the other text, I noticed right away that she was side-stepping something else – whether there’d been any surprises. Part of me wanted to press and get a straight answer out of her, but I didn’t. Whatever was going on with Carly, she sure as hell didn’t need me getting pushy about it. On top of that, she’d let me know that everything was fine.

  Once I’d set aside my worries, I left the office. I said my goodbyes to the staff as I headed out and checked my watch once I was outside. It was a little after five-thirty, which gave me plenty of time to swing by the store and pick up some wine for dinn
er, then make a quick trip back to the house to change before going to Carly’s. I wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that she’d invited me over to her place instead of coming over to mine, but she must’ve had her reasons. I tried not to drive myself crazy with the possibilities.

  After the store and on the way back to my house, my phone rang with a call from Mum. I pressed the button for speakerphone and set the phone into the holder on my dash.

  “Evening, Mum!” I said, happy as always to hear from her. “What’s the word?”

  “Just wanted to check in with you, kid. Your father is in the middle of making pot roast and I figured it was as good of a time as ever to chat with my favorite son.”

  “Hard not to be the favorite when you’re the only son.”

  “Now, now – don’t you go dissecting my words.”

  I chuckled. “Not much. Just heading to the store to grab a bottle of wine, then off to my potential surrogate’s place for dinner.”

  “Wait, what? How the hell are you going to drop information like that, like it’s no big deal? You’re going to see your potential surrogate? And for dinner? Who is this girl? Tell me all about her!”

  God, where to begin? But I kept myself in check, remembering that I couldn’t tell her all the details about our relationship – such that it was.

  “She’s amazing. Brilliant, beautiful, sharp as they come. And she’s a teacher, too, kind of a mum already. She lost her parents at a young age and she’s raising and taking care of her little brother until he’s off to university.”

  Mom scoffed. “What? Now, Ryan, from where I’m sitting you’ve just described the perfect wife. Why on earth aren’t you dating her instead of doing this whole surrogacy nonsense?”

  “Because neither of us has time for dating, Mum. She’s busy with school and I’ve got the clinic and –”

  “That doesn’t matter. Love is something you make time for, not something you squeeze in between shifts and sleep. It’s the most important damn thing there is!”

  “Alright, alright,” I said. “You’ve made your stance on the subject more than clear. And I hate to break it to you, but that’s not going to happen. The best you’re going to get is an amazing grandson or granddaughter who’s half her genes. And that’s assuming she agrees to this.”

  She sighed. “I still don’t know about all this. You really think you’re going to be able to handle a baby on your own? Ryan, they’re a handful. What’s going to happen when the baby wakes you up for the third time in a night screaming his little head off and you’ve got work the next day?”

  “I can handle it,” I said. “It’ll be a challenge, but I know I can do it.”

  A beat of silence followed. I could tell that Mum was thinking it all over.

  “And now you’re going to this woman’s house for dinner? That sure sounds like a date to me.”

  “Well, it’s not. She had some tests done today to have her cleared physically and psychologically –”

  “Wait, psychologically?”

  “It’s all routine, Mum. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Sure, sure.”

  “Anyway, she had her tests done and she invited me over to share the results. If they all went well, then we might be off to the races, yeah?”

  “I suppose so. Try not to make this date too clinical, kid. At least keep the door open for romance.”

  I was glad she couldn’t see me rolling my eyes. “Yeah, ok.”

  “Because if you’re going to be having a baby with a woman you’ve got feelings for, then you need to tread lightly.”

  I sighed. “Alright, Mum. Talk to you soon.”

  We said our goodbyes and I hung up.

  As I drove, I thought about Mum’s words – “keep the door open for romance.”

  Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all?

  I pulled up to Carly’s house just before seven. On the passenger’s seat was a bottle of red wine, along with some flowers that I’d picked up on impulse at the grocery store. At the time, they’d seemed like a great idea. But now that I was at Carly’s, I worried they might be too much.

  After all, this wasn’t a date. We were two associates chatting, sorting out a future arrangement. It couldn’t be anything more than that.

  But flowers couldn’t hurt, I decided. What woman didn’t like a fresh bouquet for her home? I was sure that I’d know right away if she got the wrong idea about them.

  As I made my way to the front door, I spotted someone out of the corner of my eye. On the porch of the house next door was a middle-aged man dressed in shabby clothes, a heavy, worn-out coat over a pair of gym shorts, flip-flops on his feet. Aside from his coat, he wasn’t dressed for the weather at all. But in his hand was a half-drank bottle of what looked to be Jack Daniels. Guess that was his way of keeping warm.

  His eyes were on my car. I realized right away that my truck, while nothing flashy, was a damn sight nicer than any of the cars in the driveways around me. Not that I cared about anything like that, but it meant that I stuck out like a sore thumb.

  The neighborhood was in a lower income part of town. Just like I didn’t care for Carly driving her run-down car, I also didn’t like the idea of her living in a neighborhood like this. If she decided to go ahead with the surrogacy plan, I’d have to see about talking her into staying with me. Adam could come, too.

  But that was all far down the line. Tonight was about relaxing and talking about what she’d learned. Hell, for all I knew she hadn’t been given the clear by her doctor.

  I made my way to the front door, the man’s eyes moving from my car to me. I had no idea who this bloke was, but I didn’t care for the way he looked at me, his beady little eyes narrowed in skepticism. I decided to make a friendly overture, giving him a smile and a wave as I approached the door.

  He didn’t return it. Instead, he took a swig of the booze right from the bottle before turning and disappearing into his house.

  Weird guy.

  I put that out of my head, raising my fist and giving the door a quick knock. When it opened, Carly blew me away with her beauty like she did every time I saw her.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey.”

  She was dressed in a pair of black leggings that clung to her incredible curves. Up top she had on a comfy looking sweater, the fabric draped over her full breasts. Her curly red hair was tied into a ponytail, a light amount of makeup on her face.

  “Sorry about not dressing up. I, um, had a little bit of a day and kind of just wanted to be comfy.”

  “No complaints here.” I held back that it didn’t matter what the hell she wore – Carly could’ve been dressed in a sack with holes in it for her arms and legs and still would be about the sexiest woman I’d ever seen.

  My words put a small smile on her face. “Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself. Anyway, come on in.”

  She stepped aside and I entered past her, my cock twitching a bit at her scent.

  The house was modest. The living room was small, big enough for a standard set of furniture, the back opening into a tiny but sparkling clean kitchen. To the left up ahead was a hallway, and I guessed the bedrooms and bathrooms were just beyond.

  It was hardly a mansion. But it was clean and well-kept, and while I could tell that Carly didn’t have much, what she did have, she took impeccable care of. There was no doubt that she cared deeply about making sure the home was a decent place for her little brother to live.

  “It’s not much,” she said as she shut the door and led me further into the living room. “But it’s home.”

  “It’s cozy,” I said.

  She chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Nothing. I like that using the term ‘cozy’ as a euphemism for a cramped little house is a thing they do in New Zealand, too.”

  I laughed. “I’m serious – it’s a nice place. Back when I was growing up in New Zealand, our childhood home wasn’t much bigger than this. And the place I h
ave now, damn, too big.”

  “That’d be a nice problem to have,” she said with a smile. “How about this – we can swap.”

  “You agree to do this surrogacy and I just might consider it.” I was joking, but as soon as I said the words, I realized that they might’ve been too soon. “Sorry, didn’t mean to pressure you.”

  She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m sure it’s been on your mind and I’ve been kind of vague about it.” Carly’s eyes flicked from one of my hands to the other, from the bouquet to the wine. “And I didn’t even thank you for what you were nice enough to bring over.”

  “Oh, they’re nothing,” I said. “My dad told me when I was younger to never show up to a beautiful woman’s house empty-handed.” Whoops; so much for not flirting.

  But the red tinge that appeared on her cheeks let me know she appreciated the compliment.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I mean it. Here, let me put these in water.” She reached down and took the flowers out of my hand then went into the kitchen. “Have a seat – I’ll bring a glass.”

  “A glass?” I asked. “Don’t you want some wine, too?”

  She said nothing, pursing her lips as she fetched a clear, glass vase from the cupboard and filled it with water. Then she plopped the flowers into it, spreading them out a bit before setting the vase on the small dining table. Once that was done, she plucked a glass from another cupboard and brought it over to me, along with a wine corkscrew.

  “Go ahead,” she said. “Don’t wait for me.”

  “Carly, is everything alright?” I asked. “You didn’t get any bad news, did you?”

  She dropped down onto the couch, her eyes fixed ahead in a thousand-meter stare.

  Something was wrong. Forgetting all about the wine, I sat down next to her and placed my hand on her upper back.

  “Whatever it is, you can tell me. It’s OK.”

  “It’s…it’s not bad news. Truth be told, I’m still processing it.”

  I said nothing. Eager as I was, I didn’t want to rush her.