The Surrogate's Unexpected Miracle

by Alison Roberts

  The thought was terrifying. The need to escape was fortunately easy to act on—at least temporarily—by excusing herself to change and feed Jamie. There was no way she was going to do that in front of Marco. He wouldn’t look disconcerted at catching a glimpse of her breasts, the way Luke had that first time. He would probably revel in it.

  Panic nipped at her heels as she dealt with Jamie’s nappy. It wasn’t until she had settled against the pillows of her bed and the hungry cries had been replaced with the contented sounds of sucking that she was able to let go of some of the horrible tension in her own body.

  She stroked Jamie’s cheek with a gentle finger and felt her determination take root and grow.

  There was no way she would let Marco take Jamie away from her. She would fight with everything she could muster.

  Luke would help.

  Or would he?

  Maybe he was looking so furious because he had to wait to go through that offer on his property with Mike. Was he impatient to sign away any links with his past so he could move straight onto his exciting—unencumbered—future?

  It suddenly became harder to hold onto the shreds of confidence that she could win the new battle that had appeared in her life. She didn’t want to face this without the support that Luke could provide.

  He hadn’t even left the country yet but, already, she was feeling more alone than she ever had before.

  Alone...and frightened.

  The fear became strong enough to make her gasp a moment later, when Marco stepped into her room.

  She didn’t want to disturb Jamie or give him a fright by moving suddenly. She could only try and protect herself from the appreciative leer she was receiving by tugging her shirt to cover more of her breast.

  ‘Just thought I’d pop in and see if you’re ready to start talking,’ he said.

  ‘You need to leave,’ Ellie told him. ‘If you want any access to Jamie, you’re going to have to go through the courts.’

  ‘Ah... Ellie...’ Marco lifted his hands. ‘Don’t be like that. We used to be so close. You and Ava and me... We were such good friends.’

  ‘Ava was my friend,’ Ellie said. ‘I never liked you that much, to be honest, Marco. Maybe I knew you couldn’t be trusted.’

  ‘Maybe I couldn’t be trusted because I was with the wrong woman.’ Marco stepped closer to her bed and that was too much for Ellie. Jamie had to be close to the end of his feed now but even if he wasn’t, she couldn’t sit here feeling so exposed and vulnerable.

  She wanted to call for Luke. Where was he?

  Marco saw the way her gaze slid towards the door.

  ‘I told him I was going to the loo.’ Marco smiled. ‘He’s finding us a beer. Nice chap...’

  Ellie was on her feet now. Putting Jamie on her shoulder, she tried to adjust her clothing before Marco could see anything more but the way he ran his tongue over his lips suggested that he’d already seen enough.

  ‘We could make this work, Ellie,’ he said. ‘I’ve always fancied you—you know that. And now we’ve got a kid together...’

  ‘Get out,’ Ellie snapped as fear morphed into anger. ‘Leave us alone.’ She pushed past Marco as he reached out to touch her. She could hear his chuckle as she raced back towards the kitchen.

  * * *

  He’d never seen Ellie look like this before.

  But Luke couldn’t ask what had just happened to make her look so angry because he had Mike standing right beside him, reaching for one of the bottles of beer he had put on the outside table.

  ‘Don’t mind if I do.’ Mike grinned. ‘Although you might want to find some champagne soon, mate. You’re going to want to celebrate, believe me.’

  Mate?

  He wasn’t Mike’s mate.

  And he most certainly wasn’t Marco’s mate. He scowled at the man sauntering in Ellie’s wake. The sooner he was gone, the better, but he needed to find out just how much of a threat he posed to Ellie. And it wouldn’t do any of them any good to antagonise him.

  Yet.

  ‘Nice house,’ Marco said. ‘Not sure where you fit into the picture here, mate, but I’m sure Ellie will fill me in. Won’t you, sweetheart?’

  Luke’s gaze clashed with Ellie’s.

  Sweetheart?

  ‘Hey...’ Marco seemed oblivious to the tension around him. ‘Maybe I could stay for a while? You know...to get to know my son?’

  ‘No.’

  Luke and Mike and Ellie all spoke at precisely the same time. There was a moment’s surprised silence then. Marco just grinned and shrugged. Then he stepped forwards and helped himself to a beer.

  Ellie sank down on the bench seat at the far end of the table. Jamie seemed to be asleep but she clearly didn’t want to put him into his bassinet or pushchair.

  Mike seemed to feel obliged to fill the awkward silence. Or maybe he just couldn’t wait any longer.

  ‘You’ve got to have a look at this offer, Luke. The buyers are heading to Europe in a few hours and they want this signed and sealed before they take off, which is why they’ve put their best offer on the table. And it’s a doozy...I’ve never seen anything like it.’

  ‘You’re selling up?’ Marco took a swig of his beer. ‘Hey, maybe I’d be interested. Looks like a great place to raise a kid and—bonus—the mother of my child is already living here.’

  ‘It’s not for sale,’ Luke snapped. He caught the look of horror on Mike’s face. ‘Yet,’ he amended. And it never would be to this person, he added silently—even if he could afford it. The thought of Marco being here, with Ellie and Jamie, was...well, it was disgusting, that was what it was.

  An image came to mind of bringing Ellie here that night. Of her standing in his kitchen, the overlong arms of his jumper dangling as she hugged herself.

  And another one, of how they’d made that first bed for Jamie in the old drawer.

  They came thick and fast after that, as if a cork had been pulled from a bottle. Images that came with embedded emotions. Sensations, even...

  That night that Jamie had been born and he’d sat on the end of her bed and realised how courageous Ellie was. That chin tilt that was so revealing about her determination to face a future when she had nothing more than her own courage to rely on. He’d seen it again, the night of the fire, when she’d been knocked back to square one all over again.

  It didn’t matter how big whatever she was facing was. Now he could see her pulling that very first weed out from between the paving stones of this courtyard, her eyes shining with the prospect of taking on the impossibly big task of taming this whole garden.

  The way that white tee shirt with the bird and the hearts had been streaked with dirt. Nothing on how grubby she’d become out in the vegetable garden that day, mind you...and how incredibly delicious and sexy had that made her look?

  Luke reached for a beer himself, to try and distract himself from this flood of memories but it didn’t help. The taste of the beer only brought flashbacks of the pleasure it had given him, coming home to the food Ellie had so generously prepared so often.

  That joke about how silly it was to ask whether he was hungry or not.

  A joke that she’d used to let him know how much she wanted to go to bed with him but he’d seen through the bravado. He’d known how much she wanted it, but he’d also known how nervous she was.

  Stop, he told his brain.

  Just stop...

  But how could it, when that memory rolled inexorably into the next? The sheer bliss of making love to this woman...

  It hit him with such a jolt that he almost choked on his mouthful of beer.

  He might have convinced himself that the kind of love he felt for Ellie Thomas was the kind that came with family or friendship but he’d been in denial, hadn’t he?

  He w
as in love with her. Totally and absolutely in love with her.

  The one thing he’d never intended to happen—to have someone in his life that could potentially be left hurt or abandoned. And it wasn’t just Ellie. There was Jamie as well. The baby with the most heart crunching smile ever. A baby he couldn’t bear the thought of being another man’s child.

  Marco’s child...

  Luke tried to tune into the conversation that was going on between Mike and Marco but it was only a blur of sound.

  It wasn’t just Ellie or Jamie or Marco, Luke realised.

  This was actually about himself. About the small boy inside the man who had learned not to get attached to anything or anyone because it was inevitable that whatever was important in his life would get torn away from him.

  The Gilmores had changed that because they were so determined.

  He had learned to trust them.

  But he’d learned to trust Ellie, too, hadn’t he? Enough so that he had opened his heart to her and shared the sad story of his childhood and the fears he had of ever having a family of his own.

  And hadn’t he just reminded himself of how determined a person Ellie was?

  Facing a future as a single mother.

  Picking herself up after the disaster of the fire.

  Tackling this huge garden bit by bit until she’d triumphed to the point of those rows of baby vegetable plants that she would never see turn into food that could grace platters on this old table.

  Ellie wasn’t joining in the conversation here, he noted. She was sitting silently, rubbing Jamie’s back gently. Her head turned towards the pushchair nearby and Luke knew she was thinking of putting him down to sleep. Tucking him in with that cute little blanket with the ducks on it?

  The blanket that had been one of the purchases on that crazy spending spree in the Baby Supermarket, where all those staff members had assumed that Luke was Ellie’s partner and Jamie’s father.

  And, finally, Luke was swamped with the memory of how that had felt.

  How amazing it had felt.

  As if it would be the best thing that could happen to anyone. Ever.

  Ellie’s head was turning back towards the table now. Her gaze caught Luke’s and locked onto it as securely as if a key had just been turned.

  The connection was absolute.

  Luke could feel her sadness and fear.

  He could also feel her love. Not just for the tiny person she still held in her arms.

  For him...

  He could fight for this. To keep all of this. Okay, maybe they couldn’t wave a magic wand and have Jamie’s biological father disappear from their lives but they could manage it.

  Together.

  If that was what Ellie wanted as much as Luke did. He couldn’t run away from this because, if he did, he would be running away from life, wouldn’t he? The most important part of life, anyway...

  He tried to tell her that, silently, in that long, intense gaze and something must have been communicated because he could see the lines of tension in her face soften.

  And then he noticed the silence around them.

  Were Mike and Marco intruding on what felt like the most private moment of his life?

  No. They had both turned towards the kitchen. Towards a woman who was standing there, framed by the open French doors.

  ‘Hope you don’t mind,’ the woman said. ‘But the front door was open. I let myself in.’

  Marco’s jaw had gone slack. He looked nothing like the cocky young man who’d walked into their lives such a short time ago. Luke had no idea who this woman was but he liked her already because she had made Marco look so much less than happy.

  Ellie, on the other hand, was looking thrilled. She was on her feet and moving towards the newcomer. Amazement had become the kind of pleasure that made anything else irrelevant. The wobble in her voice revealed how much this meant to her.

  ‘Ava...’

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE HUG WAS kind of one-sided so that Jamie didn’t get squashed between them but that didn’t seem to affect its fierceness.

  ‘I’ve been so worried about you,’ Ellie growled.

  ‘I know. I’m sorry, El. Mum told me how upset you looked.’

  ‘Is that where you’ve been all this time? At your mum’s? I thought you were flying somewhere.’

  ‘I was. I did. I went to my aunt’s place in the far north of Australia. But Mum kept calling and she finally persuaded me to come home a few days ago. She said I’d be safe in Kauri Valley...’ Ava pulled back from the hug, far enough to look down at the tiny head nestled against Ellie’s shoulder. ‘Oh...’ she breathed. ‘He’s gorgeous...’

  Ellie nodded, tears misting her eyes. ‘He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Ava. I love him so much...’

  Blinking hard, Ellie glanced up.

  Seeking Luke’s gaze again?

  Of course she was. The way he had been looking at her just before Ava’s dramatic entrance to the scene. As if he’d suddenly realised just how much he loved her. As much as she loved him...

  And it hadn’t been her imagination running away with her this time. He was still looking as if he never wanted to take his eyes off her ever again.

  Okay... Jamie wasn’t the only most amazing thing that had ever happened to her. Luke—and what they had found together—was a close second. Not even second, really. For Ellie, at least, it felt as if the three of them were bound together so closely it was hard to tell where the love for one separated from the love for the other.

  They were family.

  And maybe Luke felt the same way but was it enough to make him change his mind about those rules that had guided his life virtually for ever?

  Ava straightened from bestowing a soft kiss to the top of Jamie’s head. She turned from Ellie now and her body stiffened as she glared at Marco.

  ‘You’re the last person I expected to find here,’ she said coldly.

  Marco’s gaze shifted. He looked as if he suddenly didn’t want to be there at all but Ellie and Ava were standing in front of the doors into the house. If he wanted to escape, he’d have to head for the garden and he obviously didn’t know that there were paths leading back to the road. He looked trapped.

  Mike was looking uncomfortable, too. He knew where those paths were and he was staring at the side of the house as if weighing up his options of whether he should stay or not. Ellie saw him glance at Luke. Of course he was going to stay. There was a deal to be done, wasn’t there?

  ‘But why wouldn’t you be?’ Ava continued. ‘You’ve been obsessed with Ellie, haven’t you? What happened? Did the girl you ran off with realise what a bastard you really are and dump you?’

  ‘Aww, don’t be like that, babe.’ Marco was attempting a winning smile. ‘I came back to put things right. I still love you.’

  Ava snorted. Ellie moved closer so that her shoulder was pressed against her friend’s. Ava had her total support in escaping from her marriage once and for all.

  ‘We can still be the family you dreamed of having.’ But Marco didn’t sound so sure of himself.

  And Ava’s tone was scathing. ‘Not in this lifetime. I never want to see you again. Stay away from me. And stay away from my best friend.’ Her glance at Ellie was a little uncertain. ‘If that’s what she wants.’

  ‘Of course it is,’ Ellie said. ‘But...’

  ‘But?’ Ava’s eyes widened.

  ‘But he’s Jamie’s father,’ Luke put in. ‘However despicable the man might be, he’s got some rights.’

  Ava actually laughed. ‘Is that what he told you? That he fat
hered this baby?’

  Marco was on his feet now. Mike’s jaw looked as if it were about to hit the floor.

  Luke was looking bewildered and no wonder—Ellie was just as confused.

  ‘But he is. It was his sperm that the clinic used.’

  Ava’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. ‘Yeah...that’s what we let everybody believe but it’s not the real story, is it, Marco?’

  Marco wasn’t looking anywhere now. He had his head bent and his eyes shut.

  ‘Marco’s got a little problem,’ Ava said. ‘Well, more than one, let’s be honest, but the one that’s relevant is that his sperm mobility is abysmal. His swimmers weren’t up to the job, apparently, and the only way to have any real chance of you getting pregnant, Ellie, was to use sperm from an anonymous donor. We all kept the secret to stop Marco’s pride getting dented any further but I can’t believe he thinks he can keep it up. To try and use a lie for whatever sneaky plan he’s got in mind.’

  ‘Oh, man...’ Mike made a disgusted sound. ‘You’re a piece of work, aren’t you, mate?’

  Ava shook her head. ‘He’s crazy, that’s for sure. For heaven’s sake, the only person here who’s actually got a claim on little Jamie is you, Ellie.’

  Luke was getting to his feet.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘That’s not true.’

  He walked towards Ellie and reached out to gather Jamie from her arms. The look he gave her asked her to trust him and she didn’t hesitate because there was something else in his gaze.

  A promise that everything was going to be okay?

  ‘I have a claim, too,’ he said quietly. ‘I gave Ellie a promise that I’d always be here to protect him if anything happened to her.’

  He turned his head and smiled at her and Ellie’s heart melted completely in the sheer warmth of it. The love...

  ‘And things do happen to you, don’t they, Ellie? Big things like becoming a mother and having your house burn down and having stupid people think they can scare you by threatening to take your son away.’ Luke paused to take in a slow breath. ‘I think you need me around on a permanent basis, don’t you?’