Surrogate and Wife by Emily McKay Read Free Book Online Page A

wedding. I was, um—” he cleared his throat “—wondering what you wanted to do about the honeymoon.”
    â€œThe honeymoon?” she finally choked out.
    â€œYeah. People will expect us to go away somewhere.”
    Dang. A honeymoon? Why hadn’t she thought of that? And why, now that he’d mentioned it, did her mind suddenly fill with images of the two of them alone together in some romantic location. An exotic beach or quaint bed and breakfast.
    â€œNo,” she said abruptly. “Absolutely not.”
    Letting her imagination run away with her was onething. Actually fulfilling one of those daydreams by letting Jake take her on a romantic getaway? That was out of the question.
    He must have heard the pure horror in her voice, because he said, “Hey, it’s not like I’d take you to the Bates Motel or anything. I was thinking something more along the lines of a B&B in Fredericksburg. Just for a night or two.”
    Right. A couple of nights in one of the most charming historic towns in Texas? She’d prefer the Bates Motel.
    â€œNo,” she said firmly. “We’re not going anywhere.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œWe’re going to spend the weekend moving your stuff into my place like we discussed. We can tell people we’re planning a big trip in the fall, if you want.”
    Before he could protest further, she said good-night and ended the call.

Five
    â€œI can’t believe you’re doing this.”
    Beth sat in the spare chair in Kate’s office. Her normally serene features were twisted into a frown, just as her hands were twisted into fretful knots where they lay on her lap.
    Kate squelched her nerves and forced her attention back to her computer screen and the open document she’d been reading when Beth arrived at the courthouse a full hour early for the wedding.
    â€œI know,” Kate said, hoping to placate her sister’s nerves. “I can hardly believe it myself.”
    â€œThe thing is, Stew and I…” The tension in her voice drew Kate’s gaze back to her. “Well, we never meant for this to happen. I mean, we knew we were asking a lot, but…”
    With a sigh, Kate finally gave up on getting any more work done and closed the document on the screen. Sherounded her desk to stand by Beth’s chair. “I know you didn’t. No one could have predicted things would turn out like this.”
    Beth looked up at her and Kate was surprised to see her sister’s eyes brimming with tears. At the sight, the tension that had been building inside Kate over the past two weeks began to seep away.
    â€œHey.” She leaned down and rubbed Beth’s arm. “There’s no need for tears. Everything’s going to be fine.”
    Beth stood and clutched Kate’s hands. “So you don’t hate us?”
    Kate hadn’t realized it, but until that instant, she had been harboring some resentment.
    Not for having to marry Jake. No, she blamed only herself for not realizing sooner the threat Hatcher posed to her career. But she did resent Beth because being pregnant had made Kate realize all that was missing from her life. Made her yearn for things she couldn’t have, but that Beth could. But faced with Beth’s obvious remorse, that, too, disappeared. “No,” she reassured. “I don’t hate you. How could I?”
    â€œBecause you…” Beth’s voice broke. “You have to marry Jake. You hate Jake,” she finished with a wail.
    Even though there was nothing at all funny about the situation, Kate couldn’t help chuckling. “I don’t hate Jake.” She glanced at the door to her office, verifying—again—that it was firmly closed.
    â€œYou were right about him, you know?” Kate admitted. “Jake is a really good guy.”
    More and more, Kate was realizing just how distorted her initial impression of Jake had been. When