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He started to drop a kiss on her mouth, but she turned her face away, brows elevated to a piqued angle.
He kissed her cheekbone and testily turned away to search out his own shirt.
“What makes you think she’s the right sort of person?” he asked as he threaded his arms into his sleeves. “Has she done it before?”
“No.” She pulled on snug yoga pants. “She warned me that could be a roadblock. Doctors don’t usually work with a surrogate who hasn’t had a successful pregnancy of their own.”
Rafael dismissed that. Nearly any roadblock could be overcome for a price.
“What makes you think she’s right for the job?” For us?
“She’s discreet.”
“How do you know?”
“She wouldn’t be working for Gio if she wasn’t.”
True.
“She seems conscientious and capable of restraint. I offered her a mimosa, but she refused. Said she was on the clock.”
“High praise.”
“Look, you know I don’t trust easily. She seems honest and responsible, plus she’s stationed in London. Dr. Narula started her practice there. I imagine she still has good contacts to recommend. This saves me advertising my infertility to find someone else. I think it’s worth exploring. At the very least, we should let her get tested to see if she’s suitable. I won’t get my hopes up until I know whether it’s even possible.”
Rafael’s instincts were still prickling, telling him there was more going on here than she was revealing, but he was so damned relieved that she sounded optimistic for a change, he didn’t want to ruin it by voicing misgivings. She was right. There was little harm in running the tests.
“If this is what you want, then fine. Find out if she’s suitable.”
“Really?” Finally, she turned to face him.
Alexandra was a sophisticated woman with a razor-sharp intelligence and a jaded sense of humor. She was so beautiful, she knocked the breath out of him and had from the first time he’d spied her across a room, but occasionally, like now, when her face was clean of makeup and her poise slipped to reveal how badly she wanted something, she looked very young and vulnerable.
It caused a dip and roll inside his chest, one that had always disturbed him, because that’s not who they were. He relied on her to be as guarded and battle-ready as he was. Armed to the teeth.
Most of the time she was. The last thing he would call her was “maternal,” but in this moment, he couldn’t ignore how badly she wanted a baby. He wanted to give her a family in any way he could. If that meant hiring a surrogate, so be it.
“Yes,” he said firmly, cupping her cheek and pressing his mouth to hers, heartened when her cool hands arrived on his neck and her lips clung to his. “I want you to be happy, Alexandra. I’ve always wanted that.” He had thought that was an easy assignment until the baby troubles arose. “If you think this will work, then proceed.”
She curled her arms tighter around his neck, so her whole body was stretched against his and breathed a heartfelt, “Thank you,” against his ear.
CHAPTER SIX
BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND travel and various tests, then the harvesting and fertilization of fresh eggs and mandatory counseling, it was April before implantation occurred.
Sasha had offered to stay in London with Molly while she waited out the result, but Molly was working. They were both aware that it might take several rounds before there was a successful implant. Molly had agreed to try three times, which Sasha thought was more than generous, considering how invasive and time consuming the procedure was.
So Sasha was with Rafael in Rio de Janeiro, eating breakfast on the terrace of their hotel room overlooking Copacabana Beach, when “Dr. Kala Narula” came up on her phone.
She stabbed to accept the call. Kala’s assistant brought Molly onto the screen in a separate box, then Kala appeared.
“Good morning, Alexandra. Hello, Molly. Is Rafael here, too?” Kala asked.
“Yes.” Sasha flashed a look to him and tightened her hand on the phone.
He set down his coffee, listening intently.
“Congratulations—”
