The Surrogate

She felt uncomfortable having him pay for her clothes, but then again it would be taken from the money she would be receiving. When they got to his place and she stepped out of the car she looked at the house in front of her. "Oh, wow, this is your home?"

He looked at it with pride and smiled. "Yes, I designed it myself."

"It's beautiful."

"I'm glad you think so. Joyce doesn't feel the same way, she thinks it's too small and wanted me to buy a mansion." He grabbed the packages from the back seat and started walking towards the front door. There he opened the door and let her walk in first, stepping in once she was inside and closing the door behind him.

"Mr. Mason, this is absolutely gorgeous," she said as she looked around. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why his wife was not happy with it.

"Let me give you the tour after I put your bags in the room you'll be staying in."

She followed him and when he stopped at a door and opened it, motioning for her to enter first. Again she was blown away, it was a beautiful room with a large bed, a small love seat and a patio door leading to the outside.

"I'm sure you'll be comfortable in here, and it has its own bathroom."

"It's perfect, better than I'm used to staying in. I can't thank you enough for taking me in like this. You didn't have to."

"I couldn't very well leave you on the street, not since you are doing me and Joyce a huge favour. Now, let me give you that tour of the rest of the place.

He showed her around, pointing out his office where he did a lot of his work. There was a large dining room, living room, and a den with tons of books on the shelf. Upstairs there were three bedrooms, one was the master room. The last was the kitchen and she couldn't get over how big and clean it was.

"This kitchen is amazing, every woman's dream. It's all so clean and looks brand new like it's never been used," she said as she looked over the appliances.

"Joyce doesn't cook very often, usually orders take out or we go out to dine."

"If I had a kitchen like this I'd be cooking and baking all the time."

He stood with his back leaning against the counter. "So do you like to cook and bake?" He found himself liking this girl.

She turned to look at him with a smile on her face. "Do I ever. I love experimenting with different recipes and adding things to make them my own. I enjoy the smell of freshly baked cookies and pastries."

"I have some files and charts to go over in my office so just make yourself at home. If you get thirsty or hungry help yourself. Feel free to roam around or watch some TV. I'm also going to see if I can get you in to see Dr. Morris tomorrow for your check-up."

"Thank you, and I should put my clothes away before they get wrinkled." When he was gone she went to the bedroom she would be staying in and took her new wardrobe out of the bags and placed them in the closet and drawers.

Cole went over his patient's charts and made the call to Dr. Morris, getting the appointment for tomorrow morning. He also wrote up the contract for Christy to sign, but first, he had to get his lawyer to go over it, just to make sure he didn't leave anything out. He was in there for over three hours and knew it was getting close to dinner. Putting everything away he went to see if she was ready to eat, thinking he would order take out.

As he got closer to the kitchen he could smell food cooking, and it smelled delicious. Walking in he found her at the stove, music was playing in the background.

She turned her head when she heard his footsteps. "Mr. Mason, I hope you don't mind that I went ahead and started making dinner for us?"

"No, of course not, but you didn't have to."

"I wanted to, it's by way of repaying your kindness."

"What are you making? It smells delicious."

"It's nothing special, just a creamy, tomato and spinach pasta. I also made garlic bread with melted cheese on top and for dessert a peach cake."

"Wow, you shouldn't have gone to so much trouble. I was just going to order takeout for our dinner. But, I must admit this smells so much better." It had been so long since he had a home-cooked meal and he was grateful that she thought of it.

"It was no trouble, it was quick and easy to make. It will be ready in a few minutes, so if you wouldn't mind could you set the table? Don't worry about the plates, I'll just fill them from here.

His stomach growled from the pleasant aroma that drifted through the kitchen, he couldn't wait to taste the food. After setting the table he sat watching her as she dished the food onto their plates. He gave her a warm smile when she put his plate in front of him. "Thanks, I can't wait to try it."

"I'll just get the garlic bread from the oven," she said and went back over to the stove.

He quickly turned his head when she bent over, but not before he got a look at her ass. She had a nice one and he got a little turned on. But he was married and wouldn't allow himself to have those feelings about another woman.

She placed the bread on a plate and went over and sat down. "I hope you enjoy it." She watched as he took his first bite of the pasta and felt joy when he closed his eyes and a small moan escaped his mouth.

"Oh, this is the best thing I've tasted in a long time," he said, looking over at her. "You really are an amazing cook. Instead of being a waitress, you should have been the cook."

"Where I was working they wouldn't let women cook, said that we should only be serving the food. I am so happy that you like it. Do you like being a doctor?"

"Yes, it had always been my dream since I was a young kid. When I was around six my parents bought me one of those doctor's kits. I would pretend I was a doctor and went around checking everyone out. It drove them nuts at times but that was when they knew what I was going to end up being."

"Your parents must be so proud of you."

"My mother is, but my father died when I was sixteen from heart complications. That was when I decided to become a cardiac surgeon."

He looked so sad when he mentioned his father and she felt bad for bringing it up. "I'm so sorry and I can see how much you loved him. Would I be crossing the line by asking about your mother?"

"Not at all. She remarried a few years ago and is living in France with her husband, Steven. I'm happy for her, she found love and that's what matters."

"Well, I'm sure she's proud of you, dedicating your life to save people."

"Yes, she is but sadly I can't save them all." He didn't know why he was opening up to her, she was still a stranger but here he was, about to tell her what was weighing on his mind. "I recently lost a patient on the operating table. I did everything I could to save him, but nothing worked."

"I'm so sorry, I can't imagine how you must be feeling. It must be so hard, to get to know someone and then lose them. My heart breaks for you when you have to confront the family, it's so sad."

He looked at her, she had tears in her eyes. She was so unlike Joyce who only shrugged her shoulders when he told her. Her words were so cold when she said that everyone had to die sooner or later. "Yes, I got to know this patient and the family. I did everything I could, and a piece of me died inside." He felt a weird sensation coursing through his body when she placed her hand over the top of his.

"Mr. Mason."

"Please, call me Cole." He was disappointed when she moved her hand off of his.

"Cole, I know but you did everything you could. You should be proud of yourself for what you do to save lives."

He looked into her eyes and felt himself drowning in them, but then she suddenly looked away and got to her feet.

She cleared her throat as she picked up the empty plates. "I'll get the dessert now, I hope you'll like it. I should have asked if you like peaches before making the cake." She didn't look at him but smiled when he told her he loved peaches.

"I got you the appointment for tomorrow morning with Dr. Morris. I don't have surgery until the afternoon so I will be taking you."

"That was quick," she answered, nervously.

"Well, we work in the same hospital and he's a friend. After we get the all-clear we can proceed with the arrangements. I've written up a contract for you to sign once my lawyer goes over it and then we'll go from there. If all goes well we should be able to have it done in a few days."

"That soon, shouldn't your wife be here? I mean it's going to be her baby and she should be involved with the procedure as we go along."

"I'll call her tonight and let her know when you're going to be inseminated."

After they were done the dessert he insisted that he help her with the cleaning up. Just because he was a doctor didn't mean he couldn't do household chores. Now he did have a housekeeper come in five days a week and she would have cleaned up the mess but Christy didn't want to leave it. She rinsed the dishes and he loaded them into the dishwasher.

"You haven't told me much about your parents or where they are."

"I haven't seen or talked to them in years."

"Why?" he asked, then apologized for being nosey. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business and you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"Since I'm your surrogate I suppose you have the right to know about my background. My mother and father are very religious and have high morals. When I started dating my ex they hated him and ordered me to break it off. When I didn't and moved in with him they disowned me. If they knew what I am doing now they would say the devil has entered my body and taken over."

"That's terrible and I don't understand how any parent could disown their child, no matter what she or he does."

She started wiping down the counter, not looking at him. "They were right about him, he was no good. At first, he was so loving but after I moved in he changed. He started drinking and doing drugs, couldn't hold down a job longer than a week or two."

"But you did the smart thing by leaving him."

"I thought my love could change him, but he got worst. I found out he was cheating on me with who I thought was my friend. Now they are married and I haven't seen either one of them since."

"He was a jerk to leave someone as sweet as you. But you are better off without him and will someday find a man that will love and treat you the way you deserve to be treated. One who will be faithful."

She looked at him and smiled. "Maybe, but right now I'm not looking for anyone. It's kind of hard trusting anyone after being betrayed."

He felt the same way. "I know, it would be hard. I was raised right by my parents to believe that marriage was a sacred commitment. No matter how bad things get you should always do everything in your power to make it work." Lord knows he was trying with Joyce.

"Your wife is lucky to have you."

He cleared his throat, if only she knew that the marriage was on the rocks she wouldn't have agreed to be their surrogate. And he wanted her to be the one, and hopefully once the baby arrived Joyce would change and they could make their marriage work.

"Is everything okay?" she asked when he turned quiet.

"Yeah, I just have some things on my mind. I know it's early but I think I'll head up to bed now. So feel free to do whatever you want, watch TV or if you like reading there are plenty of books in the den."

"Thanks, I think I will go and check out the books. Goodnight and I guess I'll see you in the morning. Oh, what time is my appointment?"

"Ten o'clock, night, Christy."

After he left the room she went to her bedroom, took a shower and put on the new nightgown he had bought for her. Then she went to the den and picked out two books to take with her. Feeling thirsty she went to the kitchen to get a drink and found Cole there, and he was shirtless. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed what a great body he had.

He turned around when he heard her enter, his eyes moved up and down her body.

"Oh, I was just coming to get a drink to take to my room," she said, hugging the books to her chest. She had to control her breathing when she noticed the way he was looking at her before he turned his back to her.

"Yeah, same here. I was just leaving so help yourself to whatever you want." He couldn't believe how he was staring at her, imagining her naked under the nightgown she was wearing. He walked past her and said goodnight once again. He cursed himself for having those thoughts about her, he was after all a married man and shouldn't be thinking about another woman other than his wife. But damn, he can't remember the last time he saw Joyce naked or the last time they were intimate with each other.