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“I’m sorry,” I answer Uncle Callan.
“Are you okay? We were notified the alarm went off and that you’re there.”
My laugh cracks in two. “No. Not even close. But I’m fine if that helps. I’m at your house. Obviously, you already know that. Sorry. I might be losing it a bit. I needed a comforting place to be tonight where I could think.”
He’s silent for a beat and I know it’s because I just threw a lot at him and because he’s half-asleep since it’s the middle of the night in Italy.
“Katy my lady, talk to me.”
My heart swells at the nickname he’s had for me since as far back as I can remember. “It’s late.”
“Fuck late,” he growls. “Talk to me. Do you need us to fly home? We’ll be on the next flight.”
“Stop being so perfect, Uncle Cal.”
I hear the smile in his voice as he says, “Then talk to me and I’ll try.”
How I love this man.
“I got the green light for undergoing fertility stuff,” I tell him, walking up the stairs and heading down the hall toward my bedroom.
“Oh, Katy,” he breathes out and I hear Layla mumble something to him in the background. “It’s Katy. She got the green light to try for a baby.”
“Ah!” Layla screeches. “Put me on speaker.”
“Is that okay, Katy?”
I smile. Feeling so grateful and loved. I think that’s what Bennett is missing. He has his mom, but it doesn’t seem like he has much else. It makes me break a little for him because I’m not sure what I’d do without these people in my life.
“Of course,” I say. “I want to talk to you both.”
“Katy!” Layla screeches again. “Talk to me. I’m so freaking excited even if I’m like a million years too young to be a grandma.”
I enter my bedroom, leaving the lights off. “I’m excited too. More than excited. It means my body is healthy and ready. And that’s not something I thought I’d ever get. But…” I blow out a breath, dropping onto the edge of my bed and staring at the walls that are still painted to look like the ocean. “My boss, Bennett Lawson wants to have this baby with me.”
“I’m sorry, what the fuck now?” Callan growls, and I shake my head before I launch into an account of everything Bennett and I spoke about tonight, and when I’m done, they’re both silent. Too silent.
“You have to say something,” I provoke. “Or did you fall back to sleep?”
“Katy.” That’s Callan. He clears his throat. “Christ, that’s a lot. I don’t even know where to start. I feel for him. I truly do. That’s about as fucked up of a situation as I’ve ever heard. But I guess I’m wondering… you’re saying he’s willing to risk his new job, possibly the only one he can get with a history like that and no reference coming from Mayo to have a baby with you?”
I gulp, and then gulp again because the way he phrased that… the implications of it… the meaning behind it… “Yes. It seems he is.”
“Jesus. Are you considering this?” he persists, his tone edged with incredulity and worry.
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “I guess I am, right? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, and I wouldn’t be talking to you about it. I was going to do this with asshole Zane because I want my baby to have everything, and that includes two parents if possible. There are a lot of variables to this, and it’s risking a lot for both of us.”
“It is,” Callan agrees. “Do you know anything about this man? Have you had Vander or Lenox look into him?”
“No. This all happened right before I walked into your place. But this isn’t a relationship. It’s a business deal. An arrangement.”
“All the more reason you should have them do a background check.”
I roll my eyes. “The hospital is required to do one, and I knew him seven years ago. He takes care of his sick mother. I was in his home today, which isn’t littered with doll heads or beer cans. He’s been honest, sincere, and respectful. Despite his indecent proposal.” And mine, for that matter.
“So he’s likely not a psycho. Good stuff. How do you feel about the business arrangement side of this?” Layla queries.
I stare sightlessly at the wall, rolling that question through my head. “On the one hand, it makes it easier. We’ll have a contract, and I know he’ll always be part of the baby’s life and not some guy who could simply take off on me, abandoning us both. I mean, he could still do that, but it’s not nearly as likely without love playing a factor. He wants the baby, badly enough to risk this, so that speaks volumes about the sort of parent he’d be. On the other hand, it’s weird. We’re talking about a baby. A human life. How do you write up a contract like that? Not to mention, one day, when the child is old enough, how do we explain it to them?”
