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But there were other things that needed to happen first, of course. Lawyers. Doctors. Paperwork…
“We’ll need preliminary testing,” I said, already going through a mental checklist. “Blood work. Compatibility checks. All the same stuff we did before.”
“Will Sherri be upset?” Jordyn asked. There was genuine concern in her eyes. “It was the only thing I was worried about.”
“No,” I said definitively. “She was always doing this forus, not for herself. Right now she’s more upset about disappointing us than anything else.”
Aiden nodded his agreement. “She’ll be thrilled we have a new egg-donor, and relieved too. It’ll let her focus all of her energies on her father, now.”
“Aye,” said Connor. “The way it should be.”
Another round of hugs began, and I stared at Jordyn for a silent moment. She was so strong and kind-hearted. Driven and creative. Mentally sharp and physically beautiful.
Really, really beautiful…
These things always mattered to us, but with her being the egg donor they now mattered ten times as much. And I didn’t have to ask her twice, to make sure she meant every word of her offer. Not after what she’d been through.
No, I couldn’t wait to do this with her. And not only with her, butforher.
And for her sister Jocelyn, too.
“Can you make the doctor’s with us tomorrow?” I asked, when the others had finally let her go. “The sooner we start you on the new meds, the better chance we—”
“Yes,” Jordyn cut me off, beaming happily back at me. “Of course I can.”
Elation surged through me, much the same as it had when Sherri had first agreed to donate eggs for us. But this felt somewhat different. Maybe it was because Jordyn would be the surrogateandthe donor. She’d do it all for us, selflessly and excitedly under our roof.
Essentially, we were looking at mother of our child.
Twenty-Two
JORDYN
Things moved fast after the guys took me up on my offer.
Veryfast.
I passed the proper medical tests with flying colors, and began the follicle-stimulation therapy that Shelli had been on. I was eating right and exercising, which I’d always done, but now I had Elliot keeping tabs on me. It was cute though. I enjoyed the extra attention, not just from him, but from all the guys.
In addition to all that, I was also taking every prenatal vitamin under the sun.
When the Lupron shots started, I administered the first few myself. But then the guys took over that duty as well. They had gentle hands, especially Aiden. I barely felt the needle go in whenever he stuck me, so I began seeking him out whenever it was time for one.
The lawyer stuff came next, which the guys were even more adorably apologetic about. They shouldn’t have worried. I’d already made it clear I had absolutely no interest in custody, and was mentally and emotionally prepared to give themtheirchild. Yes, biologically it would be my child as well now. But that part of the equation was merely scientific. A simple one-time donation on my part, so three amazing friends could begin their lifelong family together.
In the meantime I worked, but I also took time for myself. I explored the lake a lot. I found a few trails that wound down the east and west sides of its beautiful shoreline, and jogged past some of the most incredible houses and mansions I’d ever seen, even on television.
“See that castle over there?” Aiden had pointed one day, to a sprawling series of beautiful stone buildings right on the lake. “Derek Jeter lived there.”
“Really?”
“Bought and sold it,” he’d affirmed. “An old family property that he scooped up and took back. At least for a while.”
His words made me think of my childhood home, and how abruptly Jocelyn and I had been forced to leave it. We’d been kids ourselves, practically. Trying to pay a mortgage that was underwater, to keep a place that was filled only with bittersweet memories. Even so, they were the only memories I had of my mother and father. And eventually, my sister as well.
While I jogged and worked and took my meds dutifully, the guys ended up immersing themselves in their work. Nine or ten months from now, with a little luck, they would be fathers. They’d each planned on taking significant time away from the business, staggering their absences so they could be there for the baby.
For this reason they were rarely home at once, each of them trying to sew up whatever projects they were working on and closing any deals that might be on the near horizon. Aiden was GC’ing an entire cul-de-sac, clearing the land and building nine new homes from scratch. Connor was constantly flying to the west coast to keep two particular investors happy, and Elliot’s phone was practically glued to his ear. The others told me he was working on two big commercial projects. If closed, they’d provide a fantastic passive residual income that would make up for whatever work they missed while being fathers, for at least the next few years.
