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Adding to my guilt was the fact I looked forward to spending time with her. Now that she was my surrogate, I was dying of curiosity to know more about her and see what traits she might pass onto our child. My child.
I pulled myself up and out of my thoughts. There was no reason to be thinking so much. Pacing until the pins and needles left my leg, I settled in on the couch across from Samantha, watching her until the plane landed.
She woke up with a start when the wheels bumped the ground, looking around wildly. I jumped up and sat beside her, putting my hand on her arm.
“We’re in Miami,” I said. “A bit of a drive down to the Keys, and then we’ll be there.”
“Where?” she asked. “Why is this place so much safer than anywhere in New York?”
“It’s in a private gated community on a small island. Not many roads in and more security than residents.”
“Sounds amazing,” she said, dripping sarcasm.
I kept my hand lightly on her arm when we descended the steps and crossed the tarmac to the waiting car. It wasn’t lost on her that I was worried she might make a break for it. When I opened the door for her to get in, she shook her head at me.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” she asked, making me blink.
“What? Not at all.”
“Then you must be aware that I know I couldn’t outrun you or win in a physical fight against you. You don’t have to hover.”
I should have slept on the plane. It was only exhaustion that made me laugh. “You’re not a prisoner,” I said. She raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged. “I can’t separate you and the baby, Samantha.”
Something that might have been hurt flashed in her eyes, but she covered it with a scowl and got in the car. I drove with one eye on the road and one eye on her as we headed south. It was clear she’d decided the silent treatment was what I was going to get, but the hard lines she forced onto her face softened the further outside of Miami we got.
She craned her neck to look up at the sky and couldn’t hide a smile. There was something about the Florida sky that made first-time visitors take notice, myself included. There was never such a blue in Moscow or in New York. And as a lifelong city dweller, she was raptly taking in the vast swathes of strange vegetation along the sides of the highway. Finally, when we got to the series of causeways and were surrounded by water, she gave up pretending she wasn’t impressed and openly gaped at the crystal seas.
When we finally went through the tall gates leading to Ivan’s vacation home, her eyes went round as saucers as she took in the huge mansion. I watched her look from one end to the next, her mouth moving as if counting the balconies. The place was truly a showpiece, with the peach stucco and orange Spanish tiles a perfect contrast to the bright greens of the towering palms and the blue sky melting into the ocean beyond. The entire front garden was a controlled riot of hibiscus and gardenia bushes, with jasmine vines wrapped around every pillar. And as she stopped and stared with a look of wonder on her pretty face, she looked exactly like she belonged there.
Since she was obviously impressed with the place, maybe she’d stop hating my guts and come around to the idea that she’d stay there until I got the Giannis under control.
Or until the baby was born.
Why did I find that option so appealing? Lazy days under the sun with Samantha, exploring the surrounding beaches and wilderness, taking a boat out at sunset…
No, that’s not what this was about. I had a job to do, and a simple one at that. Keep Samantha and the baby safe. End of story.
I should be counting the days until we could go back to our regular arrangement, not getting excited about a prolonged vacation with her. It wasn’t as if we were a real family. I didn’t even want that, which was the whole reason I’d opted for surrogacy in the first place. Things were upside down; I was exhausted and not thinking straight.
That was all.
Chapter 13 - Samantha
Driving from Miami to the Keys had been the perfect thing to take my mind off everything I didn’t want to dwell on. It was like I’d been transported to another planet. I’d seen plenty of movies based on Miami Beach, so I had been prepared for art deco buildings and white sand beaches. Instead, I got miles and miles of wild jungle. Huge expanses where there were no buildings at all. I had grown up in a place where you couldn’t turn around without bumping into something or someone, and now I was surrounded by open air, towering trees, and long, seemingly endless bridges that the water lapped right up to the edges.
The sky was blinding, the sun almost rudely bright, and even the wispy, pure white clouds seemed to know they were better than the heavy smog clouds that hung low over my fair city.
I should have been creeped out. Where was he taking me, further and further from civilization? When we finally drove through the final gate on the small island, I was glad I had been silent the whole way down because even if I wanted to say something, the mansion rendered me speechless.
I took in the beautiful colors that both clashed and perfectly complemented each other. The Spanish-style balconies and roofs looked like they were whisked straight from a past era, all the lush greenery surrounding the place making it seem almost primeval. I stared at the flowing palms above the clay tile roof until it all blurred like an impressionist painting.
I followed Leo onto the wraparound porch with a swing, several rocking chairs, and a hammock. “I have never sat in a hammock,” I admitted.
He yelped a laugh. “She speaks,” he said, turning from the front door to make a beeline for the big, knotty contraption. He turned around and fell into it backward, drawing his legs up. “It’s easy. Give it a try.”
With minimal effort, he hoisted himself out, and I decided to make the best of things. Copying what he did, I fell back into the hammock and promptly got swallowed up by it, folded in half and unable to wriggle my way out. Leo kept laughing.
“I hate it,” I said, waving my hand above the net. “I give up.”
