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"I’ll be right down the hall. Let me know if you have any questions. Take your time." Freya smiled widely before closing the door.
As Laura scrolled through the selections, Knox wondered what his move should be here. He knew that Laura wasn’t stupid. She was bright, and her inviting him here was calculated. Their entire relationship had felt like a chess game, and her trip to a sperm bank was a check; he just had to figure out what his move would be to call checkmate.
Never in his life had connecting with someone been such a challenge to him. He’d always found that people naturally liked him. Laura was doing her best to push him away. But Knox was never one to back down from a challenge. If anything, he rose to those occasions.
He’d tried the straightforward approach and the long game. He’d flirted with her, and he’d also avoided her. Nothing was working, and the sands of his time in Whisper Lake were slipping away. It was time for a Hail Mary.
"Any frontrunners?" he asked casually.
Laura didn’t respond right away, but he could see from the twitch in her body language that she seemed annoyed by the question, or maybe she was just annoyed that he hadn’t waited in the car; he couldn’t be sure.
"There are some good options."
"What are you looking for in a baby daddy?"
Without taking her eyes off the screen, she stated, "For starters, someone who doesn’t use the term baby daddy."
He grinned at her attempt to bait him; little did she know he wasn’t that easy. "Noted. What else?"
"Good genes. Healthy. Educated. No history of mental illness. The basics."
"And you think that you can determine that from these files?"
"Yep," she replied.
"How do you know that the stuff in there is true?"
"I’ve done my research. This is a reputable clinic."
Knox knew that he had no right or reason to be jealous of these nameless profiles, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to grab the device out of her hand and toss it against the wall. He wasn’t sure what came over him, but when he opened his mouth, he heard himself say, "What about me?"
She didn’t look up from the iPad. "What about you?"
"I could be your sperm donor."
Her only response was a roll of her eyes.
"I’m serious. My buddy, who I served with, did it for a girl he’d grown up with who was married to a woman. They had paperwork and everything. I’m sure I could get it from him. It basically said that he gave up all rights to the child and was only serving as a donor, which is exactly what you need."
Laura slowly turned her head and looked at him.
"I’m healthy. I can show you the results of the physical I got when I was discharged. I have no history of mental illness. You’ve met my cousin and my brother; I think the Savage genes speak for themselves."
Laura stared at him blankly. He had no clue what was going on behind her gold-flecked eyes. Then, without any warning, she stood up, set the device on the table, and started walking toward the door.
Knox wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he’d made the suggestion; actually, he was sure he hadn’t expected anything since he had no idea he was going to do it. But he would have thought for sure that it would have been much harder than that to convince her.
He got up and, in two steps, was at her side as she opened the door and walked through it. "Is that a yes?"
Laura didn’t respond. She walked down the hall, and as they entered the reception area, she stopped by the front desk. He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but the woman behind the desk nodded.
As they walked outside, he held the door open for her. When they got to the car, he opened the door again, but again, she ignored his outstretched hand. She still hadn’t said a word to him when he got back behind the wheel.
"Is everything okay?" he asked, turning toward her.
"I just want to go home," she stated calmly.
He couldn’t quite get a read on what she was feeling. Was she mad? Shocked? Offended? He couldn’t tell.
