Bought by a Millionaire Read Free Page B

to make you a very wealthy woman.”
    Shannon’s dinner sank like a lead ball to the bottom of her stomach. She swallowed hard and set her silverware aside before attempting to speak. “Does that mean you’ve made your decision?” she asked, twisting the linen napkin on her lap nervously between her fingers.
    â€œI made my decision before you even left my office this morning. You’re the woman I want to be a surrogate for my child. Congratulations, Mommy.”

Two
    S everal weeks passed after Burke’s life-altering announcement that Shannon was to be the surrogate mother of his child. She saw him very infrequently during that time, and only for brief intervals. Although his secretary did call more than once to invite her to dinner on his behalf.
    Anxious enough about her immediate future, she declined all of Burke’s offers and was relieved when he didn’t press the point in person.
    To be honest, Shannon didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary with Burke Bishop. At least not alone, in a social setting.
    There was too much at risk. Her mother’s health and well-being, the money he had promised her in exchange for carrying his child…maybe not her heart, but definitely her good sense.
    Quite frankly, Burke Ellison Bishop was too handsome for his own good. And for hers. She wasn’t supposed to be attracted to him.
    And she wasn’t, darn it. She wasn’t!
    But Burke had made their one dinner together feel more like a date than a business meeting. It was easy to see why the newspapers and tabloids considered him to be one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors. Charm and charisma seeped from his every pore.
    If she wasn’t careful, that charm may even begin to work on her, and that would be a bad thing.
    The contract she’d signed to become a surrogate for Burke’s child very clearly divested her of all rights connected to the baby she was expected to produce. She understood the need for such tight clauses and fully agreed with them.
    She’d done a lot of soul-searching well beforehand and knew giving up custody of a tiny life that had grown inside her body for nine months would be one of the hardest things she’d ever have to do. To be honest, she wasn’t sure she’d ever truly recover. But knowing Burke would be a good father and that her child would have the best of everything helped.
    Of course, if she let her hormones get carried away by Burke’s chivalry and good looks, it would be that much harder to cut all ties later on.
    With a sigh, she readjusted the paper-thin hospital gown that kept slipping off her shoulder, and the equally thin sheet covering the lower half of her body. She was perched on the edge of an exam table, waiting for the clinic’s fertility specialist to bring in a vial of Burke’s, um, little swimmers and attempt to impregnate her. The doctors had warned them that the fertilization process wasn’t always successful on the first try, but Burke didn’t seem overly concerned. Since money wasn’t an issue for him, he could afford to have the procedure repeated as many times as necessary to reach his goal.
    Shannon, meanwhile, had never particularly enjoyed herannual visits to the gynecologist. Those trips were simple compared to the poking and prodding she’d endured these past few months, and if she never again saw a stirrup table, it would be too soon.
    Just as she considered jumping down and bolting, the door of the exam room opened and the doctor entered.
    â€œGood morning, Miss Moriarty. Are you ready for the big moment?”
    She took a deep breath, tamping down on the shiver of nervousness that accosted her every time she thought about being inseminated and carrying a child to term for a virtual stranger. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” she answered with a forced smile.
    But the smile died on her lips the minute she lifted her head and saw Burke