The Tycoon's Paternity Agenda Read Free

want to give the baby up? Would it matter that it was Rebecca’s egg?
    Or even worse, she could just disappear with Rebecca’s child, never to be seen again. For Katy’s parents—and probably Adam, too—it would be like losing Rebecca all over again.
    â€œWhat if you think the woman is trustworthy, but you’re wrong?” she asked him, growing more uneasy by the second.
    â€œWe won’t be,” Adam assured her, but that wasn’t good enough.
    She took a swallow of her coffee, burning her tongue. If she let him do this, she could look forward to nine months of being on edge, worrying about her niece or nephew’s safety.
    There was only one person she trusted enough to carry her sister’s baby. It was completely crazy, but she knew it was the only way. The only good way. And she would do whatever necessary to convince him.
    â€œI know the perfect person to be the surrogate,” she told Adam.
    â€œWho?”
    â€œMe.”

Two
    A dam had imagined several possible scenarios of what Katy’s reaction would be when he told her his plans. He thought she might be excited. Grateful even that a part of Rebecca would live on in the baby. He had also considered her being upset, or even indignant, which proved to be much closer to the truth.
    But not a single one of those scenarios included her offering to carry the baby herself. And as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t an option.
    Admittedly he had approached Katy first because he figured she would be easily manipulated, but sweet little Katy had an edge now. She was a lot tougher than she used to be. And she was right about his lawyer’s advice. If there were a legal battle over the issue of the embryos, he would win. But it could drag on for years. He didn’t want to wait that long. He was ready now. And though allowing her to be the surrogate would significantly ease any opposition from herfamily, he could see an entire new series of problems arise as a result.
    â€œI can’t ask you to do that,” he told her.
    â€œYou didn’t ask. I offered.”
    â€œI’m not sure if you fully understand the sacrifice it will be. Physically and emotionally.”
    â€œI have friends who have gone through pregnancies, so I know exactly what to expect.”
    â€œI imagine that knowing a pregnant person and being one are two very different things.”
    â€œI want to do it, Adam.”
    He could see that, but the idea had trouble written all over it. In every language.
    He tried a different angle. “How will your…‘significant other’ feel about this?”
    â€œThat won’t be an issue. I see Willy Jenkins occasionally, but he isn’t what I would call significant. We’re more like…friends with benefits, if you know what I mean.”
    He did, and for some ridiculous reason he wanted to string this Jenkins guy up by his toes. To him she would always be Rebecca’s baby sister. Little Katy.
    But Katy was a grown woman. Twenty-seven or -eight, if memory served. It was none of his business who she was friends with.
    Or why.
    â€œThe process could take a year,” he told her. “Longer if it takes more than one try. What if you meet someone?”
    â€œWho the heck am I going to meet? Peckins has a population of eight hundred. Most of the men in town I’ve known since kindergarten. If I was going to fall madly in love with one of them, I’d have done it by now.”
    He tried a different angle. “Have you thought of the physical toll it could take on your body?”
    â€œLook who you’re talking to,” she said, gesturing to hercasual clothing, the ash-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. “I’m not like Rebecca. I don’t obsess about my weight, or worry about things like stretch marks. And you won’t find anyone more responsible. I don’t smoke or take drugs, not even over-the-counter pain relievers. I have an