Between You and Me

Logan only nodded.

She stretched out one long leg and rolled her ankle as she continued. “This is my decision. They have wives, they have families . . . They’ll start their whole you haven’t given it enough of a chance, yada yada. Like I haven’t given this tons of thought, done my homework. Like I just decided hey! I’ll have a baby just because.”

He noticed her eyes made a slow canvas around the room, not meeting his, as she admitted, “Sure, I wanted to find the right man, fall in love, have a family . . . but that hasn’t happened for me. I’ll be thirty-eight at the end of February. My clock’s ticking, and all I’ve ever wanted is to have children of my own. So . . . here I am, and I’m not going home until I’m pregnant.” She reached over for her mug, almost empty now, but raised it to Logan in a jaunty toast. “You can be my not-drinking buddy this winter.”

He grinned at that, but then shook his head in slow wonder. “Well, I . . . I wish you luck. If that’s what you want to do, I hope it works out for you.”

“Thanks. Just gotta find a healthy sperm sample from someone with great genes, and I’ll be all set.” She seemed jovial about it.

“And you want to do that here?”

“Why not? I own a house here, so I don’t have to stay at a hotel for months. I can work remotely. And there’s a clinic right here, outside Aspen, that’s top-notch.” She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “See, something like this is where having money definitely does help.” She tossed him an exaggerated wink, and he burst out laughing.

He reached for his mug and clinked it to hers. “To you and your plans. I wish you success.”

“Thank you very much.”

“So no one knows that’s why you’re really here?”

Her big blue eyes locked on him. “Nope. Just my lifelong best friend at home, and you.”

“I’m honored you shared that, then. And, uh . . . if you need anything, let me know.”

Tess giggled. “Know any sperm donors with super great sperm?”

He almost choked, but turned it into a dry laugh. “Um, no. But if I do, I’ll let you know. I meant if you need anything . . . I don’t know, you know what I meant.”

“I do. And I appreciate it. Thank you.”

They both sipped what was left of their cocoa. His was now empty. “I’ll get us another round of these, if you like.”

“I would, thanks.”

He gazed at her as she sat back comfortably, relaxed and beautiful. The colored lights overhead shadowed her in alluring hues. Her long, long curls drifted over her shoulders, down over her arms. The expression on her face was content, but now he knew the truth: The people’s princess didn’t have everything after all. His heart gave a twinge for her. “For what it’s worth, I bet you’ll make a great mother. Because you’re a really good person.”

She blinked at him. “That’s . . . nice of you to say. Especially since just the other day, I thought you didn’t even like me.”

“I was wrong,” he said quickly, firmly. “I was an asshole. What you called me on, you were right.” I didn’t want to admit to myself how much I like you, so I grabbed on to whatever I could to convince myself otherwise. He rose and grabbed both empty mugs. “And hey, any woman who’d lie down on a hotel lobby floor to comfort a stranger?” He nodded slowly to punctuate his point. “That’s a caring, compassionate person. Deep in your core, something like that shows who you are. That’s what will make you a great mom.”

“I hope so.” Tess’s voice dropped, and she looked away. “I worry sometimes. I didn’t have the best role model in that department.”

He sat again, suddenly curious. “Not close to your mom, huh?”

“Noooooo.”

Logan caught the flash in her big blue eyes: resentment. Interesting.

“You’re close to your mom, though,” Tess said. “And that’s lovely. How was she today? Hope her treatment was okay?”

He saw right through her attempt to change the subject, but damn, he was liking her more and more. He put the mugs back on the small table and sat down. “She’s all right, thanks. Just wiped out, like usual. I cooked her one of her favorite dinners, and we watched about half a movie before she fell asleep. Which is pretty much what she predicted would happen.”