The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance (15 page)

Perhaps it was Daniel’s intimidating presence – everyone in the establishment bowed and scraped to him as if their lives depended on it – or perhaps it was just because the man was different, but he seemed more interested in running a top notch establishment than hogging all of the glory. Additionally, he paid no mind to the fact that she was a woman, or her pregnancy.

He greeted both she and Daniel warmly, they had a cup of very strong coffee, and then she was provided with a chef’s coat and ushered into the kitchen. Her interview, Pierre informed her, would be a working one. She’d be required to direct the kitchen in preparing a meal for a party of ten of the corporation board members that afternoon.

For a moment, the young woman had been so utterly floored by the sudden task that she’d panicked somewhat. However, when she’d caught Daniel’s bright blue eyes fixed on her reassuringly, she’d managed to take a deep breath and swallow her fears. He’d told her that while it was in his power to provide the interview, he would have no say whatsoever in her actually getting hired, and he deferred in all decisions to Pierre - an extremely choosy and professional individual.

This had been the opportunity she’d been waiting for her entire life. Now, what was she going to do with it?

She’d quickly decided upon which recipes she wanted to serve from her immense mental encyclopedia and scribbled down some notes before working with the sous chefs to show them exactly how she wanted things prepared. Having been a sous chef for most of her life, she was careful not to belittle them or insult them. Sous chefs were the heart of a kitchen, and working well with them was a sign of a capable head chef.

For three hours, she mixed, stirred, sautéed, and braised until she had prepared for the ten board members a comparable feast: Roasted Duck Breast Confit with mango chutney, accompanied by white wine glazed carrots and new potatoes. For an appetizer, there was a habanero gazpacho with mint and desert was a rich caramel cream custard with chocolate caramel glaze. Pierre’s expression when he tasted the fair was unreadable, and he consulted with the other sous chefs while Esme waited on pins and needles for his feedback.

An elegantly plated serving was provided for both him and Daniel before the rest of the kitchen got the leavings, which quickly disappeared. The food was then sent out to the waiting board members while butterflies took over Esme’s stomach.

When Pierre finally came back to speak to her, the little bean’s anxious writhing had added to her own and she had to sit down, slightly lightheaded.

The manager asked if she was classically trained, to which she truthfully replied that her cooking was an amalgamation of different styles, from what her mother had taught her to things she had picked up over her years in the kitchen. She felt the man assess her, looking over her from head to toe with piercing gray eyes before he finally gave his reply.

They needed her to begin as soon as possible; would she be able to considering that she must be expecting soon?

Happiness exploded through her. Despite her round belly, Esme hopped from her seat, whooping like a teenager as she felt tears of joy pricking at the corners of her eyes. From his seat next to her, Daniel watched her with an irrepressible grin.

Could she start as soon as possible? She wished she could have started yesterday! The young woman was slightly worried about how Daniel would feel about her working while pregnant. He was, after all, the one who had pulled her from her original job for worries about her health. However, this matter appeared to be completely different.

As long as she promised to stop working for the last month of her pregnancy, Daniel didn’t have any qualms whatsoever with her working four days a week in the restaurant, and would happily provide her with transportation if she didn’t want to drive her own car.

For the rest of the day, Esme was floating on air.

She absolutely couldn’t believe that she’d finally obtained the position she’d worked so hard for. Meeting Daniel had changed her outlook on life in a bevy of ways – and provided her with opportunities she’d never imagined she might have. While, of course, it had crossed her mind, that the man could be throwing his weight around to provide for her the way he had, Daniel just didn’t seem the type.

He didn’t flaunt his money or status, and seemed genuinely embarrassed by the wealth he’d amassed.

For that one afternoon, Esme got a taste of what it was truly like to live the high life. Despite her hesitation, she allowed Daniel to steer her into a high class maternity clothing store and stood by awkwardly while he and the saleswoman picked out a bevy of clothes for her to try on. While Esme had never been a huge shopper, she found that she liked getting pampered in such a manner. She got figuratively wrist slapped for the one instance in which she looked at the price tags on the clothing and could only gape. She tried to insist that she couldn’t accept anything so expensive from Daniel – he was already giving her a stipend for God’s sake – but the man would hear nothing of it – even threatening to buy everything once she left the store anyway.

So Esme relented, allowing herself to revel in the experience as she tried on floaty silk tops and the most flattering maternity pants she’d ever encountered. They left the shop laden down with bags, only to enter another. It was, to Esme’s shock and slight embarrassment, a lingerie store – if anything, more expensive than the last shop they had entered. She thought the clerks would take one look at her rounded belly and turn her from the store, but of course, they kowtowed to Daniel as if he was royalty and he only winked at her, before telling her she could pick out anything she liked.

At first, Esme had only turned bright red, more than a bit taken aback that Daniel wanted her to buy sexy underwear in front of him – and in her state, no less. But after her initial hesitation, she quickly grew engrossed with the high quality silks and laces. She’d never had such divine undergarments in her life, and it took her less than half an hour to find a few pieces she liked. Shyly, she presented them to Daniel for his approval, only to have the rancher give her a wicked smile, tipping back his Stetson before proceeding to add about three times more than she’d chosen to her pile.

It was all paid for with the swipe of a card, leaving Esme’s head spinning at the amount of money they must have spent.

She didn’t think she’d ever seen a bill so large in her life and merely tried to wrap her mind around Daniel’s insistence that the money would simply sit around if it wasn’t spent. She declined his offer of more shopping, citing the ache that now seemed ever present in her back from the extra weight she was carrying and, content, started back towards the car with him, contemplating the opportunity of her new position at Pierre’s.

She was only distracted right before they left through the entrance of the mall – by a store selling different collections of infant clothing.

Pausing, Esme found herself staring into the window.

Though she knew that Daniel was arranging the nursery for the baby, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to visit the upstairs room. She often passed the closed door on her way to and from his room, and had even once or twice almost ventured in to take a look, but she always hurried back downstairs unfulfilled, her heart pounding.

The nursery was none of her business.

Daniel’s baby was none of her business – but whether from the hormones assaulting her body or from her own inexplicably volatile mind, she found her mind lingering on the child more and more as her pregnancy progressed. She, who had vowed that she might never have children of her own – for whom her career took all precedence and who had finally achieved what she’d worked towards her entire life.

The past few weeks, she’d woken from dreams in which she held Daniel’s baby to her chest, her own heart brimming with love for the child as she felt its heart beat next to her own. She’d imagined what Daniel’s face might look like for his son’s first steps – his first words…his first horse ride. Things that she would never see. Things she had no business wanting.

She tried to tell herself that it was just out of concern for the baby’s health – that she only wanted him to be strong in order to fulfill her commitment to Daniel…but deep within, Esme knew it was something more.

Like the reason she never spent the night with the man.

Certainly, they were intimate. At almost every opportunity, Daniel caught her alone and ravished her breathless, captivated by her changing body beneath his agile hands. The sex was incredible – but anything else…it was more than Esme could afford. When she’d signed up to be Daniel’s surrogate, she hadn’t even considered what might happen if she developed feelings for the man. Then again, she’d assumed Alyssa would be there to prevent those kind of entanglements from occurring.

She now found herself in a very precarious position: unsure of how she felt towards a man who she would soon have to let go. And that didn’t even take into account how she felt about the developing child within her. She had no doubt that Daniel would love his son to within an inch of his life…but the baby would grow up without a mother. And try as she might, Esme couldn’t keep from inserting herself into the position even against her better judgement.

She wasn’t ready to be a mother.

She wasn’t the motherly type.

But for Daniel…she could be. The man was gentle, kind, and generous, He was everything, in her opinion, that wealth and privilege should have stolen from him. Could anyone really blame her for how she felt?

Now, as her eyes hovered on a adorable
onesie
in the shop window, she knew she was overstepping her boundaries. She wasn’t the baby’s mother – only a vessel – and so she had no right to wonder what the soft, sweet infant would look like in colors of cream and blue. How he would sound when he cooed in delight at his father’s smile – or what his mouth would feel like latched onto her breast.

“It’s cute.”

She was startled from her reverie by Daniel’s low voice in her ear. He pointed to the piece she’d been admiring with a wry smile. “That one, right? I like it.” He took her hand, making to lead her into the shop. “Let’s go get it.”

Esme stopped short, her eyes wide. When she didn’t move, Daniel looked back to her with a brow arched. “What’s the matter, darlin?”

Slowly, the young woman shook her head, apprehension welling in her chest. “No…you go ahead. I’ll wait outside.”

Daniel’s smile was soft and inviting. “Esme, come in with me. It’ll only take a minute, I swear.”

“No!” The word came out sharper than she’d intended as she slipped her hand from his; and when the man’s expression fell, guilt consumed her. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I’m sorry, Daniel, I just…I mean…shopping for a baby…that’s a mother’s duty, right? A parent’s duty? I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

For a moment, Daniel’s expression was unreadable. Then, slowly, he came back to her, taking both her hands in his own to tug her back in the direction of the shop, despite her protests. The interior smelled of lavender and roses, and she was suddenly surrounded by baby clothes and accessories. The young woman struggled not to be overwhelmed by the accoutrement that surrounded her.

This wasn’t her baby.

It
wasn’t
.

“Esme, look at me.” Her gaze jerked up to Daniel’s as he spoke to her lowly, his voice tinged with grief. “This baby isn’t going to have a mother. I’m not going to put myself…or the child in a position to be hurt like that. There’s no one to shop for him or her. No mother’s kind, doing words or excitement. Just me…and the overwhelming pressure not to fail in the one opportunity I’ve always wanted.” He gestured around the store, with its assorted racks of infant clothing in a myriad of shades. “And I think I’ve done enough of this alone. Help me, please? It’s not intruding if I ask, is it?”

For an instant, Esme’s heart was in her throat.

A part of her wanted to flee – to run back out to the car and shed the tears that threatened thickly at the back of her throat. But that would do her no good in this situation. Daniel would follow her, and he would want to know what was wrong.

And she couldn’t possibly tell him.

Better for her to do as he wanted – to help him. She would pick out a few pieces, and then they would leave. It was nothing she couldn’t handle. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed the pain in her chest and forced a smile – for his sake.

“I guess not.”

“Thank you, Esme.” Daniel’s answering grin took her breath away. God, did the man have any idea how incomparably gorgeous he was? His offspring were going to be beautiful.

Esme’s intention was just to pick out the jumpsuit she’d seen in the window, but when the saleswoman immediately joined her, showing her other pieces – each more adorable than the last, Esme found herself lost in a grand profusion of tiny jumpers and matched sets, seeing each one, in her mind’s eye, swaddling a baby with golden hair and bright blue eyes.

She was quiet the entire way home, staring out of the window as the lush landscape rolled past. Esme struggled to take her mind from the bags in the back seat, instead rubbing her stomach almost absently as she contemplated that her time with Daniel was almost over. Three more months – maybe less. Babies were unpredictable that way.

Once she’d given birth, she’d be out of his life forever.

And perhaps that was for the best.