His Surrogate For Hire: A BWWM Pregnancy Romance by BWWM Club, Esther Banks Page A

what to say, she thought it best to just start a regular
conversation and take her time divulging the information.
    "This is the perfect place to be right now. The weather could
not be more beautiful." Clay smiled as he took a seat next to
her on the swing. The spicy scent of his cologne floated on the warm
breeze. It had become a comforting scent around the house.
    "It is a beautiful day. That's why I thought I should have lunch
outside. Then it was too nice to go in, so I sat out here, reading
and relaxing."
    "Relaxing. Just what I need you to do." His smile was wide,
full of happiness.
    "I have learned to do that so much more. Thank you."
    They sat swinging, neither of them talking about what was on their
minds. The words were welling up in Diana's throat, on the verge of
spilling forth. She knew he would be happy to know she was pregnant.
That was what he wanted so badly in the first place. Why was it so
hard for her to just say it?
    Clay looked at her, and it was as if his green eyes were seeing right
through her.
    "Diana, come on, out with it. It looks like you have something
you want to tell me."
    She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Is it that
apparent?" she asked, opening her eyes to look at him.
Nervously, she brushed the hair back that was tumbling in to her
eyes.
    "Kind of," he chuckled.
    There were all types of thoughts running through her head on how she
could explain to him that she was pregnant. On television, the woman
always did something cute to get the man's attention and let him know
she was pregnant. She was all tapped out of ideas here. This would
just have to be very simple.
    "I went in to see Dr. Carroll today to prep for another round of
in vitro."
    Clay inched closer to her, taking her hand in his. His expression was
hopeful, eyes sparkling with a glimmer of optimism.
    "So? How did everything go?"
    Diana squeezed his hand. The trouble with telling him she was
pregnant was not so much about how he would react to the news. She
knew he would be happy about the pregnancy. It was the part where he
figured out the conception occurred the natural way that made her
wonder how he would react.
    "Everything went just fine. I'm healthy. Dr. Carroll gave me a
clean bill of health." Diana hoped her response came across cool
and calm.
    "That's great. So when do you go for the next round?"
    "That's where the good news comes in."
    An eyebrow raised, Clay asked more questions.
    "Good news? What good news?"
    Diana could not figure out another way to say what needed to be said.
All she could come up with was simply blurting out the answer.
    "So," she paused, drawing out the word as she spoke. Seeing
the anxiety showing on Clay's face, she went ahead and blurted out
the news.
    "I'm pregnant."
    He looked stunned, then when the words sank in, his eyes widened and
he bolted upright from the swing.
    "Did you say pregnant?"
    Diana nodded.
    Clay did a two step, almost turning around in a circle. "You
said you are pregnant? Confirmed?"
    Diana reached in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out the sonogram.
Slowly, she offered him the black and white picture. A look of pride,
beaming, Clay was speechless.
    "I'm right at seven weeks. Halfway through the first trimester."
    "But I thought the in vitro did not work the first time around."
    Diana sat quietly, waiting for him to understand the time line. She
could see him thinking about it and then the light bulb came on.
    "Oh. Wow. You? We?" Clay looked back at the sonogram.
    "Yes," she simply replied.
    Clay closed his eyes, as if he was deep in thought or meditating. It
looked like the kind of thing that should not be disturbed, so Diana
sat quietly waiting for his response.
    "So we made this baby together?" Clay stared at her, asking
a question that was truthfully more rhetorical in nature.
    She nodded, unsure whether he was happy about it or exactly how he
was feeling.
    Clay took a seat next to her again. "This is great news."
    When he responded, Diana felt like she could