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It was a deliberate evasion and he knew it, but he wasn’t going to push for information she didn’t want to give. She was a relative stranger, after all, and Adele’s best friend. There was no need to be rude or prying. Though he couldn’t help but wonder if her glow and now her evasion had anything to do with a new relationship. It shouldn’t matter, because she’d already made her feelings clear. But it did. What kind of man could capture the heart of a woman like her? He’d have to be someone special. Drew had definitely gotten the impression that Harper wasn’t the type to settle for just anyone.
“It is,” he replied, taking a sip of his beer. “Aspen Outfitters would fit in well here, I think, with tourists and locals alike. It’s a good market. Besides, I love building a new store. I like the challenge.” It certainly beat sitting behind a desk or in a boardroom. With growth came responsibility. He accepted it, but sometimes it weighed a bit heavily.
Adele came back in, bringing a bowl of pita chips and a dish of dip. She put them down on the coffee table. “I’m assuming you’re staying for dinner, but I thought you might like a snack for now.”
“God, your homemade hummus is to die for,” Harper said, leaning forward to grab a chip and scoop it through the smooth dip.
“I laid off the garlic, too. I know it’s...”
She didn’t finish her sentence.
Drew helped himself. Harper was right. The hummus was delicious, and he wasn’t a huge fan normally. “You don’t like garlic?” he asked, before popping another chip in his mouth.
“Oh, I like it. It just doesn’t like me right now.”
He frowned a little. Why would there be a change? Not that it was a big deal. It was hummus, for Pete’s sake. But that was the second time one of them had stopped midsentence. He wondered if he’d interrupted something important. Something that was none of his business. He considered leaving, but then knew it would look odd if he left without at least seeing his brother.
They made small talk for a little while, until the door opened and closed again and Dan called out hello.
“We’re in here!” Adele called back.
“We?”
Dan stepped into the room and Drew grinned at the look of sheer surprise on his face. He got up and gave his brother a bear hug and received one in return.
Dan clapped him on the back. “What the hell?” He laughed, stepping back. “We weren’t expecting you!”
“I know. And I don’t have any desire to disturb the newlyweds’ love nest. I’m at a hotel.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course you can stay here.”
Drew laughed. “Yeah, well, thanks, but I’m comfortable where I am. You guys deserve your privacy.”
That Dan didn’t argue further, and Adele blushed a little, told Drew all he needed to know. The hotel had definitely been the right—and most considerate—choice.
“You’re staying for dinner, though, right?”
“Sure.”
Dan finally noticed Harper. “Oh, and of course you’re staying, too, right?”
“Oh.” She looked surprised and slightly uncomfortable. “I should probably get back.”
“To what? The workday’s over. Stay,” Adele insisted. “I’m going to grill some chicken and make risotto. I’ve got falafel I can make for you, unless you want something else.”
Right. Drew remembered now from sitting next to her at the wedding. Harper was vegetarian.
“No, no, whatever you have is fine. You know I love falafel. Particularly if you have tzatziki from the market.”
“It’s settled, then.”
“Let me help you in the kitchen,” Harper offered, getting up from her chair. When she did, she pressed her hand to her back and stretched.
Once they were gone, Dan undid his tie and took it off, stuffing it in his pocket. He sank into a chair and sighed, then grinned. “It’s good to see you, Drew.”
“You, too. You guys look really happy. I’m glad.”
“We are. Very.”
Adele snuck in and handed Dan a cold beer, kissed his head and took off again.
“Did you really just come for a visit? It’s unusual for you.”
Drew shook his head. “As much as I’d be brother of the year if I said yes, I do have another agenda. Our last few stores are up and running smoothly, and I’m looking at expansion locations again. I got a tip about a property here. But I’m not saying much about it. I’m scouting things out.” Of the family, Dan was the only one who knew how successful Drew had become. And they’d talked about keeping it under the radar, even with the family. Drew preferred to keep his life private, particularly his bank balance. Enough people treated him differently. He didn’t need it from his family, too.
“You’re looking at setting up a store here.” Dan’s grin was wide. “Cool.”
“It’s a prime location. I’m here to check out the local competition and see the property. Maybe some other locations if it’s not what I’m looking for.” He smiled. “And the fact that you’re here is a major bonus. We haven’t seen each other enough over the last five years.”
Dan took a long pull of his beer. “You could have stayed here. I mean it.”
“And disturb the newlywed love nest? No thanks. It’s as much for my sake as it is for yours.” He chuckled and took a drink of his beer, as well. “By the way, is Harper here a lot? I was surprised to find her here when I arrived.”
Dan got a strange look on his face. “Oh, she’s around quite a bit I suppose.”
Drew put down his beer. That made at least four odd looks and a couple of halted conversations. Something was definitely off.
“Okay, I might be totally crazy, but is there something going on? You looked funny just now, and a couple of times Adele and Harper stopped midsentence. Am I missing something?” He frowned. “And if it’s none of my business, say so.”
Dan hesitated. “Well...it’s not that it’s none of your business, it’s that we haven’t said anything to anyone yet.”
“About what?”
Dan took a drink of his beer. “Well, you know that Delly can’t have kids.”
“Y-es,” he replied, drawing the word out a bit.
“So when I asked her to marry me, we talked about possibilities. Maybe adoption. Maybe not having children at all, which would have been fine. But at the wedding, Harper told us that she wanted to offer to be a surrogate for us.”
Drew’s gaze snapped to the kitchen door. He could hear Adele and Harper talking. A surrogate? He’d heard of such a thing but had never met anyone who’d actually done it. “So you’re going to do it? But...how? I mean... I’m assuming you’re...you know, and are you using her...” He started to stammer. “Okay, so this is actually really awkward.”
Dan chuckled. “I know. It was for me at first, too. Adele had some testing done and we decided to try using her eggs. Normally this can be a bit of a long road, but we lucked out on the first try.” His smile widened.
Drew stared for a minute as what his brother had just said sank in. We lucked out on the first try. “Does that mean... God, Dan, are you saying you’re going to be a father?”
He nodded. “And Delly’s going to be a mom, and Harper is carrying our baby for us.”
Drew flopped back against the cushion of the chair. “Holy mackerel. I did not see that coming. That was fast.”
“We haven’t told anyone yet, not even Mom and Dad. She’s still in the first trimester, and we want to be sure everything is okay. But since you’re here...” He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. “I’ve been dying to tell someone, you know?” His grin broadened.
It made sense now. The whole garlic-doesn’t-agree-with-me thing and the strange looks and truncated sentences. Drew rubbed a hand over his face and wondered what kind of woman offered to carry a child for a friend. What a huge commitment. What a generous thing. He hadn’t realized that Harper and Adele were so close. What the heck was she getting out of it? He didn’t consider himself a cynic, but he’d done enough business to know that hardly anyone did anything 100 percent altruistically.
“You okay, bro?” Dan lifted an eyebrow. “You look a little freaked out.”
“I’m just surprised. You’ve only been married since March.”
“We didn’t want to wait. If it didn’t work, we knew it could take time to adopt. I’m telling you, Harper is one in a million. Adele has gone to every appointment so far and soon we get to hear the heartbeat. That’s our baby in there, you see? Adele’s and mine. We’ll never be able to repay Harper for this.”
Harper stepped into the living room, her face easy and unconcerned. “Does anyone want another drink?”
Drew got to his feet, his emotions in a bit of a storm as he tried to adjust to the news without being an awkward ass. “Uh, I can get it. You don’t need to wait on me.”
She smiled softly. “Suit yourself, then. Beer’s in the fridge.”
He glanced quickly at her abdomen, then back up, his face heating. Harper didn’t seem to notice anything and, with a flip of her ponytail, was gone back to the kitchen again.
His brain was a muddle, but he did manage to have one coherent thought as he followed her into the kitchen.
Harper is carrying my brother’s baby.
CHAPTER THREE (#u1056d76e-3b0b-50e2-ba74-71b9caf28572)
HARPER KEPT HER hands busy cutting vegetables so she wouldn’t have to look up at Drew, who’d come into the kitchen to grab a beer from the fridge. She’d seen the way his gaze had dropped to her belly and back up and the way he’d stood when she came into the room. Dan had told him; she was relatively sure of that. And it was awkward as hell.
She knew there would be some odd looks from people over the next few months, and probably more than her fair share of intrusive questions. She was prepared for that, or at least she was trying to be.
But she hadn’t been prepared for Drew.
At the wedding in March he’d been crazy attractive, all sexy smiles and sparkling eyes, but she hadn’t been in the mood for a wedding fling, particularly with the groom’s brother. It would have been all kinds of messy.
Today had been far more awkward because the moment he’d stepped in the room her body had reacted just the same way as it had when he’d pulled her close on the dance floor. Her breath had caught and she’d felt that ridiculous butterfly feeling in the pit of her stomach. Forget the tux; Drew Brimicombe in faded, dusty jeans and a well-worn T-shirt was delectable. Add in that rough stubble and the slightly curling tips of his sun-streaked hair and she was a goner.
And she remembered how he’d propositioned her.
Now she was pregnant with his brother and sister-in-law’s child and...yeah. Just as she’d thought at the wedding. This would be potentially awkward as heck and his reaction proved it. Not to mention that her attraction to him hadn’t exactly disappeared.
She should never have agreed to stay for dinner.
“Harper. That might be enough cucumber.”
The plate in front of her was rounded with cucumber slices and she realized she’d sliced the whole thing. To cover her embarrassment at getting caught daydreaming, she grinned and popped one in her mouth. “I can’t get enough these days,” she admitted. “They’re so cool and fresh.”
“Well, maybe you could cut some carrot and tomato to go with it?”
“Of course. Sorry. I don’t know where my mind went.”
Except she knew exactly where it went. With Drew, back into the living room. Or more precisely, back on the dance floor at the Cascade, being held in his strong arms, their bodies brushing.
She was peeling a carrot when she chanced a look up at Adele, who was ladling broth into the risotto. “I think Dan told Drew about the baby,” she said.
Adele stopped stirring and stared at her. “You do? Why?”
“The way Drew looked at me when I went back in the room. It was the same look I got from Dan the moment I told you guys I was pregnant.”
Adele frowned. “We weren’t going to say anything to anyone yet. Not until after...” Adele let the thought trail away, and Harper put down the carrot peeler and went to her side.
“I know you’re worried, but we’re almost at the end of the first trimester. Besides, he didn’t take out a billboard or anything. It’s his brother. Who’s here in person. Don’t be too upset.”
Adele let out a breath. “I know. And I don’t mean to put extra pressure on you.”
“I know that.” Harper smiled easily, though deep down she felt as if a whole family’s hopes were pinned on her keeping this baby healthy. She didn’t want to be responsible for any big disappointments. “You’ll feel better when you can hear the heartbeat. It’s not long now. Besides, I feel great.” Most of the time, anyway. Beyond a bit of fatigue and a few hours in the morning where morning sickness had become an issue.
Adele smiled and nodded. “You’re right. Let’s finish this up and get dinner on the table. We can eat out on the deck.”
Harper finished preparing the vegetable platter, then checked on the chicken and the falafel on the grill. Adele brought out dishes for four and Harper set them out as Adele put the risotto in a bowl and brought out a pitcher of ice water.
The guys came a few moments later, still talking and laughing, and the early evening was more mellow in its heat, providing an easy warmth. Harper poured water in everyone’s glass as Adele took the food off the grill, and in moments they were all seated and ready to eat.
Plates were filled, but then Drew lifted his glass. “Adele, I know Dan was supposed to keep it a secret, but I’m over the moon about your happy news.” He turned his gaze on Harper, his dark eyes warm. “And you, Harper. What an incredible gift you’re giving my brother and sister-in-law. To your happy family,” he finished, and they all clinked glasses before drinking.
Harper looked up at him over the rim of her glass. He was watching her steadily, and those pesky nerves started again.
She was pregnant, for God’s sake. One of the reasons she’d been so willing to do this now was because she wasn’t involved with anyone. And it wasn’t like she was thinking about starting something with Drew. He was the baby’s uncle, after all. It was just that every time he looked at her she got this silly feeling all over. All she could think of was the cheeky look on his face when he’d said, “I don’t bite. Unless you want me to.”
She looked away and instead cut into her falafel.
Dinner conversation moved on to small talk about work and the summer weather, and the mood was easy and relaxed. Harper had been hungry, and the rice and falafel took away the gnawing sensation that had been bordering on queasy. When Adele asked if anyone wanted tea, the men refused but Harper was more than ready for a cup. “I’ll get it, Adele. I know where everything is.”
She rose from her seat and tried to ignore Drew’s gaze following her as she went to the kitchen. For heaven’s sake, she didn’t look any different. But his perception of her had changed. That much was clear.
The kettle was on heating and she was reaching for a couple of mugs when Adele came through the sliding doors. “The boys are talking shop,” she remarked, selecting a tea flavor from the selection she kept in a box on the counter. “For all Drew’s outdoorsman ways, he’s a good businessman. When they started talking US versus Canadian tax law implications, I had to bail.”
Harper laughed lightly. “It was nice, what he said earlier.” She grabbed a mint pouch from the tea box and dropped it into her cup.
“Yeah. It’s funny, though. He can’t take his eyes off you.”
And there went that zingy feeling through her body again. She ignored it and shrugged. “It must seem really strange.” She smiled at Adele. “What we’re doing is pretty unconventional.”
“Are you sure that’s all it is? I’ve known Drew awhile. I mean, we had that break where we didn’t see each other at all, but when Dan and I were dating before, I got to know him pretty well. I’d say it’s more interested than curious.”
“I doubt it. Besides, guys don’t find women who are pregnant with someone else’s baby all that attractive, you know?”
“Maybe. Still. Did something happen between you two at the wedding or something?”
Harper shook her head and reached for the kettle. She poured water into the cups as she answered, the task allowing her to avoid meeting Adele’s gaze. “No. I mean, we danced and stuff, but just your typical best man and maid of honour duties.”
Which was an out-and-out lie.
