Page 40 of Nine Month Contract
“I told her not to come,” Wyatt hisses, his jaw muscle twitching beneath his freshly trimmed beard, making the little flecks of gray in it harder to see when it’s short like this.
“Told who not to come?” I ask, noting how the hospital fluorescents cast ominous shadows on his face, but he still manages to look hot. Bastard.
I bet I look like a witch in this lighting.
“Wyatt!” an older female coos from behind him, and I see his eyes roll to the back of his head before he grumbles and turns around to face her.
An attractive female with a short blond bob who looks about in her sixties comes charging out of the clinic waiting area to greet us by the elevator we just stepped out of.
“Mom,” he bites out through clenched teeth as his eyes narrow on her.
“Your mom is here?” I slap my hand over my mouth because I tend to laugh when I’m nervous, and right now, I am highly uncomfortable.
“You must be Trista the Surrogate.” The woman, who’s a good five inches shorter than me, pulls me into a hug, crushing the cellophane-wrapped bouquet she’s holding between us. “I’m Johanna, and it is so nice to finally meet you.”
I crouch down to return her hug and am assaulted with a wave of expensive perfume. Wyatt shared some stuff about his late father but not much about his mom, so I don’t know how to react.
“I think you are so special,” she says as she pulls back, and I notice her eyes are welled with tears. “Doing this for my boy. I mean,don’t get me wrong, I was shocked when he told me about all this. But if this is how I get more grandchildren, I am Team Trista the Surrogate.”
“There are no teams, Mom,” Wyatt murmurs under his breath, his tone exasperated. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to meet Trista the—”
“You can just call me Trista,” I interject, desperate not to hear the full label she’s pegged me with.
“Trista,” she repeats and smiles warmly at me as her eyes assess my face. “Gosh, you’re pretty.”
“Mom,” Wyatt groans and pinches the bridge of his nose.
“What?” she snaps at him in a chastising, motherly tone that only a woman who’s raised four boys can pull off. “You didn’t mention how pretty she was. Can’t I notice how pretty you are?”
“I love it when people tell me I’m pretty,” I reply with a shrug. My God, this is weird, but watching Wyatt squirm makes this awkwardness incredibly worth it.
Johanna reaches up and tucks a piece of my loose hair behind my ear. It’s overly affectionate but kind of amazing, and I turn into her embrace.
“Wyatt rarely invites me up to the mountain, so I had to come here to see you for myself.”
“I see you in town every week, Mom,” Wyatt says gently and then looks at me. “She brings me and my brothers lunch at our jobsites at least twice a week.”
“That’s so nice.” My jaw drops, and I murmur, “My mom never even made me breakfast.”
Johanna’s face falls. “Oh, honey, that’s awful.”
I cringe as I realize I’ve said too much. “Oh, don’t worry. I made my own breakfast.” I offer a wink that doesn’t seem to soothe her obvious disappointment.
Her brows are pinched together as she watches me for a moment before thrusting the bouquet into my hands. “These are for you. There’s a little gift card in there from my favorite bakery in town too.”
“Oh, wow.” I inhale sharply as I stare at the expensive bouquet in awe. I don’t think I’ve ever received flowers from anyone in my life, and the fact that she bought these for me without even knowing me is low-key bizarre. My own mother would never. She doesn’t even call me on my birthday.
If this is the type of love these Fletcher boys grew up with, then this baby will be in great hands.
“Thank you. These are beautiful.”
“You’re welcome,” she says, looking pleased. “I would have delivered them up to the mountain where you’re living, but Wyatt told me I couldn’t.”
Wyatt growls under his breath. “Because we haven’t even had our first ultrasound, Mom. I didn’t want Trista to feel pressured.”
I glance over at Wyatt and am shocked when I notice his entire body radiates protectiveness. I thought he was uncomfortable because his mom was here, which felt weird to me because she seems wonderful. But now I understand—he’s just looking out for me.
