was in a very good mood when she came home from the doctor’s. Everything for the surrogacy was set to go. Gina and Tom’s frozen embryos had already arrived at the clinic and in two weeks’ time, when Mattie’s cycle was right, she would begin taking pre-transfer hormones. With luck on her side, she would be pregnant within a month.
She could hardly wait to get started.
Gina and Tom were an amazing couple and if anyone deserved to be parents they did. They’d been childhood sweethearts and their deep love for each other had remained unshakeable. These days they ran a farm on the banks of Willow Creek and Gina’s house was always warm and welcoming, always filled with baking smells, a pot of tea at the ready. But there was a little yellow and white room at the end of the hallway, still waiting for the baby Gina longed for.
Mattie had seen Gina on the day she’d been told she needed a hysterectomy. She’d found her friend huddled in an unrecognisable ball in a corner of the lounge, red-eyed and shrunken—shut down—as if someone she loved with all her heart had died.
Of course, that was what had happened really, because now the baby Gina dreamed of would never have the chance to live.
For Gina, of all people, this was the cruellest blow. Mattie and Gina had been planning their families since they’d played with dolls in the tree house Gina’s dad built.
Mattie was an only child and she’d thought two children would be nice, but Gina came from a big family and she had been adamant she wanted five. Her husband was always going to be Tom and they would have two sets of twins and then a single baby at the end, a baby girl for her to spoil and cuddle when all the twins had gone to school.
It was unthinkable now that Gina couldn’t have at least one baby, and as Mattie had dumped any dreams of a family of her own after the truly toxic break-up with her fiancé, she hadn’t taken long to come up with her surrogacy proposal.
For her it was a perfect solution. Gina and Tom could have their baby, and she had the chance to do something positive and life-affirming—the perfect antidote to heartbreak.
This way, Mattie figured, everyone was a winner and she’d wasted no time before putting the idea to Gina and Tom.
They’d invited her for Sunday lunch, a simple, relaxed, happy meal of roast chicken and winter vegetables, followed by berries and ice cream. After the other guests had gone, Mattie had stayed behind to help with the cleaning up. The three of them had been in the kitchen, Mattie washing wineglasses at the sink while Gina stacked the dishwasher. Tom had just brought in freshly chopped wood for the fire.
At first Gina hadn’t understood.
‘A surrogate pregnancy,’ Mattie had clarified.
There’d been a momentary flash of shock in Gina’s face, but it was quickly outshone by hope and excitement. Then Gina had seen her husband’s grim frown and doubt had crept into her eyes.
‘That’s a huge ask, Mattie,’ Tom had said. ‘Have you thought this through? You’d be carrying another woman’s baby, fathered by another man.’
‘I know, I know. But you’re both my best friends.’
Tom had tried to smile and failed, and he ran a distracted hand through his spiky red hair. ‘I can’t get my mind around the fact that a woman other than Gina could give birth to my child. That’s off the wall. Even when it’s a wonderful friend like you.’
That discussion had taken place six months ago.
Mattie had thought the subject was dropped and she’d been disappointed. The idea of carrying her friends’ baby had filled her with a sense of purpose, which she badly needed. After the breakup with Pete she’d cared for her grandmother but, since Gran had passed away, her life had felt…blank and not very meaningful.
She’d kept busy, of course, had created another book and that had been fun and worthwhile, but she’d still felt vaguely restless and empty. And then Gina and Tom had called.
Could they come around for a chat? Tom had changed his mind. They’d considered adoption, but it wasn’t their first choice and if Mattie really was still willing to carry their baby they’d be deeply and eternally grateful.
Now, in Sydney, after receiving the doctor’s reassuring news, Mattie was in the mood for a minor celebration, and she stopped on the way home and bought a bottle of wine. After all, she wouldn’t be able to drink any alcohol once she was pregnant. She also bought the ingredients for one of her favourite meals, a scrumptious potato and mushroom pizza.
If Jake Devlin was still in an irritable mood, or if Ange was hanging about the flat, giving out sour looks, she would ask them to share the pizza. It was amazing how often a nice meal cheered people up.
Back at the flat, she sent a quick, excited e-mail to Gina and Tom and then she took Brutus for a nice long walk. She was extra-patient when he wanted to sniff at interesting smells every few metres or so and when she got back, happily windblown and refreshed, she put one of her own CDs in the player—a very popular movie soundtrack.
She opened the wine and poured a glass, which she sipped while she sifted flour and kneaded dough and chopped vegetables for the topping.
The pizza was almost ready for the oven when she heard the sound of a key in the front door. Her skin flashed hot and cold.
For heaven’s sake, it was such a silly reaction. What was the matter with her? As Jake Devlin’s footsteps sounded in the hallway she concentrated on adjusting the oven’s temperature setting, but she knew it wasn’t the stove’s heat that made her face bright and hot when he came into the kitchen.
‘How’s it going?’ he asked casually.
Mattie flashed a nervous smile in his direction. He looked as devastatingly sexy as ever.
‘Fine,’ she said.
‘You’ve been busy.’
‘Not really.’ She tried to sound offhand. ‘I’ve made plenty of mess, but it’s just a pizza.’
He came close—too close—and stood looking down at the pizza, with his hands resting lightly on his lean hips. Today his shirt was respectably buttoned and there was absolutely no reason for Mattie to feel weak at the knees.
While Jake studied her pizza with surprising interest, she drew a calming breath. At least, her deep breath was supposed to be calming but it didn’t seem to help her. She was still distinctly fluttery.
‘That looks really good.’ He spoke with every appearance of sincerity. ‘I’ve never seen potato used on a pizza.’
‘Oh, you should try it. It’s delicious.’
Great. Now she sounded breathless.
‘I’ll bet it’s terrific.’ He smiled at her and his smile was more dangerous than his bare chest had been.
Mattie’s movements became jerky and nervous as she began to tidy the cooking mess. Without looking at Jake, she said, ‘It’ll be ready in twenty minutes.’
‘I’m afraid I can’t hang around that long. I’ve already made plans.’ He slipped his sleeve cuff back and glanced at his wristwatch. ‘I have to leave again almost straight away, and I need to shower first.’
Mattie smothered her ridiculous disappointment with an extra-bright smile. She supposed Jake was going off to meet Ange.
‘Enjoy your dinner,’ he called over his shoulder as he left the room.
‘I will.’
It was a warm evening so Mattie ate her pizza slices and drank another glass of wine out on the balcony with Brutus at her feet. The balcony faced the east, but the sky reflected the pinks of the sunset from the western sky and the light turned the water a pretty pearlescent grey. She enjoyed the meal immensely—despite the dull cloud of tension and disappointment that had settled over her.
She