"This is my dad," she says, reaching for her dad's arm. Her dad turns around, interrupting a conversation he was having with a man I recognize as Murphy, Evan's brother. Murphy and Evans look very much alike. Same height, same blue eyes, same broad shoulders and handsome faces, same taste in the wardrobe...except Murphy has short blond hair. I lock eyes with him and can't help but think about everything Evans told me. If he forgives his brother for shooting him, then I decide he must be a decent man.
"That's Murphy," Caroline interrupts my thoughts.
I shake my head with a smile, feeling embarrassed. "Right."
"Nice to meet you," Murphy says, offering me his hand.
"You too," I say as I shake it. I turn to the dad. He is a good-looking man with brown hair and brown eyes, like Caroline. He has a warm look in his eyes that makes me immediately feel comfortable around him. As I shake his hand, I realize I’m meeting a famous actor. "Hi," I say casually.
He smiles. "Hello, how are you Ciara?" He speaks like we've known each other for a long time.
"Good, thank you Mr. Leonard."
He shakes his head. "Oh please, call me Kristoffer"
“Kristoffer," I repeat with a nod.
"It's nice of you to come and meet us."
His comment takes me off-guard, but I say, "Of course."
His gaze suddenly averts to something behind me and I turn around. A woman is walking to Evans, who is still holding Dell.I can't see her face but she's wearing a pale pink skirt suit. She has short, blond hair and she's wearing high heels.
"How could you?" She demands Evans looks up with a pained look on his face and he hands Dell to Mark.
"That's my mom," Caroline whispers next to me. I feel my body freeze. I suddenly understood why Evans didn't want to tell his family.
"Not even a phone call, Evans? I’m your mother for God's sake!"
Evans sighs. "I know, I'm sorry."
"Huh!" She slaps her hands against her sides. "You think that's going to solve everything? An apology?"
Evans shrugs. "I don't know what you want me to do, mom. This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. It wouldn't have mattered if I would have told you earlier. You were still going to get mad."
"Well what do you want me to do? Jump around with joy?" She shakes her head. "This wasn't the way to do it Evans. You were supposed to get married! Not hire a surrogate! You've been lucky no one has found out!"
"What's wrong with that? I'm not the first one to do it! And you know perfectly well i don't ever want to get married." He takes a deep breath, running a hand through his black hair. "Mom, it's a baby." He takes a step towards her. "Please, be a mom and be happy for me?"
They stare at each other for a moment. Everyone has gone silent by now; we're all watching them. And then Evan's mom turns around and searches the room until her eyes lay on me. She gives me the coldest glare with her blue eyes. She has one of those expressions that makes you look away the moment you lock eyes with her. She scares me a bit. "You—" she says, then I watch in horror as she makes her way towards me.
"Mom—no." Evans says, taking three long strides and getting in front of me.
"What?" I hear her say as I hide behind Evans like a coward. "I just want to meet the famous surrogate."
Evan's body is tense, but he sighs and moves to the side. I'm thankful when he still stays close. I don't know if this woman is capable of beating up a pregnant woman, but by the looks of it, she might. "Hi." I say, trying to ease the tension when we lock eyes again.
She looks at me up and down, probably judging the brands of my clothes. "What do you want from my son? Other than money?"
I feel my neck grow hot. She's not wrong. I did this for money. "Uh—"
"Mom, please." Evans says, sounding annoyed.
"You're not planning on ruining my son's reputation, are you?" she continues, ignoring Evans. "You wouldn't be that stupid."
“Rosa." Kristoffer says,stepping forward. It's so hard to believe that they were once married. Kristoffer has this warm aura around him and his ex-wife is the total opposite.
Rosa glares at him. "What?"
"Dinner's ready," Caroline interrupts.
"Great," Murphy says, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Everyone begins to make their way to the dining room and Rosa turns to glare at me one more time before following them. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
Evans turns to look at me. "I'm sorry," he says, shaking his head.
I can see Rosa watching us from her seat, so I'm careful about the space between us. She already doesn't think I'm worthy of carrying her grandchild. I don't even want to think about what she thinks about me being with her son. So, I half smile. "It's okay." I walk to the dining room before he can say anything else. I end up sitting across from Rosa. I'm thankful Evans sits next to me, but I doubt I'm going to be able to pass any food down my throat.
"Hi, I'm Grace," a woman says after she places a plate in front of me. I turn and smile at her. She's beautiful. Long, blond hair with fair skin and hazel eyes. She is wearing a pencil dress that compliments her body shape perfectly. She must be Murphy's wife.
"Hi, I'm Ciara."
She smiles. "I know."
Caroline and Grace continue to bring the plates. It is a classic lasagna with breadsticks. It smells wonderful. Evans stands and goes into the kitchen. I feel myself panic. Where did he go? He can't leave me alone! I seriously feel like I'm going to break before Rosa's glare. I've never met anybody like her. No wonder Evans didn't want to tell anyone. I no longer blame him.
"So, Ciara," Kristoffer says and I look at him. “Caroline tells me you're a nurse?"
"I am, yes. I just graduated in May."
"Are you currently working?"
I shake my head. "Not anymore. I decided to get my maternity leave early." Actually, Evans and my mom helped me decide that. I don't like the idea of staying home all day, but it is his baby and I was going to have to do it sooner or later, so I called them a few days ago. They promised to save my space.
"What do your parents do?" Rosa asks.
I avoid her glare. "My parents live in Arizona. My dad kind of does any job. From construction to working in a restaurant." I decide it's not a good idea to mention that he has been sick. Then they'll all know the real reason I did this. "My mom is a housewife."
Rosa looks pleased with my answer, as if I confirmed her suspicions. Evans comes back with a beer. For the first time, I wish I could have some of it.
"Do you have a boyfriend? Any kids?" Kristoffer asks.
I don't say anything because at that moment, I realize Evans hasn't told them. I want to kick myself. Told them what? That this baby was conceived in a bed? That we are what? I don't even know what we are. If I didn't know any better, I would call it fooling around. Still, the fact that he told them I was just his surrogate kind of hurts. Then at the same time, I'm thankful. This is already too much drama.
I look down at my plate. "No, it's just me."
"That's good, right? Makes things easier."
Jeg smiler til Kristoffer. "Yes, it does."
Kristoffer smiles, looking around the table. "Well on behalf of my family, we're all very grateful that you are doing this for my son."
I feel my throat get dry. "My pleasure."