The Surrogate's Secret Read Online Free Page B

offspring have the right to their inheritance. It’s what their Papá would have wanted under the circumstances. Sheri must be made to understand that the estates are extensive and require this new generation to be caretakers. Tell her, Miguel. Be firm when you’re talking with her, not bossy, but firm, and my son, be…be nice.” Her tearful entreaties forced him to take a deep breath before he answered.
    “I will, Mamá. Please rest now. You have my word. Everything will work out the way it should.”
    “Adios, mi hijo. Te quiero.”
    “I love you too. Adios.” Stabbing the off button, he tossed it against the cushions on the plush sofa. Then he stretched, arms high in the air, and squirmed, trying to ease the tightness he felt over his entire body. He walked to the bar and refilled his glass with a double shot and lay down on the bed.
    He thought back to earlier in the day and recalled again the image he couldn’t seem to forget. The little beauty —with her masses of uncontrolled golden curls, deep-brown eyes that smiled even when her lips disagreed and a figure like that of the Venus de Milo statue—had woken too many reactions.  Reactions he hadn’t expected. The grin caught him off guard.  Guess the doctors were right after all. Though he’d never be able to make children, the vicious beatings obviously hadn’t made his equipment faulty.
    Didn’t matter. After his experience with Margarita, the lying bitch, he had no desire for another woman in his life. Her treachery still amazed him. Back when Mary-Anne and Felipe had visited on their honeymoon, Margarita had probed Felipe about his business and the ways one would use his facility. Then she’d talked Miguel into stopping at his brother’s In Vitro clinic to leave a sperm deposit when he’d flown to the states to be briefed before he’d left for Col ombia. At the time, her coaxing lips and knowledgeable hands helped win the argument. It would be a dangerous mission, and if something happened, Margarita begged that she wanted part of him to survive.
    Miguel put his arm over his eyes and swore. Once the government had released the data of his likely death, his intended had found a new man and he’d heard nothing from her since.
    He downed the drink in one gulp and went over to get another. Slamming the glass on the table, he reached for the bottle of expensive Scotch. Blasted, devious women were all piranhas, and he wanted nothing more to do with them. From now on he would take what they offered, and treat them the way they deserved.
    His mother’s words came back to haunt him. They made him grunt … Be nice. Being nice wouldn’t win this battle. 
    He thought back to his first impression of Sheri O’Connor. There had been nothing in the surrogate’s numerous e-mails and phone messages waiting for them on their return to Chile that indicated he’d be dealing with a tigress.
    Before he’d left home, he’d expected this to be simple. Pay the lady off in exchange for the baby. Regrettably, nothing comes easy. He should know that by now.
    His next move—figure out a way to get his niece and nephew to their rightful place in their father’s homeland. Just thinking about the tiny apartment and the crowded rooms where they now lived made him shudder.
    Why wouldn’t Sheri consent to giving him custody? Did she want more money and thought that by holding out, he’d up the price? Women he’d known previously fit into this avaricious scenario, but somehow, he knew she didn’t. Not every woman resembled the deceitful Margarita.
    He downed the rest of his drink and grabbing the pillow; he folded it in two, and then squashed it to fit comfortably. With his hands linked behind his head, he stared at the high ceiling and made plans.
    First, it was essential that he adopt those babies. This would be his one chance to be a Papá, and to have heirs for all the wealth he’d inherited and accumulated. After all, those babies already belonged and had a