Last chance to back down, Char. It’s not too late to just get a dog or something.
Releasing a deep breath, Charlotte sat up straighter and offered Addison a weak smile. “Yeah, I was getting a few tests done to make sure everything was okay and that I was, you know…fertile.”
Addison stopped sipping on her drink and blinked. “Okay, I’m confused. When did you decide you wanted to have a baby?”
“It’s not for me,” Charlotte added hastily. “I mean, I’d be carrying the baby, but I wouldn’t keep it. It would be for someone else.”
Addison’s eyebrows drew together. “Like surrogacy?”
Charlotte’s heart started beating in her ears loud enough to almost drown out everything else. “Yes, exactly.”
Addison’s eyebrows were still drawn in confusion. “Char, why didn’t you tell me you wanted to be a surrogate? I think that’s great.”
Charlotte forced herself to release the mug and ignored the tightening in her stomach. “It’s not just that I want to be a surrogate. I want to beyoursurrogate.”
Addison grew as still as a statue.
“Yours and Mason’s, I mean,” Charlotte added quickly. “I know you didn’t ask me to, and it might seem kind of sudden, but I’ve spent the past couple of weeks thinking about it, and here we are.”
Addison snapped her mouth shut. “Char, I…I don’t know what to say.”
Had she ruined their friendship, doomed them to become awkward strangers?
Addison wasn’t jumping for joy, but she didn’t look like she wanted to get up and leave, either.
Charlotte had no idea which way the pendulum was going to swing, but she desperately hoped it was in her favor.
“You don’t have to say anything. You didn’t pressure me into this,” Charlotte said, the words pouring out of her in a rush. “I think it was what Savannah said about me not being happy. I’m not miserable or anything, but it got me thinking that I’ve felt a little stuck.”
Addison’s mouth moved, but no words came out. She reached for her drink, took a long sip, and some of the color returned to her face. “So, you think having someone else’s baby is going to help with that?”
“It’s going to give me a purpose,” Charlotte responded. “Which is something I really need right now. I don’t want to feel like I’m just going through the motions anymore. I want tolive.”
Addison frowned. “This is a pretty big deal, Char. It’s not that I don’t appreciate your offering, because I do, but have you thought about it?”
“I have.”
Addison linked her fingers together and placed them over the table. “I mean,reallythought about it. You know there’s no hurry, especially since you said your test results came back fine and everything is in order.”
“I know there’s no hurry, but time isn’t going to make me change my mind. Besides, I know you want a late spring/early summer baby, so now is the time to try. It’s already early July, so we’ve got to move quickly—”
Addison held a hand up to cut off the rest of her sentence. “Whoa, slow down. Just because I wanted a spring baby doesn’t mean we have to get on this right away. I don’t want anything to ruin our friendship and a baby…that’s a very big ask.”
Charlotte nodded, and her heart fluttered. “I know. I just think that—”
Her phone rang, interrupting the rest of her sentence. With a frown, Charlotte fished it out of her pocket and held it up to her face. It was Laura Turncliff, Liam Alrich’s fiancée.
Charlotte offered Addison an apologetic smile and swiped right to answer. “Hi, Laura.”
“Hey, Charlotte. How are you? I just wanted to give you a quick call. Liam told me about some of the ideas you had for the auditorium…I hope it’s okay that I’m calling.”
Charlotte switched the phone to her other ear and took a sip of water. “Yeah, of course, it’s okay. You didn’t have to get in touch with me right away. I did tell Liam not to bother you.”
“I’ve got a few ideas off the top of my head,” Laura said, the sound of running water in the background. “But I’d like you to send me a few pictures, if that’s okay, and I’ll try to come down and take a look at the space as soon as I can.”
“You’re supposed to come down soon, right? After the cast comes off?”
Laura chuckled. “For the wedding, yes, though, at this point, it feels more like Liam’s wedding than it does mine, but it’s okay. I should be there in late October or early November. I know the play is in December, but I think that should give us enough time, don’t you?”
