The Married Billionaire’s Surrogate

She hurried by his side and her hazel pupils spread wide in awe. Hung one next to the other were a stunning black dress sprinkled with crystals in the middle and a black male suit. Below them she spotted a pair of leather polished shoes and wonderful high-heels with a red base. She squealed locking her arms around his neck.

“You are so kind, Steve.” She lost the words to express her gratitude. What he had done for her and what he was still doing was just too much for a maid.

“I-I have this for you. If you like it you can wear it to the party.” She gently opened his hand and dropped a small bag in his palm. “It’s not much, but…”

“It’s amazing.” His eyes glowed at the sight of the silver cuff buttons. They were not actually silver but a variation of it, as the shop assistant explained, yet Alicia spent all the money she had with her on them. As small as it was, it was a gift from the heart and on his face she saw that he appreciated it more than anything else. “Thank you, love. You… You just make me so happy. I…”

“I love you.” She finished his sentence and he kissed her gently.

Once they were all dressed, the perfume and make-up on, they climbed into the elevator and got down to the lobby. Crowded with guests, it shone in glamour and luxury. There were dresses that would make your mind swirl, bags from famous designers Alicia saw only in magazines and suits with shimmering cuff buttons, yet when she turned to look at Steven, he had his imitated ones neatly placed on the sleeve. He briefly ran his fingers on them and smiled. She guessed that sometimes money wasn’t enough to buy everything.

“Steven, my man!” A man in a white suit and black tie approached them, his white teeth perfectly opposing his dark skin. “I knew you’d come.”

“Hey, Raff.” Steven tapped him on the back in a brotherly hug. “Look at this place. You’ve built a palace.”

“Oh, you’re exaggerating, bro. If someone hasn’t seen your house, they would believe you live in a shack.” They both laughed. “Where’s Eli –“

“This is Alicia, Raff,” Steven spoke, waving a hand toward her.

“A classic from Steven – always protecting his girls from the eyes of men.” Raff winked at Steven while taking Alicia’s hand and kissing it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alicia. You know, you’re the first girl that Steven has ever brought here. You must be special.”

“Oh really?” Alicia nervously said looking from Raff to Steven and back again. The butterflies fluttered their wings in her stomach once again.

“Yeah,” Raff said, nodding. He motioned for the waiter to bring in three glasses of champagne. “To life and to good friends.”

“And to love,” Steven added and the three of them lifted the glasses in the air making a soft click.

“And now, my friends, this dance is for you,” Raff said, clapping twice with his hands and in the same moment the band started a slow romantic ballad.

All of the guests flooded the dance floor; the lights all around turned off, leaving a single one illuminating the center spot where Alicia was having her first dance with Steven. As if moved by a force much stronger than her, her left hand rose to his shoulder and the right one met his. She felt his soft hand on her waist making goosebumps crawl all over her body. They began swaying to the rhythm of the music, oblivious to all those people dancing around them. It was just Alicia Balfe and Steven Wyatt alone in their love, conscious of the heat burning inside of them like the greatest bonfires of the world and embracing it with all of their hearts. They completely gave in to the pleasure focusing only on each other’s eyes and what they spoke.

“It’s our song?” Steven spoke gently in her ear which made her shiver.

“Which song?” He interfered Alicia’s thoughts and she couldn’t even recognize the song that was being played.

“The song playing on the radio during our date,” he said and smiled.

“It follows us everywhere.” She returned the smile, thinking that finding a mutual song in a relationship as one of the most romantic and ultimate things to be done. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she let the music carry them away in the night.

Steven whispered again after a while and she was instantly pulled back into reality. “Do you like it here?”

“Absolutely yeah. I love it. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have written it in my diary in the first place, would I? And plus with you and me in it, it’s so much better.”

He chuckled. “It sure is. Alicia… Would you… Um… Maybe want to live in a place like this with me? I mean after everything is done. We can move far away from the city and from that hideous house. It doesn’t have to be the Bahamas, it can be closer to your mom or whatever place you pick.”

Did he just ask me to move in with him, she wondered as her whole life sprang before her eyes and then she was looking at a series of scenes – it was Steven holding their first child, the both of them sitting in rocking chairs and looking at the twilight and the dying colors of the sun, the first steps of the child and she realized the importance and the weight the decision to be with Steven brought to her.

“Yes,” she told him, “Yes, yes and a million times yes.” Her hands escaped their places and they were now around Steven’s body and his seemed to follow.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too,” Alicia replied and kissed him on the lips.