Chapter One
“I want you to carry my child.”
Kristie’s brain short-circuited and she dropped the hand sanitizer, the bottle bouncing on the floor before skittering under the counter. Had she heard him correctly? Turning, she stared at the stocky, dark-haired man sitting on the edge of the massage table.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Kristie. Do you really need me to repeat myself?”
“I…you might just have to.” Kristie swallowed. “I think my brain just got fried. Did you just say you want me to carry your child?”
“I did.”
Tyler Young’s voice was soft as he stared at her, his gaze unblinking. Damn, why did he have to look at her like he was always undressing her in his mind? It was very distracting. How Kristie could focus on working when he was in the room, she had no idea. It was bad enough that she had to work on his shoulder to avoid further injury, and she had to stare at his bare chest while she did so.
It was a damn fine chest, and Kristie felt honoured to be touching it, but that wasn’t the point. He was off-limits, in more ways than one.
Yet he had come out with this so suddenly Kristie wondered if she had wandered off into her dreams when Tyler started talking. She pinched her hand, gasping when pain flared up. Tyler frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Just checking to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.” Kristie brushed her hair out of her eyes, feeling her face getting warm. God, why did she have to get so flustered around the guy? “Why would you say something like that to me, Tyler? Why come out with telling me you want me to carry your child? Don’t you think you should take me to dinner and date me for a while before you say that?”
“Who said I wanted a relationship?”
Now that felt like a slap in the face. Kristie drew on her composure and drew herself up.
“You really know how to charm the ladies, Tyler,” she said sharply. “I’m sure women fall at your feet with comments like that.”
“I don’t ask all women to carry my child, Kristie.”
“Why me? In fact, why are you asking at all? What’s brought this up?”
For the first time since he entered the treatment room, Tyler glanced away. Kristie watched as he ran a hand through his dark hair, her eyes drifting over his strong, bristled jaw, the sensual-looking lips, and the perfectly compacted muscles in his shoulders, arms and chest. For thirty-six, he was just sensational. Kristie had certainly fantasised about him plenty of times since he had arrived in England. The New Zealander was someone who made everyone sit up, both because of his incredible bowling stats and because of how gorgeous he was.
Three months into his contract, and Kristie felt like she was weakening every time she was in the room with him. Not good. Maybe she should get Shauna to treat him from now on.
Especially if he was talking about having babies with him.
“It’s…it’s complicated,” Tyler said with a slight growl. “Can you just tell me yes or no?”
“I’m not saying anything until you tell me why.” Kristie folded her arms. “You just said you wanted me to carry your baby, but you’re not looking for a relationship. If you’re going to use me as an incubator, I think I deserve to know why.”
Tyler winced.
“I don’t see you as an incubator, Kristie. I respect you too much for that.”
Kristie snorted.
“Respect me? Go back and think about what you just said.”
“What I mean…” Tyler closed his eyes for a moment. “I’ve wanted to be a dad for a long time. I love kids, and I enjoy being around my nieces and nephews. But I’ve not been lucky with relationships. The women I date aren’t keen on my work schedule, and I have a problem trusting people. However, I still want a child.”
“Then why don’t you adopt?”
“I want my own child, my DNA.”
Kristie could understand the desire to become a parent, especially when you’re single and you’re coming home to an empty home. She had been doing that as well, and while she had thought about having a kid herself, she had decided to let things move on naturally and see what happened.