Just not the familiar face she’d expected.
Victoria blinked at the sight of Peter and his wife, Melanie, sitting side by side in two of the waiting area’s leather chairs. She walked over and extended her hand as they stood up. “Mr. Sutter, Ms. Ames . . . this is a surprise.”
Peter looked incredibly nervous. “I, um, told Melanie everything over the weekend. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but.”
Melanie smiled tentatively at Victoria. “Sorry to drop in unexpectedly like this. I’m sure you’re very busy.”
“We’re anxious to hear the test results, so when your assistant said you’d have them by noon, we thought we’d come down and get them in person,” Peter explained.
Admittedly, Victoria was surprised by this turn of events—the cynical part of her having assumed that Sutter would hold out as long as possible before telling his wife about Nicole and Zoe. She checked her watch. “Actually, it’s almost noon now, so we should have the results any moment. Why don’t we head to my office and wait there?” She led them through the hallway, catching Will’s eye as they passed by his desk.
She raised an eyebrow at him. Anything from the lab yet?
He shook his head.
Inside her office, she gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. “Please, have a seat.” She sat down across from Peter and Melanie. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee, tea?”
Both of them asked for a glass of water. After gulping down half the glass, Peter looked at his wife, then at Victoria.
“I guess we’d forgotten about the awkwardness factor when we decided to storm down here and wait,” he joked, shifting anxiously in his chair.
“How’s the sale of your condo going?” Victoria asked, going for a neutral topic.
“We just had a couple come back and take a second look this weekend. I think they’re very interested.” Melanie smiled at Victoria. “Then again, I thought you and your boyfriend were interested in the place, too, so maybe I’m losing my touch.”
“Oh, the guy with me at the open house wasn’t my boyfriend,” Victoria was quick to clarify. “Actually, in the interest of full disclosure, he’s Nicole’s brother.”
“Nicole’s brother?” Peter ran a hand over his mouth. “Great. He must think I’m a jerk.”
“Really? You two aren’t dating?” Melanie asked Victoria. “Huh. I could’ve sworn I got a vibe.”
Thankfully, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
All three of them looked over as Will walked into Victoria’s office, carrying what appeared to be a fax printout.
“This just arrived from the lab.” He handed it to Victoria and left.
She glanced at Peter, who bounced his knee nervously, and at Melanie, who gripped the arms of her chair.
Without looking at it, she slid the fax across the desk to them.
Peter peered down at the document and took a deep breath. Melanie reached over and took his hand. “It’s okay, Peter,” she said softly. “No matter what it says, you and I will be fine. We’ll figure this out. Together.”
Peter stared right into her eyes. “You know how much I love you, right?”
“Yes.” Melanie smiled tenderly. “I knew it the thirteenth night you sat on my doorstep.”
“I sat on your doorstep for fourteen nights.”
“I know. I kept you out there one more for good measure.”
Peter laughed, then brought his wife’s hand to his mouth and kissed it.
Watching this scene from behind her desk, Victoria couldn’t help but feel as though she were intruding on a private moment.
But she also felt surprisingly touched.
For eight years, she’d watched and listened as couples argued and fought. She’d seen the demise of so many relationships, she couldn’t possibly count them all. Her office, Victoria Slade & Associates, was the place where marriages died and happily-ever-after came to its bitter, ugly end.
But not today.
Peter and Melanie looked at her and blushed, as if they’d just remembered she was in the room.
“Sorry. This week has been an emotional roller coaster. All right. Here goes.” Peter picked up the fax, skimmed the top cover sheet, and then flipped to the next page and read the results.
“She’s mine,” he said to his wife. “I have a daughter.”
Melanie’s eyes filled with tears. She squeezed his hand. “Okay.”
Peter turned to Victoria, his voice thick with emotion. “What’s her name?”
“Zoe.”
“Zoe,” he repeated. “That’s pretty.” He went quiet, as if unsure what to say next.
“I’d asked Nicole to e-mail me a photo of her. Would you like to see it?” Victoria offered.
“Yes. Please.”
Victoria pulled up the picture of Zoe on her iPad, and then handed it over to Peter.
Melanie covered her mouth. “Oh my gosh, she looks just like you.”
Peter wiped his eyes. “She really does.” He took a moment to compose himself, and then he looked at Victoria. “When can we meet her?”
They spent the next few minutes discussing schedules, and Victoria promised to get back to them with some possible dates and times as soon as she’d spoken to Nicole. Obviously, conversations about child support and custody arrangements were on the imminent horizon, but for now, she was content to simply let Peter and Melanie process everything.
As she walked them out to the waiting room, Peter turned to her. “Thank you for tracking me down. This is a lot to take in, but nevertheless, I can’t imagine having a daughter out there and not being a part of her life.”
Victoria smiled, even though the comment hit a little close to home. “You’re welcome. But honestly, most of the credit for finding you goes to Nicole’s brother.”
Melanie shook her hand next. “We’ll wait for your call.” She paused on the way out the door, then gestured between her and Peter. “Oh, and for the record . . . we were on a break.”
We were on a break!
Victoria smiled and gave Melanie a nod.
“So you were.”
* * *
THAT AFTERNOON, FORD met with his editor to discuss the possibility of bringing on another reporter to work with him on both the Department of Children and Family Services and probation department investigations.