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Blood rushed through my head, and I knew my face had to be scarlet. I looked away from my reflection in the mirror and faced Zachary. Memories of our time together tonight and earlier in the week crashed in, colliding with what I remembered of that night in college.
He was a good guy. Even back then. I remembered that much.
Zachary scrubbed a hand over his shorn hair, then down the side of his face. “What kind of trick is this?” His fingers tapped almost nervously on his thigh.
“No trick.” I wished my voice was stronger, but it barely made it the five feet between us.
“What the hell, Lucy?” He took one step and closed the distance. Grabbing my arms, he brought us nose to nose. His hands were warm and they held me tight. Not tight enough to hurt, but enough that I gripped his arms in return. I wanted to lean into him, to tell him everything that I knew and suspected. Words failed me. In the one moment when I needed them the most, I couldn’t get my throat to work.
Lennox cleared his throat. Zachary and I turned to look at him. Lennox dipped his head toward Abigail, then flexed his fingers in a motion that plainly read he wanted Zachary to ease the fuck up.
His fingers dug into my skin for a split second before he released a heavy sigh.
“I’m pretty sure you and I slept together in college.” I forced my voice to work, despite the words coming out in a ragged whisper.
“Pretty sure?” He wagged his head side to side. “I had a one-night stand in college. I don’t remember much.”
I cupped his neck and dredged up all of my strength. “I remember this.” My thumb brushed his birthmark. “And tonight, you saidhellfire. You said the same thing that night. Most of it is a hazy memory, but I remember that.”
“I can’t.” His eyebrows drew together. “You snuck out before I got up the next morning. You took my shirt.”
I nodded, my throat going tight again. “I still have it. It’s an old band T-shirt that’s missing the left sleeve.”
Abigail burst out laughing, her clear voice ringing with all the joy in the world. My daughter loved to laugh. She would find joy in any situation. But the one thing she wanted more than anything was to find her father. She needed her father. All littlegirls needed their dad, especially if they were as kind and decent as Zachary.
“Hellfire,” he muttered under his breath. His gaze drifted over my shoulder. “Am I her father?”
22
ZACHARY
Was this really happening? How? Why now? My thoughts ran faster than I could keep up. Abigail sat between my two best friends, her face glowing with laughter as she watched videos on Justin’s phone.
“What’s the deal?” Lennox stood and crossed his arms.
Lucy glared at him with quiet fear in her eyes. “Lennox, can you order some food? Abigail likes chicken and fries. Zachary and I need to talk.”
“Seems this includes all of us after tonight.” He didn’t back down.
I held up my hand to stop him from coming any closer. “Right now, I need you to see to Abigail. Please.”
He hesitated on the please, his jaw working back and forth. “Fine. But I expect an explanation later.”
“You bet.” We’d all have a nice long chat once Abigail wasn’t around to hear all the dirty details. Holy shit. I had a daughter. Well. Imighthave a daughter. I looked hard at Abigail, searching for any sign of myself other than the birthmark. She looked so much like Lucy that it was hard to see beyond the blonde hair and blue eyes.
Her nose was wider, as was the space between her eyes. That was more like me. And her chin. She had a tiny cleft in her chin that resembled mine. I’d missed it before when I looked at Coach’s picture.
Lucy shot a pointed look at Abigail. “Abigail, maybe you could show Justin those animal videos you love.” She pleaded with them using her eyes and the twisted bit of grief pulling her lips into a frown. “I don’t want her to hear us arguing.” She clung to my arms. “Please. This is supposed to be a fun night. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“Show me the animal videos.” Justin held out his phone. “Cats or dogs?”
“Cats.” Abigail twisted her hands in her lap, the sudden shyness making my heart twist tight in my chest. “Cats are my favorite.”
Mine too. Was it really possible that she was my daughter? I loosened my grip on Lucy’s arms but didn’t completely let her go. “How could you keep this from me?”
She frowned up at me. “It’s not like I knew who you were,” she hissed quietly. “Neither one of us remembers much about that night. I ran into you at a party. I barely remember grabbing your shirt because I couldn’t find mine when I left the next morning.”
“You didn’t have to sneak out.” Hurt flared way down deep. I’d looked for her the next morning and been dismayed to find her gone. Memories were hazy, but I’d known there was something special about her even then. “You snuck out like it didn’t matter.”
