A knock at the door startled her. It was too late for housekeeping.
“Did you order takeout?” Tessa called to Abby as she rose to her feet. But with the water running and Sophia’s ramble about bubbles, Abby didn’t hear.
She checked the peephole and found…Zach? She stepped back from the door and whispered, “Shit.”
She looked like hell. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing old jean cut-offs and a tank. She took a deep breath and opened the door several inches. “Hi. How’d you know which unit—”
“I know the desk clerk.” He lifted his head to look her in the eye, and Tessa’s heart twisted. He’d obviously been sleeping just as poorly as she had. “We need to talk.”
A bubble of Sophia’s laughter floated through the condo, and Zach’s gaze cut behind Tessa. Her protective instincts pushed her out the front door. She closed it behind her, leaving a crack of space so it wouldn’t latch and lock her out.
He stepped back, then started pacing. He wore a Billabong T-shirt, board shorts, and his Reef flip-flops. Tessa gave herself a second to notice the way his chest and arms stretched the cotton before she forced her mind off him as a man and reframed him as the person standing in the way of the adoption.
Zach stopped and turned toward her. “I want a paternity test.”
An icy fist clenched her gut. “You…what? Why? A few days ago, you couldn’t stop denying she even existed.”
“Because I didn’t know. And before you start in on the check and how I paid the mother off—”
“Corinne. Her name was Corinne.” She wasn’t feeling much like a mediator tonight. “And think before you say anything about her, because she was my best friend, she’s the mother of your daughter, and she sacrificed her life for that child—literally.”
He closed his eyes. “I’m sorry. Corinne.” When he looked at her again, the exhaustion showed in his face. “I’ve spent the last three days figuring out what the hell happened. It’s a long story, and we can hash everything out when we have more time, but I want to get the DNA started. I understand it takes a while—”
“Why?” she repeated. Panic trickled in. “You don’t even need to know if you’re the father to—”
“That’s the point,” he said with so much vehemence, she leaned away. “You’re expecting me to sign papers giving her away when I don’t even know if she’s mine to give away. And I hate talking about her like she’s a piece of property.”
“All that matters is that your name is on the birth certificate. That makes her your responsibility even if she’s not yours biologically. Just sign the release papers, and you won’t have to think about this again. Like I said, no responsibilities, no ties, no tricks.”
He took one step toward her. A deliberate step with fire in his eyes. Tessa was used to working in a field around powerful men who liked to get their way, so the approach didn’t shake her. It was the hours of tossing and turning she could see in the lines around his mouth, the stress of fatigue in his eyes that scared the hell out of her.
“I know you think the worst of me,” he said, “and I know you think I’m lying, but I don’t give a shit. I didn’t know about her, I didn’t pay Corinne to get lost, and I’m not signing anything until I know whether or not she’s mine.”
Tessa gripped his forearms. “Stop, Zach. Stop and think about what you’re saying. Step outside yourself and think about Sophia. She’s a baby. Three years old. She’s not even fully potty trained. You travel all over the world, spend long days on-site. Her nanny and I are her bedrock. She was born and raised in DC. You can’t just—”
“Don’t.” He pulled back and put a hand up. “When I know whether or not she’s mine, we can—” He stopped abruptly. His eyes darted behind her and lowered to hip level.
Even before Sophia spoke, Tessa knew her daughter had come to the door. “Mommy, I’m done.”
Tessa closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. She was a perfect Gerber baby, and people instantly fell in love with her everywhere they went. Tessa didn’t need that happening with Zach. But there was no way to make Zach unsee the adorable cherub, so she turned and held her hand out to Sophia.
“Are you all squeaky clean?”
“Uh-huh.” Her gaze was glued to Zach. “Who are you?”
Tessa cut a look at Zach and found him staring at Sophia, part shock, part terror. “Sophia, this is a friend of mine. His name is Zach.”
Zach didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Didn’t take his eyes off Sophia.
Sophia held her book up to Zach. “Mommy’s gonna read Little Bear to me.”
When Zach still didn’t respond, Tessa asked, “Zach? Are you—”
“I—I—have to go.” He tore his gaze away from Sophia but kept them downcast, avoiding Tessa’s eyes as he curled a death grip around the stairs’ iron railing and swayed a little, as if his knees were about to buckle. “I—can’t— Have to— I’ll call you.”
And he turned for the stairs. But he didn’t take them one at a time, he jumped them in twos and threes and was gone before Tessa even understood what happened.
She called down the stairs. “Zach?”