Page 24 of Sven

The lawyer nodded.

“I let them stay with me for a couple days. I called your office that day, but you were out of the office, and at the time, it didn’t seem like an emergency . . .”

“But something has changed?” asked Victor.

“Yes, something has changed.”

He filled him in on everything from the strange phone calls to waking up and finding everything gone, along with his car and Stacie.

“And you’re sure she is yours?”

“As sure as I can be. She looked just like me.”

“Would you be okay with a paternity test just to make sure?”

“Of course. I was going to ask for one initially, just to make it so she couldn’t take her away from me, but now, it looks like I should have one for a whole other host of reasons.”

“Okay. Have you made a police report?”

Sven shook his head.

Victor looked at him. “You should call sooner rather than later.”

“I’m not sure I want to.”

“Why?”

“I know what she did was fucked up, but she’s the mother of my child. I want to find her, just so she can’t just show up and take Winnie, but I’m not sure what the right course of action is.”

“If you want to make any insurance claims, you’ll need a police report.”

“I understand that, but she took some sports memorabilia,clothes, jewelry, and a car. I don’t really care about that. I just want to make sure I’m making the best decisions for Winnie’s future.”

Victor just nodded and kept taking notes.

“I was kind of thinking about maybe hiring a PI. Maybe he could find her and then we could figure out what to do with this.”

“Well... as your lawyer, I’m going to suggest you make a police report, but that is your decision. I’ll have an aid drop of a paternity kit just so we can have that on record. Family law isn’t what I do, but if you’re interested, my wife works in family law. I can give you her card, and she can help you with what needs to happen from there.”

Sven nodded and took it all in.

When they’d finished talking, Sven walked him to the door before going into the living room and collapsing on the couch.

What was he going to do?

His team had to be freaking out. He’d told only Sasha, Hillary, and Coach Wagner what was going on. He would have toface them Monday at the team meeting. They’d all be back from a road trip that Sven hadn’t been there for, and none of them knew why.

His dad had been blowing up his phone. He’d told him he had the flu and that was the reason he missed the road trip. To which he was given a full rundown of all the supplements his dad used to take to not get the flu. Telling his team would be easier than telling his dad. He was pretty sure his dad would lose his fucking mind and tell him to get rid of the bunny and the baby.

As he lay there, drowning in the sea of decisions he needed to make, the face of the lovely woman who was going to be his nanny filtered into his mind. When he thought about her, he felt like things might actually be okay. He didn’t know why, but something about her comforted him. She was easy to be around, and she seemed like a natural with Winnie. He would ignore the attraction he felt towards her. But then he pictured her soft pillowy lips, her luscious curves, and that sweet-as-pie Southern accent.

That became easier when cries started coming from the baby monitor.

“I’m coming, baby girl,” he said as he stood from the couch with a groan.

He was ready for this day to be over. But even as he climbed the stairs, exhausted, to get his baby girl, the image of Natalie ran through his mind and put a little pep in his step.

11

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