Then he turned back to Lacey, the interaction leaving a spark in eyes so much like Tessa’s, it took her breath away. “Sorry about that.”
“No, no. You’re so nice. That was really sweet of you.”
He looked hard at her for a moment, the gaze intense enough for her to wonder just what he could be thinking.
“I want to meet her,” he finally said.
She dropped back against the leather. “I don’t know…I’d have to tell her or ask her and…I don’t know.”
“Well, what did you expect would happen when you contacted me?” The question sounded like a tease, but he had every right to ask that.
She shrugged. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure. I wanted to know who you are and if you are happy and good and living a nice life. I wanted to know if…you’re like her.”
“Am I?”
“Carbon copy,” she said. “Just the twenty-five-year-old male version.”
He dropped his head back with a groan. “Now Ireallywant to meet her. Can I?”
The food came and saved her from answering, but Lacey’s mind spun out of control.
What would Tessa say? Would she be mad and betrayed? Or overjoyed and relieved? Would meeting him end Lacey’s relationship with that amazing woman, or launch a new, even closer one?
“I took a risk,” Lacey confessed as she picked up her fork but merely stared at the omelet. “I kind of moved on instinct and speed.”
“That’s the only way to live.” He lifted a piece of bacon, pointing it toward her. “So, what’s on the line? What did you risk, exactly?”
She set her fork down to explain. “Tessa has been like another mother to me,” she said. “I was kind of lost professionally and from the moment we met, she took me under her wing and is teaching me her business. We’ve formed a great bond and she’s always joking she wants to steal me from my mom. We’re close and connected, and she trusted me with this very deep secret that no one else knows.”
He took a bite of the bacon, thinking as he looked at her. “And that’s why she told you? Your bond? Maybe she was throwing out a lifeline and hoping you’d do exactly what you’ve done—find me.”
She considered that, and discarded the possibility. If Tessa wanted to meet him, she could have figured out how. “Actually, she didn’t tell me. I guessed it.”
“How?”
“She has this expression she wears whenever someone tells her what a great mother she would have been,” Lacey said, thinking about the many times she’d seen that look on Tessa’s face. “It’s like…regret and sadness and longing and disappointment and acceptance all rolled into one. One day, she said something—I don’t remember what—and I saw that look and I blurted out the question, asking if she’d ever had a child.”
He stared at her, silent.
“She admitted that she had, and recited the day and time and place you were born, with a birth weight, length, and just enough details to make it so, so real. I gave it a week or two, but couldn’t stop thinking about it. About…you. So I decided to try and callthe hospital and see if I could suss anything from their medical records. I got a chatty lady and?—”
“Theytoldyou?” He seemed surprised—almost as if he’d done the same kind of search and didn’t have any luck.
“The woman slipped up and said your last name and mentioned a pediatrician in Satellite Beach. I did some digging and it wasn’t that hard to find you.”
He exhaled. “Wow. Resourceful. But how did you know I was the right kid?”
“I looked you up, found a picture and…”
“Saw the resemblance?” he guessed.
She nodded. “It’s strong. Your eyes, mostly. You just have an air about you that’s like her.”
He dropped his elbows on the table and looked at her. “Would she recognize me instantly?”
“If she knew who you were, yes.”
“What if she didn’t?” he asked.
