The Perfect Victim

Addison felt him watching her from across the table. Dropping her eyes to the plate of scones, she reached for one out of sheer determination not to be nervous.

 

"What seems to be the problem?" Bringing the coffee to his lips, he slurped as only a male can slurp and get away with it. "Is everything all right?"

 

"Everything's just peachy." She sent him a disagreeable smile, took half the scone in a single bite, and let the crumbs .fall into her lap.

 

"If the media's bothering you—"

 

"I've been media-free for almost two weeks now."

 

He studied her, looking too handsome and far too in control as he sat across from her. She tried to remember the exact moment when she'd fallen in love with him, realizing it had probably been that fateful day at his seedy little office two blocks away. She just hadn't realized it at the time.

 

God, she hated it when life just up and pulled out the rug.

 

"How's Jack?" she asked.

 

"He starts physical therapy on Monday."

 

"That's great."

 

"He doesn't think so."

 

"He will in time."

 

Silence pressed into the moment between them. Addison used it to retrieve her latte, despite the fact that she had no desire for coffee. "When are you going back?" She tried to make the question sound nonchalant, but both of them knew it wasn't.

 

"The investigation is over. I've been cleared of all charges."

 

She nearly dropped her cup. "You're cleared?"

 

He smiled crookedly. "Yeah."

 

"I'm glad for you."

 

He reached into an inside pocket of his parka and pulled out a sealed brown envelope. He placed it on the table between them. "I thought you'd want to see this."

 

Addison's heart began to hammer. She reached for the envelope, opened the clasp, and poured its contents onto the table. A heart-shaped locket, its faux gold chain tarnished with age, lay in a heap in front of her. She reached for it with trembling hands, touching the chain, her fingers finally resting on the locket itself.

 

''The clasp is broken," Randall said.

 

"Where did you get this?" she asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the tiny heart she held between her fingers.

 

"It was found in Agnes Beckett's mobile home."

 

Somehow, Addison had already known. She clicked open the locket and stared at the yellowed photo of a newborn infant with dark hair and a tiny, wrinkled face. "It's me."

 

"She loved you, Addison. That's why she gave you away. So you could have a life with all the chances she didn't have."

 

A dull, lingering ache wrenched at her heart. Tears filled her eyes, spilling down her cheeks unacknowledged. She raised her eyes to his. "It hurts to know she suffered so much for so many years. For me. I didn't even know it."

 

"It made her happy to know she gave you the opportunity for the kind of life she never had."

 

Addison closed the locket and gripped it tightly in her hand, struggling to control the flood of tears waiting at the gate. ''Thank you." She slid the locket back into the envelope.

 

His gaze narrowed at a point across the room. "Why is Gretchen giving you hand signals from behind the espresso machine?"

 

“What?" Addison started, caught the puzzled look from him, and shifted in her chair to frown at Gretchen. Chagrined, the older woman resumed polishing the already gleaming brass of the espresso machine.

 

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." She started to rise.

 

He stopped her by touching her arm. "Whoa. What wasn't such a good idea?"

 

''This ..." Exasperated with herself for acting so foolishly, she motioned dumbly at the table between them.

 

"You asked me to meet you here," he said. "I'm here. Now sit down and spill it."

 

She took a deep breath, reminding herself once again that she didn't need him to have the baby. Yes, he could hurt her. She'd relinquished that power to him long ago.

 

Knowing she couldn't put this off any longer, she sank into the chair. "I'm going to have a baby.

 

*

 

 

 

Randall’s world shifted. His chest swelled with love for the woman sitting across from him. He couldn't believe she didn't know how he felt about her. After everything they'd been through. For the second time since he'd known her, she'd surprised the hell out of him.

 

How could she possibly believe he wouldn't want their child? That he wouldn't be elated by the news? How could she not know that he was head-over-heels crazy in love with her?

 

She gazed into his eyes, searching for something that seemed to elude her. "You've been in D.C. for the last month."

 

"Not of my own free will."

 

"You haven't given me a clue as to how you feel."

 

"I love you, Addison. I've told you that."

 

"So you have."

 

"Those are big words for me."

 

"Like they're not for me?"

 

Indignant, he raised his voice. "Dammit, I follow through." When the two students sitting next to them turned to listen, Randall sent them a glare and lowered his voice. "How in the hell could you possibly believe I wouldn't want this baby?"

 

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