Suddenly One Summer (FBI/US Attorney #6)(29)

A HALF HOUR later, he walked Nicole and Zoe to the door.

“I have one condition for tracking down this guy for you: that you talk to your doctor about all the stress you’ve been under.” He knew jack-squat about post-partum depression and “baby blues”—maybe Nicole was simply going through the same stress all new moms experienced. Still, he’d feel better if she talked to someone.

She pulled him in for a hug, her voice thick. “You never could resist telling me what to do.”

He watched as she and Zoe strolled down the hallway to the elevator, and then his eyes fell on the door next to his.

She offered to take on my case. And, how awesome is this—she suggested that she’ll cut me a break on her rates.

Perhaps it was time that he and Ms. Victoria Slade, Esquire, had a little chat.

Ten

VICTORIA CLOSED HER eyes, relaxing as the hot water and steam surrounded her. She had Norah Jones piping through the bathroom speakers—It’s just the nearness of you—and a glass of zinfandel on the marble ledge of the tub.

Heaven.

This was the moment she’d been looking forward to all day. No more thoughts about work, or crying strangers with crying babies. Simply a few minutes to unwind and get in some alone time, just her and her cucumber-scented bubble bath and—

Knock, knock.

—some jerk knocking on her front door.

“Go away,” she muttered under her breath, thinking whoever it was would get the hint when she didn’t answer. And indeed, that seemed to work. There was a second knock, which she also ignored, and then silence.

Peace at last.

Except . . .

Now she was wondering who had knocked at her door. Nicole, perhaps? Had she left something behind? Or maybe it was Ford. He was basically the only person Victoria knew in the building, so it had to be one of the two of them. Unless some random person had just knocked on her door. Some stranger who wanted . . . what, exactly?

She shifted uneasily in the bathtub.

The logical part of her knew that this was not a question she needed to stew over. People knocked on apartment doors all the time. At some point, she was going to have to stop being so hyperalert about these kinds of things.

Get over yourself, Slade. It’s all in your head.

That decided, she eased back in the tub and got on with the relaxing. Realizing she’d missed her favorite song, she grabbed her phone from the ledge and used the app that controlled the sound system to skip back.

It’s not the pale moon that excites me, Norah crooned.

Feeling better, Victoria took a sip of her wine and then closed her eyes, once again succumbing to the hot water and steam, the heady scent of the bubbles, the soft, sultry music—It’s just the nearness of you—

Another knock at her door.

Son. Of. A. Bitch.

Muttering under her breath, she climbed out of the tub and quickly dried off. After wrapping the towel around herself, she headed into the living room and looked through the peephole on her door.

Ford stood in the hallway.

She groaned in annoyance, half-shouting through the door. “What?”

He blinked at the unceremonious greeting, and then cocked his head. “What are you doing in there? I can see your lights on through the balcony—you’re obviously not sleeping.”

Oh, really? Who was spying on whom now? “I was trying to take a bath.”

“Oh.” He paused, as if considering this. “All right, I’ll come back. What do you need, ten minutes?”

“Ten minutes?” She rolled her eyes. Men. “That’s hardly enough time to—” Feeling stupid arguing through the door, she sighed in frustration. “Just hold on.” Figuring she might as well get this over with, she grumbled under her breath and went into her bedroom to throw on jeans and a T-shirt. On her way back to the door, she removed the clip she’d used during her bath and shook out her hair.

She threw the door open and got right down to it. “So. To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. Dixon?”

His lips twitched at the corners. “That’s an interesting way to wear eye makeup.”

Victoria stepped back and checked out her reflection in the foyer mirror, and saw that she had two big black raccoon-like smudges of mascara under her eyes. Oh, for Pete’s sake. She gestured impatiently for him to enter. “Well, come in already. I’ll be right back.” She left him standing there and went to the bathroom to grab her makeup remover, then scrubbed her face clean and headed back out into the living room.

She found Ford standing by the couch, checking out a photograph of her and her mom from law school graduation.

“I know someone else who went to Northwestern Law. Cade Morgan. Two years ahead of you, I’m guessing?”

Clearly, somebody had been doing a little research on her, if he knew what law school she’d attended. “I know the name. Listen, I have a tub of steaming hot water and a nice jammy zinfandel waiting for me. Maybe we could cut to the chase?”

Ford turned to face her. “My sister said you offered to take on her case.”

“That’s true.” And if he’d come here tonight to tell her he had a problem with that, unfortunately, he’d just have to get over it. She may have stumbled unintentionally into being Nicole’s lawyer, but now that she’d made a commitment, she was all in.

“She also said you’d mentioned cutting her a break on your rate.”