Victoria met his gaze, her chest pulling tight as she fought back the words hovering on the tip of her tongue. Oh, God, did you sleep with that woman? Or worse—do you have feelings for her?
Since this was hardly the place to have that conversation, she simply smiled.
He gestured to her outfit. “You’re awfully dressed up tonight.” Despite his easygoing tone, his jaw twitched. “Big plans after this?”
Just then, Nicole walked into the room carrying Zoe, who looked adorable in a pink sundress with a white lace collar. “Yay, Team Nicole is all here.” She smiled at Victoria. “Thanks for coming.”
“You didn’t mention that you’d asked Victoria to be here, too,” Ford said offhandedly.
“I didn’t?” Nicole cocked her head. “Huh. With you two being next-door neighbors and spending so much time together lately, I guess I figured you would talk among yourselves.” She looked between them. “No?”
Victoria and Ford shifted uncomfortably, neither of them wanting to take a stab at answering that one.
“All right, I want you two to be honest with me about something.” Nicole turned first to Ford, then Victoria, giving each of them a long look. “No bullshit.” She paused. “Does this dress make Zoe look like a pilgrim?”
Victoria exhaled, having been braced for something else. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pilgrim wearing pink.”
“But it’s too fancy, right? Like we’re trying too hard?” Nicole asked.
Seeing the anxious look on Nicole’s face, Victoria pushed aside her own feelings and did what she did best—focused on someone else’s problem. “She looks perfect, Nicole.” Walking over, she tickled Zoe’s tummy. “Because she is perfect. And Peter and Melanie are going to love her.”
Sitting on her mother’s hip, Zoe just stared up at Victoria with those big, brown eyes.
“Not even a smile for me, kid? Tough crowd,” Victoria teased.
Zoe held out her arms.
Nicole aw-ed and handed Zoe over. As Victoria smiled and bounced Zoe on her hip, Ford walked out of the room and headed into the kitchen.
“Huh. I wonder what’s gotten into him?” Nicole said.
Victoria glanced at Nicole, suddenly noticing that the younger woman’s gaze seemed rather knowing.
Luckily, she was saved from having to answer by a knock on the front door.
“Okay. Show time.” Nicole took a deep breath and then exhaled. She opened the door with a smile, introducing herself to Melanie and inviting her and Peter in. The couple looked very nervous—but also excited—as they stepped inside the apartment.
Peter’s eyes softened the moment he saw Victoria holding Zoe.
“There she is.” Swallowing, he walked over and touched Zoe’s hand. “Hey there, Zoe. It’s really nice to meet you.”
In response, Zoe squirmed and reached for Nicole. Victoria handed her over, and everyone chuckled when Zoe ducked her head against her mother’s shoulder and peeked at Peter with one eye.
“She gets a little shy around strangers.” Nicole blushed, quick to amend that. “Not that you’re a stranger, stranger.”
“Well, I suppose I am a stranger,” Peter said gently, still smiling at Zoe. “But we’re going to change that.”
Not wanting to be in the way, Victoria moved off to the side as Nicole, Peter, and Melanie took seats around the coffee table and began to talk among themselves. She watched for a moment and then, thinking that everyone seemed to be getting along just fine without her, she headed toward the kitchen.
Looking out the window over the sink, Ford turned around when she walked in. “Sounds like it’s going well in there.”
“Aren’t you going to say hello to Peter and Melanie?” she asked.
“Sure, on my way out. The room felt a little crowded.” He leaned against the sink, gripping it with his hands. “So, you did it, Ms. Slade. You brought your first family together.”
She remembered that moment in the car, when he’d been teasing her. That is an unexpectedly beautiful way to describe what we’re doing here, Victoria.
“We did it,” she corrected him.
“Right.” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Then he looked away, and the only sound in the room was the chatter of Nicole and the Sutters talking in the background.
And it was in that moment, standing across from Ford on the opposite side of the kitchen, that Victoria realized something.
She hated this distance between them.
She had done this. She’d pushed Ford away and now she very well may have lost him for good. Or maybe she’d never had him in the first place. Maybe what they’d had was always just a casual fling for him, and he’d already moved on. Maybe she