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Sven

S ven walked Natalie to the door and watched her while she made her way to her car. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Something about her called to him. It almost felt like he’d been struck by lightning when they shook hands.

He was going to have to be careful where she was concerned because she seemed like the perfect nanny. Winnie deserved someone like her. In the past, he might have tried to hit on someone like her. She was gorgeous but completely off-limits.

“What do you say, Winnie? Do you think Natalie will be a good nanny?”

He looked down into her eyes, and she smiled up at him with her big blue innocent ones. How on earth could Stacie have left her? It was unfathomable to him that she could walk away from her. He got robbing him. It was a bitch move, but it was one he could at least wrap his head around. Leaving this amazing little human behind was unforgivable.

His phone rang in his pocket. Victor DiMaggio’s name appeared, his lawyer. He’d been waiting for this call.

“Sven, I’m returning your call. What can I help you with?”

“Yes, I need to talk to you. It’s not what you usually do, but I need some legal advice.”

“Of course, I have some open time later this afternoon if you would like to come in.”

“I know this isn’t usually how we do it, but do you think you could make it out to my place?”

“Oh, umm...” He cleared his throat. “I don’t see why not. Is everything okay?”

“I’ll explain when you get here.”

“Okay, I’ll be there around two-thirty.”

“See you then.”

Sven hung up and made a list of all the things Stacie had taken from him before it was time to feed Winnie and put her down for her afternoon nap. He was trying to remember things that Stacie had done and when she’d done them. She might have been a shit human, but she had seemed to be a good mother at least. That was until she left this perfect little human in the care of a stranger. While, yes, he was going to be a good father, she had no way of knowing that.

Later that day, as Sven was laying Winnie down for her afternoon nap, the doorbell rang for the second time. Sven tensed, making sure Winnie stayed asleep as he laid her down. He blew out a sigh as she still lay peacefully asleep in her crib.

He made his way downstairs and let in Mr. DiMaggio. It was quite the difference to the enchanting young woman he’d let into his house early that day. He was looking forward to getting to know Natalie a little better.

She was an absolute knockout, small in stature but full of soft curves he would love to get lost in, but that is not what she was to him. Because she was going to be his nanny, he would keep it professional. Compared to her, Mr. DiMaggio was a giant, who was a tall Italian man with his hair slicked back in a crisp, stylish suit.

“Sven, what can I help you with today?”

“Come into my office,” Sven said as he opened one of the glass doors off the foyer.

His eyes were drawn to the blank wall, which was missing his father’s signed jersey from his first year with the Rangers was gone. She had really hit all his memorabilia. And, sadly, most of it was his dad’s stuff. There were a lot of emotions there that were tied up in all the expectations with his dad, but the problem at hand was on the other end of the baby monitor.

The two men made their way into his office.

“Okay, so I’m just going to come right out with it,” said Sven as he slid the monitor out of his pocket and set it down on the desk next to him.

Victor DiMaggio’s eyebrows drew together as he noticed the baby monitor.

“A few weeks ago, a woman showed up on my doorstep saying the baby she had with her was mine.”

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 to face 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.