“How do you know?”
“Well, that’s the story. I was barely nineteen.” Nico had never heard such nostalgia and loss from Roger. “Yvette was a year younger and worked in the local restaurant in Mariposa where our cottage was. Her family was seasonal workers.” Roger ran his hands along his pants. “I always thought romance movies were unrealistic because no one could instantly fall in love. I was wrong. When I saw Yvette, it was like I already knew her.”
“What happened?” Nico was the one to ask, and he found his eyes lingering on Valerie’s hair. It had ruby facets that sparkled when she moved.
“Yvette brought fries to our table and I touched her hand accidentally when I took the plate. She had clear gloss on her nails that made them shiny.” Roger spread his fingers. “That was it. I was a goner.”
Nico felt profoundly uncomfortable with the intensity of this dreamy and sentimental Roger. Valerie, on the other hand, looked ready to swoon. She put her hand on her heart. “Soulmates. Then what happened?”
“I asked her out later and she said yes.” Roger laughed. “We saw each other every day that summer and never ran out of things to talk about. All I wanted was to make her happy. I was in love. Then I ruined it.”
Valerie’s small smile made Nico’s heart jump. “Youwerenineteen.”
“Old enough to know better. Yvette had been acting strange for a few days, distant and quiet.” Roger rubbed his forehead. “She’d been avoiding me. I knew something was wrong, and instead of asking, I freaked out and assumed she was going to dump me. We had a fight.”
Valerie tilted her head and boom went Nico’s heart again. “A big one?”
“I told her I never wanted to see her again. I was an utter and complete asshole.”
“Oh. Oh no.”
Roger looked pained. “Yeah. It was a lie and I felt horrible all night. I decided to see her the next day—this was before cell phones, and she didn’t have a landline—but my brother Peter was in a bad car accident. I was at the hospital for two days straight until he was out of danger.”
“She was gone when you went to look for her?”
“The whole family had left.”
“No one knew where?” Nico asked. Why had Roger not come to him first to find a solution, or at all? That stung but Nico made sure to keep his face neutral, a skill he’d learned from years of living with Stefanie. She could zero in on vulnerabilities like they were chum, and all of it was fodder for her ceaseless teasing.
Roger shook his head. “The restaurant owner paid them out in cash and didn’t ask questions. I might have found her if I’d started looking right away, but my pathetic ego took over. I was mad she chose her family over me and all the dreams we talked about. Without a goodbye, like I didn’t matter to her.”
“But she was pregnant?” asked Valerie.
“Yeah, and I had no idea.” Roger ran his hand through his hair. “She must have been terrified. I don’t blame her for not telling me. We’d only been dating two months and I was a sheltered and entitled rich kid. We’d also kept our relationship a secret, which doesn’t foster a lot of confidence.”
Valerie rubbed her chin so hard it turned red. “How do you know she had a kid if you never met again?”
Roger pulled out his phone, his face wearing the rare stony expression Nico had seen strike fear into the hearts of arrogant executives. On the screen was a photo of a photo taken in what appeared to be ahospital. A young woman, barely more than a girl, sat staring down at the tiny bundle cradled cautiously in her arms.
“Go to the next image,” said Roger.
It was a copy of a DNA test and Valerie zoomed in. “Your name’s on it,” she said.
“I didn’t give a sample. Dad must have taken it without me knowing. There was also a receipt for R. T. for the payment of a hundred grand. That’s about a quarter million today. Her dad’s name was Ray. R. T., Ray Tsui.”
Nico looked at the test. “It looks like Malcolm didn’t want to pay until he had proof of the baby’s paternity.”
“That would be like him,” said Roger. “He didn’t trust anyone. I assume Yvette told her parents about the baby and her father talked to mine about what to do. The decision must have been to pay the Tsuis to leave and keep us apart. I don’t know what they told Yvette.”
“They did all of this without talking to you?” Valerie sounded outraged.
“My father saw a problem and he made it go away. Money makes a difference and he knew it.”
Nico thought it was a fair assessment of the old man, and Valerie looked like she’d smelled an open can of sardines left in a hot car. “I see. Mr. Badgerton—”
“Roger.”
“Roger. This is a very sad story, but Yvette never contacted you once over the years to tell you about your kid? I’m sorry, but this makes me wonder if maybe you were the problem.”
