She shrugged. “It’s my opinion, and the one that will be given in my report to the court, that you are the more stable option. But I can’t guarantee what the court will do. Mr. Lief will be informed, and he’ll figure it out for you, Nova. Don’t panic.”

The hearing was next week, and she was telling me not to panic for a whole seven days?

I gave her a tight smile and pushed down my anxiety. If Janette thought I was the better option, then that was that. Nothing would change.

I stood in the county courthouse with Mr. Lief on a random Wednesday in September. Mr. Lief was clear that family law wasn’t his forte, but he thought this would be fairly cut and dried, despite the celebrity of the contesting party.

“Woah, hold up… Celebrity?”

“River Cooper, NHL defenseman.”

“Football?”

Mr. Lief, bless his heart, kept his face impassive. “Ice hockey. He plays for the Ann Arbor IceCaps.” Well shit, I knew nothing about ice hockey, but that sounded impressive. “Take a seat and I’ll go see if they are running on schedule.”

When we walked into the courtroom, there was no doubt in my mind who the hockey player was. He was huge, maybe six-four, and dressed immaculately in a suit. If nothing else about him told me he was making good money as a professional sportsperson, then his suit would do it. Behind him were two equally big guys, maybe a couple of inches shorter.

Holy shit. They all looked like they should be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. One of the shorter guys met my eyes and nudged the behemoth. Then all three looked at me, and I felt like an ant.

I was dressed nicely. I had a sensible dress that I’d pulled out of my mom’s closet—then promptly cried for forty-five minutes after putting it on. We’d been roughly the same size and it fit perfectly. It was gray, with a pretty lace Peter Pan collar. I probably looked like a nun or a governess or something, but I wanted to make the right impression. I might only be twenty-four, but I was a responsible adult with a good job. I wasn’t out here partying every weekend like I was in college. I had a job I did from home, so I was perfectly fit to look after a baby full-time.

But after seeing this well-dressed man in a suit that would’ve cost more than my car, combined with the quick Google search I'd done on my phone for his contract pay after Mr. Lief had name-dropped him, I wasn’t sure why the old lawyer was so confident. This guy could pay for everything baby Huey would ever need. A nanny to look after him around the clock. He’d have opportunities I could never grant him. Surgeons who were top of their field. Gold-plated pacifiers.