Page 143 of Mistaken Impression

She doesn’t sound as enthusiastic as I’d like, but she gives me her address and after I’ve thanked her, we end our call, and I try to calm my nerves, wandering to Calvin’s bedroom and knocking on the door. He calls out, “Come in,” and when I do, I find him sitting on the edge of his bed, gazing down at his script.

“I need your help.”

He looks up, raising his eyebrows. “What with?”

“I need to rent a car. Quickly.”

The house has gates, although why that surprises me, I don’t know.

I slow the Toyota Corolla that Calvin helped me to hire, and park in front of them, getting out and approaching the keypad on the gatepost. I press the button at the base and wait, hearing a man’s voice, which just says, “Come in,” without asking who I am, and I dash back to the car as the gates open, keen to get through before they close again. This must mean I’m expected, which is a relief, although who the man is remains a mystery… one that nags at me as I drive forward.

The driveway stretches before me, with lawns on either side, so wide I can’t see where the boundary of the property is, and I suck in a breath. This must be how multi-millionaires live, I guess, and I continue down the driveway until eventually an enormous house comes into sight.

“Jesus…”

I thought Ella’s apartment was something else, but this is affluence on a whole different scale… demonstrated not only by the size of the property itself – which has a central section and two wings, around a forecourt – but also by the bright red Ferrari which is parked alongside Ella’s Mercedes. It’s like a stately home, or a country estate, and I park my hire car and get out, stretching my back, just as the front door of the house opens and I’m faced with a tall, dark-haired man. I’m guessing he’s the man who just let me in, but what I’d really like to know is, what the hell is he doing here?

He looks relaxed enough, in jeans and a t-shirt, like he belongs, and he steps forward, holding out his hand to me.

“I’m Hunter Bennett… Ella’s brother.”

I relax and remind myself not to keep jumping to conclusions. It’s cost me dearly in the past, and I need to learn from that before I screw up again. Now he’s closer, I can see the similarities between Hunter and his brother, and I shake his hand. “Hi. I’m Mac.”

He smiles. “I know. Ella asked me to be here. I hope that’s okay?”

I sense it’s not an option and nod my head. “If that’s what she wants, sure.”

I can’t help feeling disappointed, but I swallow it down and follow him into the house.

He closes the door, and I just about have time to take in the vast hallway, the wide stairs leading up to the first floor, and the shining wooden floor. Hunter joins me and directs me to my left, through an archway, into an immense living room. The wall opposite is dominated by a fireplace, and there are four brown leather couches, on one of which Ella is sitting with her legs curled up beneath her. She goes to get up, but I move forward, holding up my hand.

“Stay where you are.”

She does, looking up at me as I approach and then sit alongside her. She’s wearing an oversized pale pink blouse and stonewashed jeans, which I’m guessing have some give in the waistband, to allow for the bump she’s currently resting her hand on. Ignoring her brother, who I think has taken a seat on one of the other sofas, I reach out for her hand, holding it in mine, and gaze into her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Ella. I made a mistake.”

“I noticed.” She leans forward slightly, although she doesn’t pull her hand from mine… not that I’m about to let her. “You judged me.”

“I know… but I also begged you to stay. I didn’t want it to end. That was the last thing I wanted.”

Anger flares in her eyes. “So you thought you could accuse me of ruining your career, and I’d just take it?”

“No, but try to understand… it was the only thing that made sense to me. I know I let you down, but why did you leave? Why didn’t you stay and talk it through with me?”

She frowns. “Because you didn’t seem to be in the mood for listening, and I couldn’t see the point of staying.”

“You couldn’t see the point? Even when I was pleading with you not to go?”

She stares at me and blinks a few times, then looks down at our joined hands, although she still doesn’t pull hers away. It’s clear she’s not going to answer, and I can’t make her. I move a little closer.

“I’m sorry I judged you. It was wrong of me, and I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you. I know you had your reasons for leaving, and that most of them were my fault, but can you explain why you didn’t tell me about the baby?” Her eyes widen. “You told me the other night that my phone call was one of the reasons, so what were the others?”

“I did it for you.”

Her brother shifts in his seat and I glance over at him, noticing the frown on his face, which I’m sure matches my own. “You kept our baby from me, for my benefit? How? Why?”

She rubs her swollen belly and lets out a sigh. “Because, if you must know, our brother’s ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his baby, and I’ve seen what it’s doing to him, having to live a double life. He’s the father in waiting to a child he’ll never get to live with properly, and because of that, he can’t be the man he really wants to be. I decided I couldn’t do that to you. This… this mistake isn’t something you have to live with, Mac. The fact that I’m pregnant is my fault, just as much as it’s yours, and you shouldn’t have to give up anything or change your life because of it.”

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