Page 12 of Mistaken Intention

She stared up at me. “You’re sure?”

“Of course. There’s no reason for us to be uncivilized.”

She nodded her head and got to her feet. “Thanks, Drew.”

I wasn’t sure what she was thanking me for, but it didn’t matter, and once I’d made up a bed for her, I went to my room and sat on the mattress, trying to work out what to do.

I’d fallen for Josie. My heart was hers. My body was hers too, and I wanted her so much I ached… but I couldn’t see a way forward. I was so desperate, I even spoke to Hunter and Ella about it. They advised me to wait, to let the dust settle. Hunter suggested I try befriending Josie rather than dating her… at least to start with. It was going to be a novel approach for me, but when I thought it through, it made sense.

Waiting was fine in theory, but in principle, it was impossible. I couldn’t handle it. So, I made up a truly lame excuse to get Josie’s number from her sister. I said something about her having mentioned someone I thought I knew and wanting to check if it was the same person. Fortunately, Lexi was back at work by then, too busy to wonder about my reasons, and after plucking up my courage, I made the call.

“Hi.”

“Oh… Hi, Drew.”

She knew it was me? I didn’t know how, but I couldn’t help smiling.

“I’m sorry about what happened… the… the misunderstanding.” I’d never stammered so much in my life. But then I’d never been more nervous, either.

“That’s okay,” she said, although I wondered if it was, or if she was just saying that.

“Lexi and I have split up now.” I thought I needed to get that out there, right from the get-go.

“I know. I heard.”

“Oh… I see.” I was surprised by that. Had she been checking up on me? It was a nice idea. “So, um… would you like to meet up for coffee?”

The whole ‘friendship’ thing was getting to me. If I’d been asking her to dinner, as a date, I don’t think I’d have struggled half as much, but I felt I was being dishonest, treating her like a friend, when I wanted so much more.

She agreed, regardless of my stammering, and we arranged to meet the following day.

I was nervous… more nervous than I’d ever been for any other date, even though I kept telling myself it was no such thing. When I got to the coffee shop, Josie was already there, and I sat opposite her, our eyes meeting, a smile tugging at her lips, and I knew that if friendship was all we were ever going to have, it would be enough.

We talked for hours, until she had to leave, but we arranged to meet again… and then again a few days later. I was due to fly to Hawaii after that, so I said I’d call her when I got back. She seemed enthusiastic and while I was away, I wondered what she might do if I kissed her. I played out the scene in my head… meeting her somewhere when I got home, telling her I’d missed her, and taking her in my arms. Would she welcome me? Or was it too soon?

My flight home was delayed by a few hours and when I eventually got back, I went straight down to Newport. I needed some rest, and I knew Josie was working over the weekend. Newport seemed like the best place to be. Hunter would be there too, and I figured some brotherly advice might not go amiss. He might be able to tell me if I was being too ambitious,thinking about kisses after just three dates that weren’t even dates, or if I needed to hold off a little longer.

I was sitting on the couch, pretending to read, and waiting for Hunter and Livia to drive down from Boston, when my phone rang. I was surprised to see Lexi’s name on the screen, but I answered, because I had no reason not to.

“Are you sitting down?” she asked, which felt like an odd greeting, even by Lexi’s standards.

“Why?”

“Because I’ve got something to tell you.”

“And I need to sit down for this because…?”

She sucked in a breath loud enough for me to hear. “Because it’s gonna come as a shock.”

“Just tell me, Lexi.”

I heard her sigh, or maybe she was letting out that breath. It was hard to tell. “I’m pregnant.”

The ground shifted beneath me, my life, my future and all my hopes altering beyond recognition with those two words. “Y—You’re pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

I thought for a moment. It had been a while since we’d broken up… and a while longer since the sole time we’d had unprotected sex. But I remembered… she’d assured me she was on birth control, so how could this be happening?

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