Page 151 of Mistaken Intention

“This must be Henry?”

Ella reaches out, cradling his head with her hand. “He’s nearly a month old, and you’ve never met him.”

“Until now… and I’m sure we’ll make up for lost time.”

There’s a slight whimpering behind us and we all turn to see Pat has stood up and is holding my daughter in her arms. She looks up at me and I step closer.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re Pat because Hunter explained about you and who you are, but all I’m getting is ice cream cake. Does that mean anything?”

She smiles, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall as she nods her head. “It was your favorite when you were little. I can make some for tonight, if you like… if you all wanna stay and have dinner together?”

I turn to Josie, who smiles. “I think we’d like that. Thank you.”

I look down at my daughter as she turns her head to face me, her blue eyes fixed on mine, and I take a deep breath as Pat holds her out and I lift her into my arms. Maisie gazes up at me, and I feel the connection, like an unbreakable bond between us, as I pull her close to my chest. She snuggles and sighs, like she knows who I am, and I breathe her in. There’s something familiar about the smell of her, although I can’t remember whatit is, and as I stare down into her face, she blurs before my sight, my cheeks wetting with tears.

Josie’s standing beside me, her hand on my shoulder. “I’ve been here before,” I whisper, and she nods her head.

“On the day she was born. You cried then, too.”

I raise my head, looking at her. “Did I?”

“Yes. It hurt so much to see you like that.”

“And does this hurt, too?”

She glances down at Maisie and then at me. “No.” I’m not sure she’s telling the truth, but before I can say anything, Hunter comes and joins us.

“Remember what I said before? You don’t have to feel pressured to do anything too quickly. If you need Maisie to stay here for a while longer, until you’re ready, that won’t be a problem.” He gives me a long look, like he’s telling me that Livia’s pregnancy makes no difference, which I’m sure it doesn’t. What makes the difference is how I feel… not just about Maisie, but about Josie, and I shake my head at him.

“After the dream I had last night, I don’t wanna let her go ever again. She’s mine, Hunter. She belongs with me.”

He smiles. “Then maybe you should spend some time together, so she can get to know her daddy.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I say and I take Josie’s hand with my free one and turn to her, looking down into her eyes. “I think she should get to know her new mommy, too.”

Josie blinks once, then twice, and then bursts into tears.

“We’ll be in the kitchen,” Hunter says in my ear and I’m vaguely aware of him shooing everyone from the room as I put my arm around Josie and pull her in to my chest, hugging her close, while being careful not to crush Maisie.

“Is this okay?” I ask. She nods her head, sniffling through her tears. “We won’t let Maisie forget who Lexi was, but I want us to be a family.”

She looks up. “So do I, Drew… so much.”

I smile down at her. “I can’t claim to remember very much yet, but one thing I recall very clearly is what it felt like to fall for you.”

She wipes away her tears with the back of her hand. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s exactly how I feel now… like I’m falling for you, and I’m never gonna stop.”

Epilogue

Josie

The last few months have been crazy.

I suppose it didn’t help that neither Drew nor I realized that Ella and Mac were getting married at the beginning of December, so on top of everything else, there was a wedding to plan.

We all had fun, though, helping with the preparations, and the day was a tremendous success. We got to meet baby Henry’s namesake… an old friend of Mac’s who flew over from London and acted as his best man. He was lovely, and it was easy to see why Mac is so attached to him.

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