Page 2 of Mistaken Intention

She disappeared then and left me wondering, although I didn’t worry too much. Just like Ingrid, I knew Lexi’s capacity for trying to be enigmatic. But, standing there, looking at the two of them, it suddenly made sense. The man before me, the man whose expression had suddenly gone from adoring to sheepish, was my sister’s boyfriend – or kind-of boyfriend, whatever that was – and the dress she was wearing was obviously for his benefit.

She leaned up, looking at Drew, even though his eyes were locked on mine. “I’m gonna go to the bathroom, and then we should probably head off. I’ve got an early start.”

He nodded his head a little aimlessly, and Lexi disappeared again.

“Y—You’re Lexi’s boyfriend?”

“Sort of.”

There it was again… that doubt about his status. I wanted to ask him what that meant, but I couldn’t. I was struggling to breathe, let alone talk, and I just gazed into his eyes one last time, and ducked away from him. The bathroom was occupied by my sister, so I went into one of the bedrooms, grateful it was empty, and sat down on the edge of the mattress, fighting my tears. How could life be so cruel? Why did I have to meet the perfect man, only to find he was already taken… by my sister? And why had he flirted with me? How could he do something like that? I wanted to be angry. I tried really hard, but it hurt too much.

When I came out, they’d gone, and I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. Sad won over, because even though I knew it was wrong, even though there was still a hint of anger underneath all that hurt, I couldn’t help loving Drew.

And it was love.

I may never have experienced it before, but I knew what it was, and it hit me like a freight train.

“We’ll probably get to you around six, if that’s okay?” I realize Lexi’s still talking, and I try to pay attention, even though the memory of those painful days is still so fresh.

“That’s fine,” I say. “I finish work around five, so I’ll be back by then.”

“Great. You can help me give Maisie her bath.”

I can’t reply through the lump rising in my throat as I imagine Drew doing exactly that… bathing his young daughter.

Of course, none of us knew Lexi was pregnant when Drew and I first met. That came later. What happened first was I heard from Ingrid that Lexi and Drew had split up.

“It was always on the cards,” she said.

“Why?” Was there something wrong with him? I found it hard to believe, but my acquaintance with him was too brief for me to judge, even if I had fallen for him.

“Because they met in the Caribbean, on a shoot that went horribly wrong.”

“And? What difference does that make?”

“All the difference in the world. It was like a holiday romance, really. And like almost all holiday romances, it didn’t work when they got back home.”

“Is that what she meant when she said he was her ‘kind-of’ boyfriend?”

“I guess. Although it was him that ended it, not her.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… and on the night of my party, too, straight after they got home.”

So soon? I tried very hard not to overthink that. What did the timing matter? It didn’t… did it?

Of course it did. It had to mean something.

Ihad to mean something.

I wondered. Did he feel the same way I did? Had he broken up with Lexi so he could be with me?

I drove myself crazy trying to work it out, in between missing him, wanting him… needing him.

Then, out of the blue, I got a phone call. I didn’t recognize the number, but answered anyway, and I knew it was Drew as soon as I heard his voice.

“I’m sorry about what happened… the… the misunderstanding.”

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