Page 52 of Mistaken Intention

She blushes. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

I turn, unable to get into an argument about the rights and wrongs of thanking her, and I make my way up the stairs to my bedroom. Closing the door, I switch on the lights and stand by the bed for a moment. When I went through the dressing room this afternoon, I didn’t find any pajamas, but even if I had, I don’t think I’ve got the energy to put them on. Instead, I pull off my clothes and tumble into bed, drawing up the covers over my body as sleep claims me.

“Do you feel like a walk?” Josie looks across the breakfast table at me. It’s already gone nine-thirty, but I overslept, and then took ages in the shower… not because I’m still tired, but because the shower is so good. “You need to get some exercise.”

“If you say so.” She smiles and stands up. “Are you gonna object if I offer to clear away?”

She made our breakfast, but I’m still half expecting an argument. “No. I’m gonna let you clear away all by yourself while I go find my shoes.”

I’m surprised but do my best to hide it and while she goes upstairs, I stack the dishwasher with our plates and cups. By the time I’m done, she’s standing in the doorway, and I glance down at the flat pumps adorning her feet, my eyes wandering up over her denim-clad thighs, and resting for a moment on her full breasts, concealed behind yet another tight t-shirt… a bright pink one this time. Eventually, I make it to her face, to find she’s smiling at me, seemingly unfazed by my attentions.

“Are you ready?”

“Sure.”

We make our way to the front door, going outside and pulling it closed behind us. We don’t need to lock it, even though Hunter left a set of keys on the cabinet by the door. This place seems secure enough without keys, and Josie looks up at me before setting off, turning to her left, away from the main house.I fall into step beside her, wishing I could hold her hand, even though I can’t.

“It’s beautiful here,” she says.

“Yeah.” She’s not wrong. The grounds are extensive and well maintained. There are quite a lot of mature trees, and in the distance, I can see another building, although it’s clearly still within the boundaries of the property. “What’s that?” I ask her, pointing to it.

“I don’t know.”

“You genuinely don’t know? Or you can’t tell me?”

“I don’t know. Your brother hasn’t explained what it is, and I haven’t asked.”

“So, for once, we’re both living in ignorance?”

“It seems that way, yes.” She looks up at me, squinting slightly against the bright sunshine. “I can ask him about it, if you want… but you need to remember, if he tells me you were already aware of whatever it is, I won’t be able to discuss it with you.”

“In which case, there seems little point in asking.” The building looks like a single-story house, although it’s quite a size and if I lived here as my brother claims, I must have known about it.

She nods her head, turning away again, just as my eye catches sight of a bright red Ferrari, driving up toward the main house. I stop in my tracks.

“I—I know that car,” I say.

Josie turns, facing me. “You do? You mean, you know that’s your brother’s car?”

“No. I just know it’s a Ferrari. How do you know it’s my brother’s car?”

“Because he told me he drives a Ferrari,” she says. “And he sent me a text message very early this morning, letting me know he was going back to the city to collect it.”

“I see.” I spot a second car… an SUV.

“What’s that one?” she asks.

“A Mercedes.” I look down at her. “But again, I don’t know who it belongs to… or how I’m able to identify the car.”

“As for who it belongs to, in this case, I don’t know either, but I imagine it’s someone who lives here, who drove your brother into the city this morning.”

“And the reason I know what the car is?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Maybe you liked cars,” she says. “Maybe it’s a memory, of sorts.”

“You think I enjoyed driving?” She gazes up at me, raising her eyebrows. “Okay. I get it. You’re not gonna tell me.”

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