Page 16 of Mistaken Intention

“Does he know about Maisie?”

“Of course. I’d left her with a babysitter on the night of the party, but I told him all about her.”

“That night?”

“Yeah. I had to be honest with him.”

“How did he react?”

“He was fine about it. He wanted to know about Maisie’s father, so I explained what had happened with Drew and how things are set up between us now.”

“Does Drew know about Manuel?”

She looks a little embarrassed. “I’m going to tell him tomorrow when I collect him from the airport.”

“And how does Manuel feel about you going down to Newport and staying with your ex?”

She stares at me for a moment, blinking. “He’s not entirely happy about it, to be honest… and that’s one of the reasons we’re thinking of moving to Boston.”

She’s moving here? I don’t know how I feel about the idea of my sister and my niece living nearby, although that’s not the biggest bombshell. “We?”

“Yeah.”

“So Manuel would move here with you?”

“Of course. If we do this, we’d be buying somewhere together.”

I can’t help the slight cough that escapes my lips. “Together? How long have you been with this guy?”

She frowns. “Four weeks.”

“Four weeks? And you’re talking about buying an apartment together?”

“Why not? He’s practically living at my place, anyway.” I shake my head, and her frown turns into a glare. “Can I take it you disapprove?”

“It’s not my place to approve or disapprove, but I think you should have run it by Drew first.”

“Why? We’re not together. I can do what I like with my life. I don’t ask him what he does, so what right does he…?”

I hold my hand up and she stops talking… the thought of Drew with another woman filtering through my head, unbidden, crushing my already broken heart.

“I—I’m not saying you’re not both free agents, and that you can’t do whatever you want.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“That if another man is living with his daughter, Drew has a right to know.”

She blushes again. “Manuel doesn’t actually live with me. H—He just stays over a lot. And, in any case, like I said, I’m gonna tell Drew all about it tomorrow. I’ll sweeten it by telling him Manuel and I will be moving to Boston soon, and he’ll be able to see more of Maisie that way.” She glances down at her daughter. “He can have her stay over at his place, if he wants.”

I notice that even she thinks the deal needs ‘sweetening’. “So this move is definite, then?”

“It is if we can find somewhere to live.”

“Is Manuel gonna come look at apartments with you?”

She shakes her head. “No. He’s working in Arizona at the moment, so I’m gonna look around and see what’s available, and if I find something I like, we’ll come back and take another look together.”

“What about your father? How does he feel about this?”

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