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He spins back around again and focuses on his screen while I look back at mine, trying to decide what to write. I had an idea, but I can’t remember what it was now…
I’m feeling distracted again. It seems to be easily done these days, and now I’m wondering why Hunter and Livia have taken to spending more time here. They used to arrive on Friday evenings and leave late on Sunday nights, but now they get here by Friday lunchtime and don’t leave again until sometime on Monday afternoon. Don’t get me wrong… I love seeing them, and we all get along really well. I just don’t understand the change in their routine. I would have said it was because Livia wanted to spend more time with her parents, but her mom and dad have been living here for a while now, and this change has only been in the last few weeks. And besides, when they’re here, they spend most of their time at the house… shut away.
As for Drew, he has absolutely no routine at all now. That’s one of the reasons I want to get my book finished before our baby’s born. I’ve seen the chaos Drew’s life has become since the arrival of his daughter.
He was relieved Lexi had a girl… not just because that was what he wanted, but because he didn’t like the name Xavier any more than I did. She’s called Maisie, just like Lexi wanted, and she’s absolutely adorable.
We don’t see as much of her as I’d like, but he’s brought them down here a few times, and they’ve stayed in the guest house together. It’s big enough that Lexi and Maisie can have their own space, and Drew converted one of the bedrooms intoa nursery. It’s easy to see that he loves spending time with his daughter, and he’s so besotted that when they’re not here, he’s with them… whenever his work will allow.
“I feel like a weekend dad,” he said the last time I spoke to him. “But what can I do?”
“You don’t think Lexi would consider moving to Boston?”
“I doubt it. As far as I know, she’s always lived in New York.”
“You don’t think she’d like to live nearer to her sister?”
“No. I’m reading between the lines, but I get the impression they’re not that close.”
“But I thought they were. I thought that was why Lexi wanted to spend some time in Boston before Maisie was born.”
I heard him sigh. “Like I said at the time, I think a lot of that was to do with boredom, more than anything. I just wish I’d realized sooner that the tie between them isn’t as strong as I thought it was.”
“Would it have made a difference?” I’m not sure he’d have been able to date Lexi’s sister, regardless of their relationship. Not when Lexi was expecting his child.
“I don’t know… but it’s too late now.”
I could hear the regret in his voice, and my heart went out to him. I knew how it felt to lose the person you love. Except I’d been lucky. Mac had come back to me.
Drew wasn’t so fortunate.
I stare at my screen, suddenly remembering what I wanted to say in this last paragraph. It was to offer my thanks to the people who helped me write the book… so that’s Drew for taking the photographs, the rest of the family for being guinea pigs, and Mac… for everything.
I find a way of wording that, surprised by the tears that well up in my eyes, which is another thing that happens all the time at the moment, and once I’m happy, I save the document andclose my laptop. I can send it to Delilah another day. Right now, I need to get in the pool… before I spontaneously combust.
“I’m done. What about you?” I turn to face Mac.
“Just two more seconds.”
He types furiously, his head bent, and I watch, loving his enthusiasm. Then he stops and spins around, smiling at me.
“Finished.”
“Not the book?”
“No. Just that chapter.”
I nod my head. “Can we go for a swim now?”
“Sure.” He stands and comes across the room, leaning over me, his hands on the arms of my chair, his lips touching mine. “We need to get you naked.”
My body shudders. “Hmm… I like the sound of that.”
I heard somewhere that in the very late stages of pregnancy, women sometimes go off having sex. I guess that’s probably because it’s uncomfortable… and I can understand that. But, if anything, I seem to want Mac even more. We’ve had to be creative with positions, but I can’t get enough of him, and regardless of my size, it seems he feels the same.
He offers his hand and I take it, letting him pull me up, just as a sharp pain rips through my abdomen and I let out a cry. The bump is harder than usual, and it feels tight, the pain searing through me. I struggle to breathe, and I cling to Mac for support.
“Ella? What’s wrong? Tell me…”
