Behind A Twisted Smile (Dark Minds Book 2) by Faith Mortimer Page B

rather enjoying it. We’ve decided to go on a cycling holiday once I’ve become much fitter. We thought Italy or France might be nice…all those gorgeous villages and countryside to explore. Martyn said we could take a small tent and camp out. It would be romantic lying under the stars, just the two of us.”
    I blinked. “Good for you, but I must say I find the thought of you on a bike extraordinary enough let alone camping.”
    Martyn chuckled. “Sausages and bacon frying in a pan. Swimming in rivers and a log fire. As I’ve told you before, Moya, once a boy scout always a boy scout. Evie will come to no harm.”
    He draped an arm around her shoulders and drawing her close, gave Evie a deep, lingering kiss. They then looked at each other with self-satisfied smiles, and I guessed they had more news to impart.
    “We’ve decided that because we want to start a family as soon as possible, we need somewhere bigger than my small cottage,” Evie said. I was astonished. She had never mentioned having kids since her divorce. Besides, she was forty, and I knew she considered herself too old to start.
    “Kids? Really? I never thought you…what I mean is, that’s nice, but won’t it be a wrench selling your cottage? You’ve always loved it.”
    Martyn helped himself to a second glass of wine as he butt in. “Yes, but apart from it being too small, we also want to start married life in a place we can call completely our own. By that I mean, a place Evie and I can say we’ve chosen and not one she shared with her former husband.” He took hold of Evie’s hand between his own.
    I was surprised. The house had been left to Evie by our maternal grandfather, while my sisters and I were given legacies of money. It had been in the family for five generations, and letting it go would have been a disappointment for Mum.
    Evie sat up and put a bright expression on her face. “It can’t be helped, and as Martyn says, it is only bricks and mortar, after all. He wants something bigger and more modern.”
    She tried hard but she didn’t fool me. Despite having lived with her husband there, she still adored the place.
    “Mum might be upset…have you told her yet?”
    Evie nodded. “Yes. She’s fine with it. She said we can’t stand still doing nothing, and if we want somewhere bigger then to go for it.”
    “Really? She said that? What about you, Martyn? If I remember, you don’t own a property?”
    “I did. I recently sold my last flat, and I’m just waiting for the money to come through. There was a hitch with the buyer’s mortgage, but it should all be sorted by the time we need to make a final decision on the new property.  Anyway, Mum—Belinda—has very kindly agreed to give us the difference in case there’s a hitch.”
    I all but winced at his cool manner with the name-dropping. Belinda was our mother, Evie’s and mine, not his. Apart from Martyn’s familiarity, I also felt edgy about his casually spoken words. I wondered how much Mum was actually giving them and whether she had offered freely, or worse, had she been coerced? I held my tongue. I had no gripe with Evie; I loved my sisters, and she out of all of us deserved a break. Her husband, Michael, had treated her badly, and if Mum wanted to give her a contribution towards a larger house, then it was fine by me. But the thought of Martyn being involved left a sour taste in my mouth.
    “And we believe we’ve found the right place already. Or rather, Martyn did.”
    “Yes, it’s a place I’ve often admired. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw the estate agent’s board go up outside early last week. I got on to them immediately and arranged a viewing, then told Evie and took her round. After the second viewing, I knew it was the perfect house for us. Not only that, Evie already has a buyer for her place. Cash buyers. They didn’t have quite the exact amount we were asking, but I suggested to Evie we take the offer. It was too good a chance to miss,