Forget Me Not (Escape Contemporary Romance) by Nina Blake Read Free Book Online Page A

the Opera House would be behind them in shot. He snapped the shutter, then took a quick look at captured image on the back of the camera. Deciding the shot would look better with their heads closer together, Stefan tilted his hands together to indicate the couple should move in.
    Smiling and nodding to show their understanding, the bride rested her shoulder on her husband’s as he pulled her close. They looked comfortable, as if they fitted together perfectly, and there was still an air of excitement and enthusiasm about them, like they were about to head off on an adventure. Stefan, wanting to capture that feel, took the shot.
    Glancing down at the small screen, he saw that this photo looked less staged and more like he’d captured a loving moment. He smiled, too, as he showed the picture to the couple and handed back their camera.
    Surely it had been like that between Claire and him—they’d loved each other like that once.
    He walked back over to Claire. Just as he did, her phone started to ring and she dug it out of her bag. She glanced down at it and frowned.
    ‘Do you need to take that call?’ Stefan asked.
    She shook her head. ‘It’s work. I’ll call them back later.’ Brightening, she pointed to the pink ice cream van not far from them. ‘I was thinking of ice cream.’
    ‘Fine by me.’
    Claire ordered the cones, handing him a choc-coated soft serve. He bit into the top of his as they walked, finding it sweet but refreshing nonetheless.
    ‘Is this the sort of thing I’d normally do?’
    She shook her head. ‘What, take photos and eat ice-cream? Nothing like it. I’ve never seen you eat soft serve, for a start.’
    ‘Why’s that?’
    ‘Too unsophisticated. You’d be more likely to go for a sorbet or an exotic flavour of gelati from an Italian place.’
    ‘Well, I’m enjoying being unsophisticated but I confess, this whole thing feels strange. I feel like a tourist.’
    She laughed. ‘So do I!’
    He must have touched a nerve, but a funny one, because her face lit up in a way that he’d not seen yet, her cheek bones rising, her mouth broad. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight but he thought they also reflected an inner happiness, albeit fleeting.
    Her reaction was wonderful, and being a tourist wasn’t so bad. It was a hell of a lot more fun than his stay in hospital.
    The problem was this whole thing felt so surreal that he feared he might still be in that coma. And if it was a dream, he’d wake up and find he was the man Claire had been telling him about, this high-powered lawyer who supposedly had everything going for him.
    That man had walked out on Claire, and Stefan couldn’t work out why.
    Because this man liked her.
    More than he cared to admit.

Chapter Six
    Stefan had hit the nail on the head. That was exactly what Claire had felt like, a tourist in her own hometown. And it had been fun. This was a chance to see the city she lived in through new eyes, to enjoy things afresh.
    And to enjoy Stefan’s company.
    She’d played the part of tour guide before, had shown visitors from inter-state around the city. Many years ago, she and Stefan had shown his parents the sights when they’d come over for the wedding. They’d loved Sydney. It had been Claire they hadn’t been enamoured with.
    Ahead of them, white plastic seats had been laid on the grass in rows, presumably for one of the weddings. The chairs, currently empty, made the park seem like a ghost town. A long table, with a white tablecloth that flapped gently in the breeze, was at the far end.
    They walked closer and sat on two chairs near the edge, looking out across the grass to the harbour. The silence between them as they ate was comfortable.
    When they’d broken up six months back, Claire would never have imagined they’d have another moment like this together: calm, fun, comfortable. They’d had hundreds or perhaps thousands of wonderfully ordinary times but she felt she’d never appreciated them the way she should have.