Moving On by Jennii Graham Read Free Book Online

Chapter 1
     
    Oxford Street was heaving. Busy shoppers darted in and out of brightly lit stores looking for the next shiny object to add to their collection and brighten up their otherwise mundane lives . Clare stepped out of the black London cab and straightened her expensive jacket. Her friend Donna stepped out into the bright London sunshine to join her after paying the expectant cabbie his fare plus a generous tip for his trouble.
    “Have a good day ladies!” called the cabbie .
    “We will” said Donna as she smiled and shut the door.
    Donna joined her best friend Clare as they surveyed the scene. “Right then darling” said Donna, “where first?”
    Clare pulled a pristine sheet of paper from her L o uis V u itton bag and opened it carefully. “I’ve made a list of the best sales in town” she exclaimed and pointed over to the other side of the busy road. “John Lewis first I think, that’s always a good place to start”
    Clare smiled at her best friend and they linked arms and made for the pedestrian crossing. Clare and Donna had been best friends since school and had been through a lot of tough times together. Every body they knew said they could be sisters and this made both of them very happy indeed .
    Clare was taller than Donna with long immaculately dressed brown hair. She always looked her very best and took an eternity to get ready. Much to her friends and family’s despair at times. Every last inch of her was groomed to perfection especially her nails and hands . This wasn’t surprising as by day s he was a manicurist in a busy city centre salon with a healthy list of very particular clients. She was good at her job but if you told her that she would deny it with well practiced modesty . Today was Clare and Donna’s regular monthly shopping trip in London and was the highlight of their month. They always spoiled themselves silly and always managed to have at least three well deserved breaks for coffee and long chats about life, love and where to visit next .
    They had been rather successful so far with Clare’s detailed research and planning paying off with a couple of excellent bargains. Their shopping trips were always very well organised by Clare, she always knew where to go and how to get there. Donna didn’t mind this at all; she could sit back and enjoy the day without having to worry about a thing. They found themselves in one of the many coffee shops in central London needing a break and a big, expensive cappuccino. Clare’s feet and ankles were sore for some strange reason and she was in some pain. Donna ordered the drinks while Clare found them a quiet table at the back. The coffee shop was busy so nowhere was particularly quiet but this was the best she could hope for. Donna arrived with the drinks and the tall glass of tap water Clare had asked for. “Here you are sweetheart” said Donna as she passed Clare her cappuccino and the glass of water. Donna put the empty tray on a vacant nearby table and sat down. “How are you feeling?” she asked as she made herself comfortable. “I don’t know why but both of my ankles are really sore” said Clare as she popped two painkillers out of the pack and into her hand. “It might be the new shoes I’m wearing. The heels are a little high”. Actually the heels were very high and made Clare even taller than she already was. She was as tall as the average man and her slim figure accentuated her height even further. In fact, Clare had been blessed in many ways: she was tall, slim, had a great figure and she had poise and elegance too. Many women were jealous of Clare but she never boasted or played on her gifts. If anything Clare was too modest: she knew she often caught men’s eyes but she would always laugh it off or play it down. “He must be desperate” or “His eyesight needs checking” are the sort of things she would say to herself or whoever was with her. Deep down she knew why she did this. It was because of HIM and what