Forget Me Not (Escape Contemporary Romance) (17 page)

Sliding her briefcase and shoulder bag onto a clean spot on the sofa, she headed to the stereo and turned it down a notch. Kurt Cobain was still wailing but not as loudly as before. She liked Kurt’s voice and the powerful emotion behind it, just not as right as she walked through the door.

Stefan stuck his head through the kitchen doorway. ‘Oh, you’re home. I had the stereo turned up so I could hear it from in here. You have excellent timing. I’m just about to serve up.’ He grabbed the French stick from her and turned, adding over his shoulder, ‘This is just the thing.’

Nodding, she decided to turn her back on the whole scene and head to the bedroom to get changed. Minutes later, she emerged in her favourite black low-waisted pants, and a raglan-sleeved tee-shirt with a band motif. She hadn’t worn the ensemble for a while but it seemed appropriate.

Walking back into the living area, Stefan was now placing steaming bowls of pasta on the table. Small pats of butter and chunks of baguette sat on their side plates.

He sat down, motioning for Claire to do the same, and poured two glasses of sparkling mineral water.

‘I’ve had the best day,’ he said, as she joined him. ‘How about you? I hope everything went okay.’

She nodded, spinning her fork into her fettuccini. ‘My clients are thrilled. The other family has dropped the charges.’ Frowning, she added, ‘I told you about them, didn’t I?’

‘Wayne and his mother. Yes, you did.’

He’d remembered the boy’s name, something he’d never have done in the past. He’d always remember the cases and their legal intricacies, but the clients had meant nothing to him.

‘This is excellent, by the way.’ Claire pointed to the bowl in front of her, then smiled, thinking of the way the case had been resolved. ‘Today, I did something I’ve never done before. I took my clients to the café downstairs to celebrate with coffee and cake.’

‘That’s unusual?’

’I don’t normally get that personal with clients but I was so pleased with the outcome of the case, and I had the time.’ Also, being with Stefan had put her in a good mood. ‘It was nice. A good way to finish the case.’

Stefan nodded as he chewed. ‘I’m pleased.’

She raised her eyebrows, knowing he had something to tell her. ‘And you?’

‘I discovered a fantastic band today.’

She flipped her thumb towards the stereo. ‘Nirvana?’

‘They’re good, aren’t they? No, I meant a different band.’

‘Who?’

‘The Beatles.’

She blinked in disbelief. ‘You discovered The Beatles?’

‘They’re amazing.’

Giggling, Claire covered her mouth. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to burst into peals of laughter.

‘You’ve heard of them?’ Stefan asked, his voice all innocence.

‘Everyone’s heard of them. They’re probably the biggest band in the history of rock and roll.’

He waited, then raised his eyebrows. ‘Bigger than Elvis?’

She wondered if Stefan was teasing her, if he’d got his memory back and was making up this story about ‘discovering’ The Beatles.

Resting her fork in the bowl, she asked, ‘How do you know about Elvis?’

‘I found a heap of books on rock and roll in the spare room. Actually, I already figured The Beatles were a huge phenomenon. I could work that out from the number of books we had on them.’

He
had
been teasing her, just not the way Claire had imagined.

‘The only problem is the number of CDs in the collection,’ he said. ‘There are so many to get through.’

‘Not surprising. I’m pretty sure you’ve got the complete Beatles collection.’

‘I love the Abbey Road album. It’s got strong, gutsy numbers and beautiful love songs as well.’

She nodded. ‘It was always your favourite. I’m sure it still will be.’

Stefan was so enthusiastic, so exuberant. he was really beginning to remind her of the way he’d been when they first met.

Even when he was studying Australian law so he could practise here, he seemed to have had more time. Time to fool around and have fun, and maybe even time to tease her gently the way she liked.

What had happened to that young man? Was there still a bit of the lad deep inside him?

‘There could be CDs I like better than Abbey Road,’ he said. ‘My tastes might have matured over the years.’

Claire shook her head. ‘This isn’t your mature side I’m seeing. When you were younger, you used to be a true rock aficionado. I bet that hasn’t changed.’ Knowing how to prove her point, she asked, ‘In what year did Abbey Road come out?’

‘1969.’

‘What was the name of the record label?’

‘Apple.’

She held his gaze. ‘See what I mean.’

Eyes narrowing, his lips upturned into a grin. He was warming up for a heated discussion.

‘But if
you
know the answers to those questions too, then doesn’t make
you
some sort of rock expert too?’ Stefan asked.

She threw her hands up. ‘Who said I knew the answers! Okay, I’ve heard of Apple Records but I wouldn’t have a clue when the band put any of their albums out. The point is, I
knew
you’d have the answer at your fingertips. You’ve looked at some books on The Beatles. I bet you also read every word on each CD cover.’

‘Of course I did.’

‘And it’s all imprinted in your mind now. You always remembered every word you read. When it comes to rock and roll, you were always full of information, a fountain of rock trivia.’

Stefan looked at her expectantly. ‘Is that meant to be a compliment?’

‘Actually, it is. Years ago, you were crowned Master of Rock.’

‘Excuse me?’

Claire leaned forward. ‘We had friends at university and there was a series of quiz nights at the uni tavern, culminating in a grand final when you beat all the other contestants and won the competition.’

He grinned, reminding her of the young man she’d met all those years ago. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Very. And so were you. From the start, you were determined to win. You played it cool, but there’s no doubt you were aiming for the main prize. You weren’t in it just to play the game.’

‘Why was that? Did I win a car?’

She shook her head. ‘For you, the main prize was coming first. You weren’t exactly showing off, but you knew you had the knowledge and you loved entertaining the crowd.’

He looked at her quizzically. ‘Me?’

‘You were young, Stefan. You didn’t put on a suit every day and charge your time out by the hour. You used to have fun. That was just a different side of your character.’

‘I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.’

But that wasn’t what the look on his face was telling her. If anything, he looked perplexed, more so that she’d seen him lately.

But this could mean something to Stefan. This was her chance to show him what he used to be like, the old Stefan who was fun and flirty and didn’t think it was stupid to enter a university rock quiz. He’d grown serious over the years but he hadn’t always been that way.

‘Actually,’ Claire said. ‘You don’t have to take my word for it.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘I’ll show you.’ She stood, reaching across for their empty plates. ‘First, I’ll clean up and make coffee.’

‘You’ve been at work all afternoon,’ he said. ‘I should do that.’

‘No, I will. It’ll make a nice change. You can wait in the living room, relax, and read some of those books.’

Stefan’s eyes lit up and he stopped objecting. He’d been the perfect houseguest so far, cooking and cleaning up after every meal. Just this once, he could be the one to be waited on.

Claire cleared the table, smiling as she loaded the dishwasher and scrubbed the two pots. Normally she disliked doing the dishes but her mind was elsewhere. This was going to
be fun. She could remember it like it was yesterday. Must have be seven or eight years, maybe longer.

Claire stepped backward through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, two mugs of steaming coffee in her hands.

‘You’ll have to clear the coffee table,’ she said, standing in front of it.

Stefan hastily put down the book he was engrossed in, piling three volumes on top of each other to clear a space.

He took the mugs and placed them on the coffee table. ‘The coffee smells good.’

Claire rummaged through the cupboards, on which the television sat. ‘I’ll put on the video.’

‘What video?’

She raised the item in her hand into the air triumphantly. ‘This one.’

Switching on the television, Claire popped the video into the machine and joined Stefan on the sofa.

He’d quickly come learn how to use the stereo and audio-visual equipment, telling her it was pretty obvious how it all worked. Claire had joked that it must have been because of the male-technical-equipment gene. His skills hadn’t extended as far as the computer so they’d put that aside to tackle another day when they had more time.

‘What’s on the video?’ Stefan asked.

‘You had a friend studying media and television, and he got such a kick out of watching you in action at the quiz nights, that he recorded the grand final. I think he knew you were going to win.’

‘Are you serious? You’ve got footage of this stuff?’

Claire nodded. His arm slipped around her with ease, like it belonged there, and she slid closer. She felt warm and comfortable, just like she had when they’d snuggled on the sofa to watch television so many times before.

How deeply she’d missed this.

Sex was one thing; this was another. These little touches—his arm around her, sitting side-by-side, the way he spoke to her—showed he cared for her, gestures he reserved purely for her.

Claire wasn’t expecting this, to feel this way simply sitting beside him on the sofa in front of the television. Millions of people around the world did it every night. It was so mundane.

Yet the time they spent together made her feel wanted and special. Loved? Was that how she felt? Claire didn’t want to let herself believe it, couldn’t let herself fall for it when she knew that couldn’t be true, but she could pretend.

Just for one night. That wasn’t too much to ask, not after everything she’d been through.

Tonight, she would relish every moment.

Sliding her hand over his thigh, Claire leaned in closer. ‘Someone should press play.’

Stefan nuzzled her neck, made his way up higher and nibbled her ear lobe. ‘Someone should.’

‘Don’t you want to watch the video?’

‘Actually, I do.’ He pressed a little kiss to her ear. ‘You’ve got me intrigued.’

Claire reached for her coffee cup, grabbing it with one hand, the remote control with the other. Turning to look for his go-ahead, her finger hovered over the button.

’I’ll take care of that.’ Stefan pressed play for her, took the remote from her grasp and placed it on the seat on the other side of him.

Claire leaned back into his arms, cradling her coffee mug.

The video opened with a series of credits that may have seemed high tech a decade ago but looked extremely dated now. As far as Claire was concerned, they set the scene perfectly, summing up what that time had been like.

Stefan appeared on screen. He was being interviewed by a friend.

‘That’s George Singer,’ Claire said. ‘He’s the one who made the video, the old buddy of yours. He got someone else to hold the camera so he could do this part.’

George looked directly to the camera. ‘We are backstage tonight for one of the biggest events on the university calendar, the grand final of the Master of Rock Quiz. Here with me I have Stefan Porter, touted to be the next winner of the event. Stefan, this is a big night for you. How does it feel?’

Stefan’s brow furrowed as he answered the question earnestly, playing up to the camera as George asked him a series of increasingly sillier questions.

Claire glanced up to see Stefan grinning beside her. He was enjoying it. She had known he would.

George turned to the camera. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we all know that behind every successful man is a good woman. Here, behind this man, is Claire Simons. Claire, can you tell me how you’ve helped Stefan prepare for this evening.’

Claire giggled as she watched her shy reply back on camera. Beside her on the sofa, Stefan squeezed her tighter.

‘You were supportive of me even back then.’

‘It was a bunch of students having a quiz night, not the Academy Awards.’

A shy smile crept to Stefan’s lips. ‘I think you should take this more seriously.’

Claire slapped him gently on the thigh and was about to reprimand him when he shushed her; so, together, they watched the master of ceremonies ask question after question as the four contestants vied for the answers. At first, the competition was tight but it didn’t take Stefan long to pull way ahead of the others. He didn’t let his lead slip, continuing to buzz in ahead of the others even through to the end.

Stefan leaned forward, his eyes riveted to the screen. ‘I can’t believe that was me. How did I know all the answers?’

She shrugged. ‘Like I said, you were always full of useless information.’

Turning to look at her, Stefan pointed a finger at his chest. ‘Useless? Hey, I was Master of Rock.’

Claire laughed. How could she not? She’d forgotten how much fun he could be.

‘You’re just as silly now as you were then.’ She placed her coffee mug on the little table so it didn’t spill.

‘I think the Master of Rock deserves more respect than that.’ His eyes remained glued to the screen. ‘Hey, what’s going on?’

The video showed Stefan, microphone in hand, whispering to one of the band members.

It all came back to her. There had been a band that night, playing old rock and roll songs. Damn it, she’d forgotten this part, forgotten what happened next. She sure as hell remembered it now.

‘Stop it there,’ Claire said. ‘I think it finishes now.’

‘No, it doesn’t,’ Stefan said, his attention completely on the unfolding video.

Claire froze. She couldn’t do this, couldn’t watch, couldn’t go there again.

But she also couldn’t move.

On screen, a much younger Stefan put the microphone to his mouth and said, ‘Behind every good man, there’s an even better woman. This is for Claire.’