No Regrets: Jani Kay (Firebird Trilogy Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

in spite of the healthy breakfast earlier, I took a bite. The saltiness making me thirsty, I took a sip of ice-cold beer to wash the pretzel down.
    Kurt laughed as he placed his hand casually over mine. “Feeling better?”
    Nodding, I smiled up at him. I genuinely felt so much brighter, relaxed and at ease in his company, soaking up the morning sun as it broke through the trees overhead. We continued getting to know one another. This time it was Kurt asking most of the questions. I told him about my sisters back in Australia, and how all three of us looked so alike that people often mistook us for triplets; we were so close in age too.
    “It sounds as if you’re all close. I like that.”
    “Yes, we’re very close, especially since my father died. We learned that family is so important.” I blinked a few times, fighting the tears and thickening of my throat. I changed the tone of my voice, trying to sound more upbeat. “You’d really like Lily. She’s the youngest. She loves reading as much as you do. She always has her nose in a book.”
    I reached into my purse and found the mini photo album I’d tucked in there with pictures of everyone so that I could stare at their faces when I missed them too much. Opening it to the page of Lily sitting on a bench with our cat on her lap and a book in her hand, I pointed to her. “See. That’s the lovely Lily.”
    Kurt took the album from my hand and stared at the picture of my baby sister, smiling. “She’s got freckles. You don’t.” Mischief danced in his eyes. “Lily looks like my kind of woman, beautiful and smart like her eldest sister.”
    Turning the pages, Kurt asked questions about the rest of the family, too. I told him stories about the three of us as kids, about how we’d get into trouble yet always manage to get out of it because we stuck together.
    We finished our enormous glasses of beer and the pretzel between us.
    “Thanks, I'm actually feeling better now. Who knew the cure to a hangover was more alcohol? I’ll remember that.”
    Kurt grinned. “No, it has to be beer. And you have to drink it with a friend.”
    The more I got to know him, the more I liked spending time with Kurt. He was sweet and caring. If the way he treated me was any indication, he was going to be an excellent doctor.
    I noticed that most people rose to their feet at about the same time and walked in the same direction toward the square. “What’s going on?”
    “Let's go. You’ll want to see this.” Kurt pulled me up and walked me the short distance to the square. We were surrounded by historic buildings and crowds of people here for the same reason as we were. He pointed to a tall structure while peering at his watch. “It's exactly midday. Watch.”
    Like everyone else, I gazed up to the tower, and to my amazement, music started playing as life-size figures moved around a clock. I clapped my hands, grinning as I watched.
    “Oh, wow. That’s so cool.”
    “The Glockenspiel,” Kurt said, pride emanating from him. “It re-enacts two stories from the 16th century.” We watched, enthralled as first the top half played out its story and then the second part below it.
    Hordes of tourists, everyone with their eyes raised to the tower, stood around us, moving closer and closer as more people came into the square. Forced to move closer to Kurt as the space filled, he placed his arm casually around my shoulder.
    My awareness shifted to a sudden jerk on my purse. Instinctively, I clutched it tighter to my body, gasping as my attention was drawn to the petty thief grabbing my bag. Kurt let out a curse and grabbed the boy by his collar, nearly lifting him off the ground.
    I didn’t understand his words, but it seemed as if the boy was apologizing. His clothes were dirty, his slim face smeared with grime. Deep sunken eyes pleaded with mine.
    “Let him go, Kurt,” I said as I laid my hand on his arm. Hunger was universal. A basic human need. I took twenty Euros from my purse