Now Is Our Time Read Online Free PDF Page B

top ten, which wasn’t too shabby.” He tried saying the word ‘shabby’ in his best British accent and they both giggled at his poor effort. “And things are good now. I’ve been taken on as a Commentator by Sky Sports and apparently I’m not too bad at it. That’s why I’m in the UK. I’m commentating on all the tournaments building up to and including Wimbledon.”
     
    “That sounds great,” Claire replied.
     
    It really did, but all Claire could calculate as silence fell between them was that he would only be here for another month and then he’d be gone. It reminded her of how peripatetic their life had been together. She’d hated it, and yet something about sitting opposite him here and now felt so horribly right. He took her hands in his once again and suggested they go for a walk.
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    Back on Park Lane, Jonah clasped her fingers tightly into his to keep her safe as they dodged traffic to cross the busy road. Once they reached the other side, he didn’t let go. If anything, he held on even tighter as they strolled towards Kensington Palace. Claire didn’t resist. She liked being attached to him and welcomed the warmth and naturalness of their connection. With him, she’d always felt like she belonged.
     
    It was 9 p.m. and the soft light was slowly starting to fade. Her shoulders shivered as the temperature dropped and Claire slipped on the crop black cardigan she’d brought with. There was an empty bench outside the wrought-iron gates which guarded the Palace, the same gates which mourners had flocked to, to decorate with flowers and wreaths and messages of condolence after Princess Diana had died. As they sat down Jonah still didn’t free her hand. They stared straight ahead at the gates for a few seconds and then Jonah broke the silence, turning to her. 
     
    “I tried contacting you after you left you know,” he said quietly. “I never wanted you to go.”  
     
    Tears began welling in Claire’s eyes and one dared to tumble over the edge and dribble towards her nose. Jonah wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. She nodded, but didn’t dare to speak. After she’d left, she’d changed her phone number, her e-mail address and even her home address. She’d not wanted to be found. She’d thought she was doing the right thing for everybody. 
     
    “What was your wife like?” Claire whispered.
     
    She hadn’t asked in Nobu and she cursed herself for letting that question pop out her mouth now. She didn’t want to know that he’d shacked up with some tall, leggy supermodel. Lord knows, there’d been enough of them around, clamouring to take him off her. 
     
    “She was a mistake,” he said, tracing his finger down from Claire’s wet eye and along her cheek towards the back of her neck. It was a gesture so sensitive and tender that she felt her head tilt towards his hand and her eyes close. She’d never in her wildest dreams imagined being with Jonah, ever again. This was almost too much, too soon, too hard to take in. Her life had felt dull for years and, to an extent, she’d been responsible for letting that happen. She hadn’t believed she’d deserved better. Not after what she did . And now, from nowhere it had sped into fast forward.
     
    “But she gave you Martha,” Claire reminded him.
     
    “Yes, and for that I am truly grateful.”
     
    Jonah leaned forward and cupped his other hand around Claire’s face. It was safer to close her eyes and not to try to read his expression, or guess his thoughts.
     
    “Open your eyes,” he commanded.
     
    With difficulty she obeyed and found herself staring into his deep, grey pools. What she thought she could read in them unsettled her. It felt like nothing had changed in the intervening years, even though she knew so much had. A lump caught at the back of her throat and she could feel her lower lip trembling. Part of her wanted to run