A Simple Mistake Read Online Free

quite depressed after leaving the coast. I ended up spending a year out west with Roger’s brother and his family before coming to Sydney. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone from home for a long time, and then it was just too hard. I feel pretty bad about it.’
    When she turned there was an awkward silence. A hundred questions sprang to mind, but he stopped himself from asking any of them. The last thing he wanted was Lainey deciding she needed to go home because he’d been impatient. A change of pace was called for.
    ‘Let’s eat. You’re going to love my housekeeper’s lasagne.’
    Lainey’s eyes lit up. ‘Really?’
    Nick chuckled as he led the way into the kitchen, relieved at the change of mood. He showed her where everything was kept and they laid the table together, moving easily around one another. He smiled at the amount of food Lainey put on her plate. Most of the women he knew were obsessed with dieting.
    ‘Wow,’ she said, after her first mouthful, ‘does your cook share recipes?’
    ‘I’ll be sure to ask.’
    ‘So how does all this work for you? What happens when you’re away?’
    ‘Rosa and Angelo live in a flat opposite my driveway. Rosa does the housekeeping and Angelo does the gardening and any other maintenance. They also own a pizza and pasta shop down the road which Angelo runs with his sons.’ Nick set down his water glass. ‘What I really want to know is, how did you manage to convince Roger to let you out of the house? I’m surprised you’re not still there, chained to your bed.’
    Lainey grinned. ‘It’s all thanks to Lara. I met her when I finished my last year of high school down here. It’s because of her parents’ influence on Roger, that I got to do stuff I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. I owe her a lot but I introduced her to her boyfriend, Adam, so I guess we’re even.’ She put her head to one side. ‘Did you notice my nose is straight now?’
    ‘Directly after I’d gotten over the shock of seeing you.’
    ‘Oh.’ Lainey coloured a little and toyed with her fork. ‘Well, that was thanks to Adam’s shoe. We played in a touch football team together at university. We collided one time and his foot broke my nose. Again. I had to have an operation and it got straightened for free. I was over the moon.’
    ‘You were pretty even when your nose was crooked.’
    Nick enjoyed watching her fidget and blush and teased her again when she helped herself to more lasagne. He found out she went running nearly every day and played tennis and squash at least once a week. It explained her very attractive figure.
    She wanted to know about his career right from the beginning, about the boys in the band, what they were like, how he got on with them. He found himself telling her things he would never tell just anyone. It was almost like the old days. Almost. Except for the elephant in the room.
    A long while later, they got up from the table and cleaned the kitchen together before settling on one of the lounges with a cup of coffee. Nick realised it had become late afternoon without either of them noticing.
    As Lainey described her group of church friends, Nick thought he might do a bit of probing. ‘I’m surprised you’re not married.’
    Lainey’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘Yeah, well, the right one hasn’t come along. It’s hard finding someone tall enough.’ Then she eyeballed him. ‘I haven’t slept with anyone else in case you’re wondering.’
    Nick almost choked on his coffee. ‘I wasn’t exactly going to ask, Lainey.’ Deep down he had wanted to know and felt a surge of satisfaction he’d been the only one. It was a bit primeval but there it was.
    ‘What about you? You haven’t ever married, have you?’
    ‘No,’ he said slowly, ‘but I haven’t been a monk either.’
    ‘I hadn’t expected you to be.’ Her smile held a touch of sadness.
    Then it hit him why he found her so appealing.
    Despite that one afternoon, there was