A Beautiful Forever

Prologue

Elliot

Encouraging the sweaty, grunting man in front of me to tuck his knees closer to his chest as he does mountain climbers, I

distractedly scan the people and the scenery in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, as I do every time I bring a client here.

That’s when I finally see her, her movement is unmistakable as she runs in a rhythmic pace along the path in front of me. The two

years I spent trying to get over her just fell away like I didn’t even live them, and I’m taken right back to where I was, wanting her,

wishing I could touch her.

Holding my breath, I watch her, her pony tail swinging from side to side as her feet hit the concrete. When she turns her head in my

direction, a gripping pain creeps over my chest, constricting my airways when I see the recognition steal over her face.

I was kind of hoping she’d run past me, so I could convince myself I was seeing things, but no such luck. She’s stopped running and

is smiling brightly at me. My stomach flips in response while my arm automatically waves at her. All of a sudden, I hear myself telling

my client that I’ll be back in a minute, as my feet propel me toward her.

Katrina is standing with her hands on her hips grinning at me as I approach. I have so much I want to say to her, but mostly I just want

to touch her again. My body is screaming at me to reach out. But I don’t.

“What’s this?” she asks me immediately, indicating the logo on my shirt. I smile to myself - she’s never been one to mince words.

She seems exactly the same, like I only saw her yesterday.

Looking at my shirt, I chuckle uncomfortably. “I’m a personal trainer now,” I inform her.

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise, “What? What about becoming a barrister?”

Still smiling I shake my head from side to side, “That was my father’s dream for me. After you left, I did a lot of soul-searching and

decided to make my own path,” I answer, scanning her body, drinking in every little detail.

“Wow, that’s amazing Elliot. I'm really happy for you.”

My eyes land on her left hand, and my chest tightens as I see the ring she now wears. Swallowing the ball that has suddenly lodged

itself firmly in my throat, I say, “Looks like congratulations is owed to you as well. Is that from David?”

She looks at her hand briefly, like she needs to confirm that we’re looking at the same thing and gives me a small nod. “Oh thank

you, the wedding is a while off, but everything else is great.” Giving me a tight smile, she meets my eyes and places her hand back

on her hip. “How about you? How are things with you?”

I look into her face, searching for some semblance of the way she used to look at me, but there's nothing there. I shift a little uneasily

on my feet, suddenly feeling slightly sick in the guts.

Clearing my throat, I finally answer her, “Well, I don’t really speak to my dad anymore – which really is a good thing; and I’m seeing

someone now. It took a while – and she’s not you... but things are ok. I’m certainly not ready for a commitment like that yet,” I say,

nodding at that bloody ring again, I’m trying to sound okay with it, but it hurts. It's like my brain is swelling and throbbing against my

skull from the sight of it.

She seems completely unfazed by seeing me and just stands there smiling like we’re buddies. Her eyes shift to look over my

shoulder, where I’m sure my client is still waiting. “Well, I had better let you get back to it,” she says, starting to back away from me. I

hate feeling like this. It's like she’s tearing a part of me off the further she steps. “It was nice to see you again Evan.”

I laugh, but it makes this really hollow and empty sound. I don’t mean for it to come out that way, but I’m feeling a little bitter right now.

“You too Katrina. I'll see you around, if not – have a great life!” I smile on only one side of my face and run back to my client, forcing

my feet every step and refusing to let myself turn around.

I don’t chance a look at her again until after I’ve told my client what his next exercise is. My guts are churning as I watch her run away,

but I can’t stop staring. She doesn’t even look back.

I just lied to her. I'm not seeing anyone. Truth is I haven’t dated anyone in the two years since her. I f*cked around a lot, which is really

out of character for me, but I just wanted to try to get her out of my head. It never helped because every time I closed my eyes, I

dreamed about our time together – it was f*cking perfect, and I destroyed it because I was too much of a p-ssy to stand up to my

dad.

Now she’s engaged and I’ve got no chance, I guess I could pursue her and try to change her mind – but there is something about the

way she just looked at me that tells me it would be a waste of time. Plus, she seems happy and I’m not a home wrecker. At the end

of the day, David is a good guy, and they have a lot of history. I'm sure they’ll be disgustingly blissful together.

“Elliot,” my client snaps me back from my thoughts. “What’s next?”

Dragging my eyes from watching Katrina’s figure fade into the distance, I tell him that it is time to cool down. We go for a run in the

opposite direction. I don’t trust myself not to chase her down.