Read Forget Me Knot for Free Online

She’d seen them in the window, down to twenty-five quid.
    What looked like a black beanie hat was sticking out of his jacket pocket. He had the right head shape for a beanie, she decided. So many men didn’t. Including—dare she admit it—Toby. Beanies were the only garments he didn’t look good in. Of course, she’d never said anything to him. She couldn’t possibly hurt his feelings by telling him that his head was too big for them and that whenever he wore one it looked as if there were a giant egg covered in an egg cozy perched on his shoulders.
    The inventory of her traveling companion’s ensemble complete, Abby’s panic soared again.
    “What about all that rain this afternoon?” she blurted, catching his eye again. “Talk about torrential.”
    He removed his earbuds once more and offered her a bemused frown. “I beg your pardon? I missed that.”
    “The rain. This afternoon. Pretty heavy.”
    “Er, yes. I guess.” The earphones went back in again.
    “I got splashed just before. By a car. Got mud all over my stockings. People really should drive more carefully in the rain.”
    Out came the headphones. “Sorry again,” he said, with an awkward smile. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch that, either.”
    “Drivers. Don’t you think they should be more considerate in the rain? Just look at my stockings.” She raised her foot and showed him her shin. He managed a polite, concerned nod and went back to his music.
    Just then the elevator began to climb. Relief surged through Abby like squid ink in water. “Thank you, God,” she muttered. “Thank you.”
    Then, just as she was feeling in her pocket for her train ticket, the elevator began to slow down. The journey was far quicker than she had imagined. She was just beginning to feel foolish about the way she’d panicked, when the elevator stopped with a sudden and violent jerk. It was so fierce that Abby was thrown against her companion. He, in turn, lost his balance and the two of them spent several seconds trying to right themselves and each other.
    “You OK?” he said, once they were properly on their feet again. He looked shaken. She noticed his earbuds had come out of his ears and were dangling over the neck of his wind breaker.
    “Yes, I’m fine,” Abby said, desperate not to let her panic show. “Why haven’t the doors opened?”
    “Because we’re not at ground level. We were only going for a few seconds. It takes longer than that to reach the top.”
    “You’re kidding?” She hadn’t meant to sound shrill, but the words just came out that way. “You mean we’re stuck?” Abby felt her fists clench and her nails dig into her palms.
    “It looks like we could be.” He pressed the red emergency button.
    “Shouldn’t an alarm ring or something?” she heard herself demand.
    “You’d have thought so.” He jabbed the button a second and third time. Nothing.
    “Let me try. Maybe you’re not doing it right.” In her panic, she shoved him out of the way. His expression was one of mild amusement more than offense—as if to say, “How many ways are there to push a button?”
    She pressed her forefinger down hard on the button and left it there. When there was no response, she pressed even harder. By now she was hyperventilating and starting to feel dizzy again. She had to get out of this elevator right now. She was gulping in air, and the dizziness was getting worse. “I think I need to sit down,” she announced, voice trembling.
    “I thought you might,” he said. His voice was kind, concerned. He took her arm and helped her onto the floor. She sat with her back resting against the elevator wall. He crouched beside her. “Here, try this. I did this first-aid course years ago at school, and it really works.” He removed a bottle of wine from the smallish, upscale paper bag he’d been holding. “You need to hold the bag over your nose andmouth. Then just breathe in and out slowly. It balances the oxygen and carbon dioxide.