Free The One That Got Away by M. B. Feeney Page A

a lot of Heidi that day. They may have looked completely different, but something about how she’d held herself made me think about the girl I’d let slip through my fingers. Although Heidi was always present in the back of my mind, I tried not to dwell on my mistakes and regrets.
    “Always a good starting point.”
    “What attracted you to your kid’s dad? Jason, right?” It was a question I’d always wanted to ask, but never had the guts to during our online chats.
    “Before he turned out to be a cheating scumbag he was so gentle, despite his size. It’s not very often you find a guy who’s six-foot-five who cries at home makeover shows.” Her smile lit up her face whilst she spoke. “But once I was pregnant and fat, he soon showed his true colours.”
    “I bet you were gorgeous when you were pregnant.” I could almost picture it, and the image made me squirm in my seat. Maybe if I hadn’t fucked up all those years ago, I’d have been the one to watch her body change and been the one to support her throughout.
    “Hardly. I was a whale with an attitude problem.” I couldn’t help but laugh and was rewarded with her joining me. Before I could speak again something on the dashboard binged at us and the car began to slow down. “Crap!” Heidi managed to pull over onto the hard shoulder.
    “What’s wrong?” As someone who didn’t drive, I knew very little about cars.
    “We’ve run out of petrol.” Her hand slammed onto the steering wheel in a fit of obvious frustration.
    “Shit, where’s the nearest service station?” I couldn’t remember seeing a recent sign, but then, I hadn’t been paying attention to much other than Heidi.
    “Not far, the turn off is just up there.” She climbed out of the car and walked round to the boot.
    I followed to find her lifting out a petrol can, then watched as she gave it a shake and swore at discovering it was empty. I had the feeling this may have happened before, more than once.
    “You want to stay here and I’ll walk?” It was the only way I could think of getting petrol quickly, and I had the feeling she wouldn’t want to leave her car unattended on the road side.
    “I kind of don’t want to be left on my own either way.” Thank Christ. The only question now was whether the car would be safe if we both left to fill the can. “I might just call my recovery service, but we could be waiting for a while.”
    “I’d feel better though, knowing you weren’t on your own.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
    “Yeah, me too.” She clasped her hands together behind my back and hugged me quick before letting go and rummaging in the boot again. “I just need to hide the can.”
     
    :: ::
     
    Warm weather drew us to sit on the grass verge in front of the car after Heidi had made her call for help. Seated slightly downwind of her, I could smell her light perfume. It was driving me insane. All I wanted to do was kiss her until she was breathless.
    “Considering we’re on the side of the motorway, it’s pretty quiet.” Until she said it, I hadn’t noticed, but she was right. The traffic was very light in both directions.
    I lay back onto the grass, resting my head onto my hands.
    “If we weren’t waiting to be rescued, I’d admit to enjoying myself,” I joked, not wanting to let on that I really was. Being alone with her was both a blessing and a curse since it allowed us to actually spend time together. It was enabling me to put off going home to face Mel.
    “I am enjoying myself. I’m allowed to be Heidi again for a bit longer, before I have to become Mum again. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but it’s nice not having to worry about anyone but myself for a little while longer.”
    I turned my head to look at her. If I hadn’t known, I’d never have guessed she’d had two kids. Just as I opened my mouth to tell her so, she turned to look back at me and her soft smile made me groan.
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    “I’m fine,”