Page 6 of Forgettable in Every Way

Simon turned the page, and with it came more pictures and captions that made him feel even more like a bloody bastard for being so careless with Jules’s obvious affection for him.

“Well, the princess and the prince,” Simon continued, “became the best of mates. She always supported the prince and even learned how to play his audition pieces on the piano so he could practice.” Simon pointed to the picture of him and Jules at a piano store in Manhattan that allowed customers to play the instruments on display. Neither he nor Jules had a piano, so she’d talked the owner into letting Simon sing while she played. The customers loved it.

Simon noted the way Jules gazed adoringly at him as he sang. Her caption: “Music is love in search of a voice.” It was a quote attributed to one of his favorite authors, Leo Tolstoy. He remembered that Jules had read every one of his books just so they could discuss them together. No woman had ever done anything like that for him.

“The princess was also a great explorer and would take the prince on adventures every weekend. They would enjoy all the sights and sounds of the land of New York.”

“I’m an explorer too!” Jack exclaimed.

There were several photos of their adventures together, with captions and quotes making it quite obvious Jules’s feelings for Simon ran deep. As much as the memories made him smile, it pricked his heart. No doubt, he had hurt her.

Simon continued his made-up story based on true events until he came to the last page. Jack was half-asleep by then. It was a photo of them at the very coffeehouse where they’d met, smiling at each other from across their favorite table near the window where they could watch people pass by. Never had a woman looked so mesmerized by him. How the hell had he missed it?

Caption: Just the two of us. We can make it if we try.

Simon closed the album, speechless. He hadn’t even given her a chance.

“How does it end, Daddy?” Jack slurred, his eyes closing.

Simon wished he could say it ended happily ever after, but ... “The Daft Prince didn’t see what was right before his eyes, so he chose unwisely.”

“Maybe he can try better next time,” Jack sleepily responded.

Simon was sure there wouldn’t be a next time. The thought left him feeling empty and unsettled. “Jack,” Simon whispered. “Take this advice from your dad: always choose the woman who pays for your coffee and not the one with a tight ars—” Simon stopped himself short. “You know, maybe we’ll save this advice for when you’re older.”

Jack was already fast asleep.

Simon sat there in the low glow of the reading lamp attached to the headboard, holding his son, thinking about how sometimes the hardest things to see are right in front of your face. He’d had two women—his ex-wife and Jules—show him exactly who they were, and both times he’d refused to see it until it was too late.

Jules

CALISTA WAS WAITING FOR ME in the parking lot of the Moon Café in the heart of Aspen Lake. She was leaning up against the big, black truck she’d confiscated from her fiancé and claimed as her own. She was looking as gorgeous as ever with her long, dark, wavy hair, wearing a tee and shorts. I loved that she was a doctor but hated the thought of spending money on a new car, so she just permanently borrowed one. Not that Tristan cared. He was madly in love with her. I wondered what that was like.

I parked next to her in my new Tesla. I had no issue buying a car for myself.

The car barely came to a stop before Calista was opening my door and holding her arms out. If ever I needed a hug, it was now. It seriously bummed me out that Simon had forgotten my name, especially considering I’d thought about him every day of my life for the last thirteen years. That was on me. I knew I needed to get over him. He was married, and I obviously meant nothing to him. He’d probably cringed when he looked through the photo album I’d given him, and thrown it away years ago. Maybe it was a good thing Penelope showed up at the coffeehouse that day before I verbally bared my heart and soul to Simon.

I undid my seat belt and got out of the car, eager for Calista’s comforting embrace. She was taller than my five-foot-six frame, so my head easily rested on her shoulder as I sighed repeatedly. I’d called her last night after my run-in with Simon, so she knew exactly the reason for the melancholy.

Calista squeezed me extra hard. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better,” I moaned.

She patted my back, then paused. “So ... I have some news about the newest residents of Aspen Lake that might make you feel a little better.”

I leaned away from her, surprised. Calista didn’t run in any of the gossip circles in town. Not to say that people didn’t do their fair share of gossiping about her. She had quite a reputation. She was once upon a time the town’s biggest wild child. And the fact that she’d captured the heart of the most eligible bachelor in town, to the chagrin of his parents, hadn’t gone unnoticed. Last I’d heard, Cordelia and Frasier Granger, Tristan’s parents, were still suing their son for breach of contract after he’d resigned from Granger Outfitters last December. Needless to say, they weren’t invited to the wedding. I wasn’t sure what they were hoping to gain from such a petty move. If they thought it would make Tristan leave Calista, they were insane.

“What kind of news?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I’d asked my mom if she’d seen Penelope or knew why she and her family moved back to town, but she had no clue. And I utterly refused to look them up online. I had the means and capability to find out more about them than I ever wanted to know. Even more than the average person could. But I already knew everything I needed to know—they didn’t care about me. Besides, I wasn’t one to torture myself by looking up old crushes and friends.

A mischievous glint appeared in Calista’s hazel eyes. “Well,” she exaggerated, “I had Stella check in with some of her friends, and it appears that Penelope,” she grumbled her name, “bought the dance studio in town and is renovating it.”

That certainly didn’t make me feel any better. “That’s odd. Penelope always thought Aspen Lake was too small of a town, and she couldn’t wait to leave.” Unfortunately, she’d convinced me that I needed to follow her to New York. Like a puppy dog, I did, lapping up any attention she would give me. Somehow, I’d convinced myself that if I was friends with her, it meant I was important because she was so popular. It took me a long time to figure out she just wanted me around because she believed me to be less than her, and that made her feel good. She couldn’t stand it when anything good happened to me. Especially if any guy paid attention to me, which was rare in her presence. If ever it occurred, suddenly she became very interested in him. It’s why I kept Simon a secret from her. Or at least I’d tried. She’d discovered the photo album I was making for him. I don’t believe it was any coincidence she showed up that day at the coffeehouse. Even though she said it was a lucky accident and she didn’t even know the place existed.

“That’s not the most interesting news.” Calista grinned. “Penelope and Simon divorced last year.”

I stepped back from her, blinking in shock. “Are you sure?”

“Very.” She wagged her brows.

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