Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) (8 page)

Angelina was beside herself with happiness. She sang to herself as she showered and then realized she had forgotten to call her boss. She ran out of the shower and grabbed a towel while frantically searching for her mobile phone. Once she found it, she sat on the edge of the bed trying to think up a good enough excuse to warrant her taking two days off work at such short notice, and she couldn’t. For the first time in eight years, she lied and to make it worse on her unblemished conscience, she did it by text!
“I’m going to hell,” she shouted out loud!

She found Joshua in the kitchen, cooking up a storm of a breakfast.
“Wow, that smells delicious.”

“
Well, I figured we are going to need it. How did you sleep?”

“
Like a dream. Please tell me I don’t snore.”

“
You don’t snore, well, not that loud anyway,” he teased.

“
Very funny, now pass the bacon, please.”

They ate breakfast together, comfortably, with the kind of ease intended for two people who'd been together for a long time. Once they were finished, they left Joshua's house and headed to Angelina’s cottage, laughing and joking along the way.

“I won’t be long, are you going to come in and wait?”

“
No, I will wait for you here. I need to make a couple of calls, so you carry on.”

Angelina ran into the house and up the stairs excitedly and as quickly as her legs would carry her. She pulled her weekend bag off the top of her wardrobe and it came crashing down, followed by a puff off dust, and landed on top of her head! She laughed out loud as she brushed the dust off her top and continued to empty her underwear drawer and filling her bag up with jeans, boots and sweaters as well as anything else she thought she needed for the next two days.

Joshua called Richard from his mobile phone to check he had completed all his urgent tasks for him. “Richard, it’s Joshua, sorry about this morning. I didn’t think Angelina was going to stay the night; thankfully she agreed. Look, did you get everything sorted at the lodge?”

“
Of course I did, my friend; there is one small problem though. I called around this morning to drop off that parcel you asked me to collect for you, I was expecting you to answer the door, Joshua, so how the hell am I supposed to get it to you before you reach the lodge?”

“
Mmm, good question. Look, can I beg one last favour from you, mate?”

“
Oh no, you have to be kidding me! You want me to drop it off at the lodge, don’t you?

“
I sure do, Richard. Come on, I will owe you big time for this, I promise. I can stall our arrival for fifteen minutes and take a detour into town.”

“
Okay, I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, Joshua, you know that, don’t you? I have a busy day myself you know. Unless you have forgotten, it’s my mother’s birthday party today and you know how she can get!”

“
I know, I know, this means a lot to me, Richard. Angelina is the one, she is the girl I have been waiting for all my life and I have two days to make her fall in love with me. Just two days, Richard,” pleaded Joshua.

“
Yes, yes, I hear you. Did you say the one? I mean, that’s a pretty big statement to make, Josh. Are you sure?”

“
I am sure, she is definitely the one. She makes me feel complete, Richard, and I am in love with her. I knew it the first moment I laid my eyes on her.”

“
Have you told her yet?”

“
Of course not, we have only known each other a week, she’d probably run a mile.”

“
Look, here’s a bit of advice. You are being posted for three months, so you need to give her a reason to wait for you. By tomorrow evening, you should have an idea if you’re both singing from the same hymn sheet and if so, then tell her how you feel before you leave. Three months is a long time to a woman you have just met, she will want to know you’re worth waiting for, Josh.”

“
I know, I know, I just don’t want to let her slip through my fingers, Richard. Thanks for doing all this for me. I better get going, I can see Angelina locking up the cottage. I have to go.” Joshua rung off and slipped his mobile phone in his pocket before Angelina reached the car.

“
Are you ready, gorgeous?”

“
I’m ready. Let’s hit the road.”

“
I need to make a detour into town to pick up some supplies on the way; it will only take a few minutes.”

“
What are you up to, Joshua Allen? I sense mischief!”

“
Ah, now, that would be telling.”

They drove into town and Angelina waited in the car while Joshua nipped in to a couple of shops. She glanced through the car window at the town she had been living for eight years, and suddenly it all looked so different to her. She watched as couples walked hand in hand, probably shopping for Christmas as it was just around the corner. Her thoughts drifted to Joshua and she felt a pang in her heart, knowing he would be away for Christmas. She was going to miss him so much.

“Sorry Angelina, I got held up in a queue!” Joshua sniggered to himself, feeling quite pleased that he had bought enough time for Richard, who by now should be leaving the lodge.

“
Okay, beautiful. Are you ready for the best two days of your life!”

“
As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Joshua had a mischievous grin displayed across his face all the way to the lake. The lodge was situated at the far end so the journey took a little longer. Angelina was eager to see the lodge and quietly kept her excitement hidden. She brushed a stray hair from her face; Joshua could not help but stare in her direction admiringly.
“I feel like the luckiest man in the world right now!”

Joshua turned a blind corner and then took an immediate right; he followed the dirt track leading directly to his lodge. As it came into view, Joshua observed the look on Angelina’s face as they approached.

“It’s beautiful, Joshua, how on earth did you manage to do all this? I have been with you for the last twenty four hours!”

“
With a little help from my friends.” Joshua smiled.

Joshua was very impressed by what Lucy and Richard had done to the lodge over the last twenty four hours; it looked incredible. There was a Norwegian Spruce Christmas tree taking pride of place on the porch, and there were lights displayed around the front door with a beautiful holly wreath positioned in the centre of the wooden door. Angelina observed the smoke coming from the chimney and flung her arms around Joshua.
“I cannot believe you have done all this for me, you’re amazing. Thank you so much, I really am speechless.”

“
Well, I figured as we would not get to spend our first Christmas together, I thought it was only fair to bring it forward!” Joshua took Angelina by the hand and they walked up the creaky wooden steps. He unlocked the thick wooden door.

As they entered, Angelina gasped.
“Oh wow, this is so beautiful, Joshua.”

As Joshua closed the door behind them, Angelina walked around the lodge with her mouth agape. The log fire was burning away and the heat had warmed up the lodge perfectly. There was a smaller Christmas tree to the left of the fire and two presents already wrapped, sitting pretty and just begging to be opened. Joshua went straight to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of chilled champagne and grabbed two glasses before turning to Angelina.
“I wanted it to be special; I hope it’s not too much for you? I just wanted to make sure you miss me while I’m away!”

“
This is all perfect, Joshua; oddly enough, I was thinking earlier how much I was going to miss not spending Christmas with you…I love it, all of it, you’ve really made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world! Now, are you going to crack open that champagne?”

“
Stand back, I have no idea how the champagne was handled before it reached the lodge!”

The cork flew out of the bottle with a bang, Angelina almost jumped out of her skin and Joshua laughed while pouring them a large glass each. They sat down in front of the open fire, watching the burning flames and listening to the crackling wood. Joshua’s large arms were wrapped loosely around Angelina and she had never felt more complete in her entire life.

“I thought we could take a long walk along the lake before I cooked us a meal this evening. How does that sound?”

“
Just perfect, although I better hold off on the champagne until later or you will be carrying me around the lake!”

They put on their walking boots and windbreakers before heading off out the door. Angelina felt like she was in a beautiful dream that she would wake up from at any moment. Joshua wrapped his large hand around Angelina's as they headed off.

“So why were you in such a hurry to leave the Midlands?” asked Joshua curiously while they walked.

“
Well, I wanted a fresh start, a new life, one free of sadness, depression and coldness. My parents separated when I was very young. My father walked out on my mother for another woman and this totally devastated my mother. It changed her beyond recognition; she had a complete breakdown and I was left to pick up the pieces, only the pieces never fit together quite the same. She became very depressed and took medication daily. She stopped caring about me and started to blame me for the demise of her marriage to my father; in the end, she just simply resented me. We barely spoke from one day to the next and that's how my life continued all through my school years and right through college. When I told her I had found a job and that it would mean me leaving our home town, she simply nodded expectantly. The day I left, she said goodbye without any emotion and didn't even look back. I think she was waiting for me to leave home. My mother never got over my father.”

“
That is so sad, your mother must have been heartbroken. Although that does not excuse her behaviour towards you, Angelina. I am sorry you had such a lonely childhood. Have you been in contact with her since?”

“
When I first moved up here, I would call her every week to tell her how I was getting on. But it was always a one way conversation; she would never ask me questions about my job or my life, she simply listened and then she would say, ‘That's nice, Angelina but I have to go now.’ And then she would ring off. Eventually she stopped answering the phone when I called and so, in time, I stopped calling her.”

“
Moving to Kendal was the best thing I have ever done. I like my life here; I love the town, especially in the winter when there are not so many tourists about! Autumn is my favourite season. Anyway, enough about me, tell me about your family.”

“
Sadly, my story is not a great one to share either. My father was an angry man, a strict man; he was never happy, drank way too much and then he would come home and take out his anger firstly on my mother and then me. My mother spent her whole life doing everything she could to please him, regardless of the fact I could suffer in the process. My childhood was not a happy place, so as soon as I finished college I decided to sign up to the British Army. It was both a way to escape my miserable home life and also start a new one of my own. So I guess we have more in common than maybe we first thought, hey? I make it a point to treat people how I wish to be treated myself.”

Angelina listened intently as Joshua shared his story with her. She wanted to hold him and never let him go. Her hand gripped his tightly and she turned to him and smiled before saying,
“We were meant to find each other, Joshua.” Smiling back at her, he scooped her up and then placed her gently down onto the cold crisp ground, his lips pressed down gently onto hers, their tongues dancing together as they wrapped their arms tightly around each other's bodies. Suddenly they were startled by a disgruntled passer-by going for a morning walk with her walking stick in hand!

“
There are places for that sort of thing, you know,” the old lady mumbled as she walked on by.

Angelina and Joshua burst out laughing. Joshua stood up and then held out his hand for Angelina, pulling her steadily to her feet.
“Come on, let's head back to the lodge. You can run a nice long bath while I am cooking you dinner.”

“
I feel so spoiled, you do realize you have set very high standards now!” she teased.

“
Mmm, I have, haven't I? Well, I hope you're not expecting this all the time.” He laughed.

On their return to the cottage, Angelina ran herself a bath and Joshua waited until she was safely submerged in the tub before sneaking a glance at the gift he had had Richard deliver to the lodge a few hours earlier. He opened the signature blue box and took out the small delicate blue pouch. He untied the ribbon slipped out its contents into the palm of his hands, smiling to himself. He decided he would present his gift to Angelina following dinner that evening. He wanted to leave her with something special, something she could hold on to while he was away.

Angelina sank deep into her smooth bubble-filled bath and slid under the water, closing her eyes and remaining there for just a few seconds before re-surfacing. She wanted to scream out loud for the world to hear as she felt so happy she could barely contain it. A happiness that was filled with hope for the future ahead. Could she really be this lucky? Was Joshua for real or simply a figment of her imagination? Was she about to wake up from a beautiful unreal dream at any moment? She had asked herself this question several times over the last forty eight hours, not believing one person could be so lucky, especially her.