Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) Read Online Free

her car for that, she thought. As she closed the door behind her and braved the cold, it was a beautiful crisp autumn day and the sun was peeking through the clouded sky. She did a few warm up exercises before heading off down the road towards the lake. Angelina often ran the distance of a half marathon at weekends. The morning was still, not a soul in sight and that was just how she liked it. Taking deep breaths now, she picked up a steady pace until she reached Lake Windermere. On arrival, she stopped and did some more stretching exercises and ran a further two miles to her marking point. The ground was perfectly crisp and she loved the sound of the grass crunching beneath her feet; as cold as it was, the winter sun was shining from afar and its warmth was welcoming. The early morning birds were chirping away and Angelina was lost in her run.
    Without warning, she slipped on a rock on the grassy bank and lost her footing completely. She tried desperately to claw at the frozen grass unsuccessfully as she slipped into the ice cold water. Fear took over and she panicked as she tried with all her might to stop herself from submerging into the water. Before she knew what was happening, she felt a hand grab hold of her arm and pull her water-logged body out of the freezing lake.
    “ You again? What is it with you? You really should be more careful,” teased Joshua as he pulled her onto the bank.
    Mortified and embarrassed, Angelina looked into his eyes for the first time; they were mesmerizing, “Thank you so much, I am not usually so clumsy. I run up here all the time and nothing like this has ever happened to me before.” She was shivering now, the lake was sub-zero and she was wet through.
    Joshua took off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. “Here, put this on before you catch your death of cold too.” Smiling, Angelina gladly took the sweater and pulled it over her head as she stood up with the aid of Joshua. For a brief moment, their eyes locked, neither one saying a word, until a dog broke the silence as he came up sniffing behind them, swiftly followed by an embarrassed owner who quickly ushered the dog along.
    “ I guess you will need another lift home then?” Nodding her head and feeling rather embarrassed, Angelina followed Joshua back to his car and was glad to be in the warmth. “Okay, now this time I am going to take you to your door, I don’t want any arguments! I promise you I am not a serial killer, just an ordinary guy wanting to do the right thing…” Joshua turned on the stereo and headed off down the road, back towards the town. On arrival, Angelina gave him directions to her house and Joshua slowed down as he pulled onto her driveway. “Glad to see your car made it back to you in one piece!” he said, laughing.
    “ That car is the bane of my life, and I plan on replacing it as soon as I can afford to,” she retorted jovially. “Look, I can’t thank you enough, Joshua. I am sorry to have caused you so much trouble again.”
    “ Not at all, don’t mention it, you have livened up what would otherwise have been a pretty dull Sunday morning, and for that I thank you.”
    Angelina started walking towards the house, but she slowed down. Mmm, should I ask him in? No, no, no, don’t even go there. Angelina, keep on going and don’t turn around, just take the key out of your pocket and open the door! But something was preventing her; she turned around and watched as Joshua climbed into his car. Well if he wanted a coffee, he would have asked for one! She convinced herself and opened the door, slamming it behind her and berating herself for having entertained the idea in the first place. She peeked through the dining room window and watched as he disappeared off down the road.
    For the rest of the day, she could not get Joshua out of her head. Much to her annoyance, his rugged good looks had not gone unnoticed. She tried to get into her writing but the words would not flow at all; her thoughts