Anyway, back to you and me! Only nine weeks left now until I get to hold you again. I can't wait to touch you, feel you and kiss you once more. It's torture! What have you done to me? I am not complaining, I love what you have done to me and long may it continue...It makes me smile knowing you are wearing your heart pendant. I am very intrigued about the gift you have bought for me, although you really didn't need to as seeing you on my return will be enough, trust me!
Knowing you are feeling the same way too was the best part about receiving your letter. Those words meant so much to me. Keep them coming and know that you are in my thoughts every single minute of every single day. I thank God the day you came into my life, all dishevelled and partly submerged in the lake! I will never forget that image as long as I live.
Okay beautiful, I have to sign off now, I wait with great anticipation for your next letter.
I love you with all my heart,
Joshua xxx
Angelina held the letter close to her chest with the biggest smile on her face. She was so in love with him and with each letter she received, her love was deepening. She had the whole afternoon to prepare for her night out, so she decided to respond to Joshua first before she did anything else. She poured herself a coffee, kicked off her shoes and sat on the window seat in her living room to pen her letter.
Dearest Joshua,
I received your second letter today and was so happy I almost screamed the cottage down! I think about you all the time and try to imagine what it must be like for you and the other soldiers out there. By the way, I love to hear your thoughts and opinions on war Joshua, it's who you are and I want to know everything about you, what you like, what you don't like, your thoughts and opinions on everything. I want to feel as close to you as I can. So don't ever hold back, if you want to talk about something then write away. The last thing you could ever do is bore me! Unless, of course, you want to write a whole letter on football... There are limits you know!
I have taken the afternoon off work today as I am going out with the girls for a long overdue night out! And guess what? I actually instigated the whole thing, can you believe it? Lucy was thrilled of course as she is constantly trying to get me out of my cottage on the weekends. So I will let you know how the night fares in my next letter.
It's very cold here and snow has been predicated for the coming weeks. Everyone is preparing for Christmas which is just a few weeks away now and the town is already sporting Christmas decorations and looking very festive. Personally I can't wait for it to come and go so I can see you again.
My heart feels heavy every time I go into town and see all the couples, arm in arm, shopping together. I think of you and close my eyes and just wish for your safe return to me. I have this constant longing inside me and it never goes away. I wake up in the morning and it's there; I go to bed at night and it's still there; in a funny kind of a way it comforts me. Joshua, whatever it is I have done to you, be sure of one thing -and that is you have done the same to me.
I have to sign off now but only on paper and never in thoughts. I love you with all my heart.
Love always, Angelina xxx
Angelina sealed the envelope, headed out of the door and drove to the post office. After posting her letter, she picked up a large bottle of wine and headed straight back home. Suddenly remembering her photographs, she took them out of her handbag and glanced through them. There was one particular one of the two of them on the lake steamer that she fell in love with. She took a pair of scissors from her kitchen drawer, cut it down to size and positioned it perfectly inside her locket. She was feeling emotional now and missing Joshua more than ever. She turned on Heart FM and poured herself a large glass of wine. She decided on a red shift dress with a pair of black sling back shoes for her night out. After showering and drying her hair, she rustled up some pasta to line her stomach and polished it off with another glass of wine. Lucy had ordered a taxi to arrive for seven o'clock and she did not want to keep the girls waiting. They were going to a local wine bar in the centre of town that doubled as a mini night club after eleven o'clock.
Before she knew what time it was, Angelina heard the tooting of a horn outside. She looked out of the window and could see all the girls waving frantically up at her window like a bunch of mad women! She rushed downstairs and grabbed her clutch bag on the way out.
“Come on, Angelina, let's get this party started,” shouted Stephanie enthusiastically!
“I'm coming, hold your horses!”
“Wow, you look gorgeous,” said Lucy, looking rather impressed.
“Yes, I know, I scrub up well, considering!”
“You most definitely should make an effort more often,” teased Stephanie, as she climbed into the large taxi mini bus.
“Well budge up, Lucy, you're taking up the whole seat!” Angelina said, laughing.
“Sorry, I didn't want to crease my dress. You know how I get!”
The night started off well, and as the hours passed the girls became livelier, encouraged by the intoxicating atmosphere in the club, as it was buzzing. Angelina was pulled onto the dance floor by Lucy and Stephanie, and she was having a better time than she thought she would. As she turned around, Angelina came face to face with Jayden. Stunned by his presence, she didn't know what to say to him as she hadn't seen him since he'd handed his notice in at the paper.
“Hey there, how are you, Jayden?” she asked pensively.
“I'm good, really, I am very good. Leaving the paper was the best thing for me. I felt stifled and couldn't move forward, now I have a great new job as editor for another paper and I have my own assistant!” said Jayden with a sly smile. “Look, just so we're both clear, I harbour no bad feelings, Angelina, despite what you may think. You were the best man for the job and I lost my way. So I hope we can remain friends?”
Angelina smiled. She was relieved and pleased that Jayden had found what he was looking for. “Of course we can be friends, I would like that, Jayden.” Jayden and his friends joined the girls for the rest of night. They lost Stephanie to one of Jayden's friends before the end of the night when they sloped off to a restaurant together.
“Lucy, I've had enough now, I'm heading on home. I will grab a taxi outside the club and catch up with you tomorrow, okay?”
Lucy pulled a sad face in an attempt to persuade her to stay a bit longer, but Angelina was adamant she was going home. “Okay, if you must, it's been fun, hasn't it, and a long time coming, too. I will call you in the morning, okay?”
Angelina nodded and made her way through the thick crowd of clubbers and headed for the door. Just as she was about to flag down a cab, she heard someone calling her name. She turned around and saw Jayden running up behind her. “Hey, can I share your cab?”
“Yes sure, hop in, where are you going?”
Jayden gave the cab driver his address and they both sat silent in the back for a while before Jayden spoke. “I hear you have a boyfriend, and a soldier no less?” he asked.
“Yes, his name is Joshua and he's perfect for me,” Angelina offered, sensing disappointment in Jayden's voice.
“I'm really pleased for you, it's about time. Although I was surprised when I heard.”
“Why were you surprised, Jayden?”
“Well, you haven't dated since, well you know, since Daniel.”
“True, I guess I was not expecting to find someone like Joshua. He's right for me, makes me feel complete, Jayden.”
Jayden tried very hard to hide his disappointment through a half-baked smile but Angelina picked up on it and, feeling a little uncomfortable, she chose to ignore it.
“Well, looks like we have reached your house, Jayden.”
Angelina said goodbye to him as the cab pulled up outside his house and then headed for her cottage. She couldn't wait to get out of her heels and put on her comfy slippers. Her head was starting to throb and she was in need of a large glass of water and some headache tablets before turning in.
Chapter Fourte
en
The weeks were passing by swiftly and it was now only days before Joshua's return. Christmas came and went and was a non-starter really. Angelina was so excited and decided to plan a great surprise for his return to keep her busy over the next few days. She borrowed the key to the lodge from Richard, who kept a spare, and headed over there to prepare for his home coming.
Angelina had bought candles, stocked up the freezer and bought the finest wine she could afford. She cleaned and dusted the lodge from top to bottom until her fingers were sore. Feeling something was missing, she decided to buy some outside lights to wrap around the fern trees on either side of the lodge to make for a beautiful entrance up the driveway. She roped Richard in to fix the lights up and called on Lucy for interior advice and to give the lodge the once over before his return.
“It's beautiful. Joshua will love it, Angelina, I know he will. He is very lucky to have you, my friend.”
Angelina looked to Lucy, shaking her head. “No Lucy, I'm the lucky one. He's my soul mate, my everything. Already I can't imagine a life without him in it. Our letters while he has been away have brought us even closer together. We have gotten to know one another in ways we otherwise wouldn't have.” Lucy hugged her friend and joined Richard in his car, leaving Angelina to complete the final touches.
Having taken two weeks holiday off work starting on the day of Joshua's return, Angelina felt happy. She had prepared for his return well and now just had to wait a couple more days. She worked hard, tying up loose ends at work and preparing documents for Geoffrey. She read and saved all her important emails, deleting those not wanted and tidied up her desk. She also left a list of things for Mary to do while she was on leave.
On her final day at work, she couldn't concentrate at all. She could barely contain her happiness and was up and down the office like a yoyo!
“Oh for goodness sake, Angelina, just go home!” insisted Geoffrey. “It's almost four o'clock and you’re no use to us like this,” he said, laughing.
“Thank you so much, Geoffrey.”
Angelina rushed through her front door and packed her bag for the next few days. She was running up and down her stairs like a teenager about to take her first holiday with her friends minus the parents! She had left instructions with Richard to send Joshua to the lodge where she would be waiting, as well as leaving a cryptic message on his mobile phone! She showered and washed her hair and slipped into her new dress and shoes, which she was hoping would wow Joshua. She finally made herself stop and turned to look at herself in the mirror. She brushed the front of her dress with her hands and rustled her hair a bit. When she was ready, she locked up the cottage and loaded the boot with her bags then jumped into her car and made her way to the lodge.
After parking up, she ran into the lodge and lit all the candles and tuned on the outside lights. When she went outside to view them, she was impressed with herself for coming up with the idea. It looked so beautiful in the dark! She put some music on and the scene was set. She made her way into the kitchen and started cooking his favourite meal, information Richard was more than happy to share with her.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she remembered the last time the two of them were at the lodge together. She was almost dizzy with excitement as she bounced around the small kitchen, preparing dinner for them.
Chapter Fifteen
Joshua was in the back seat of his friend’s car after a long flight. He turned on his phone and a stream of messages came flying through. He listened to Angelina's cryptic message and a curious smile appeared on his face. He wondered what on earth she was planning as she did not give much away in her message. He called Richard to check in with him as he always did once he was homebound and Richard passed on Angelina's instructions in a little more detail. He couldn't wait to hold her again and kiss those beautiful lips of hers. He was irreparably and irrevocably in love with her. She was all he thought of during his every waking hour. Joshua was dreading having to tell Angelina about his next deployment to Afghanistan. Six long months he would be gone. He just hoped their relationship was strong enough to withstand such a long break so early on.
He made a pit-stop at his house without changing and grabbed some civvies for the next few days. He climbed into his car and headed off to the lodge. As he approached, he slowed down as the lit up trees in front of the lodge came into view. He was very impressed and sported a wide grin across his face as he parked up and made his way inside excitedly.
As he opened the door, Angelina came running towards him at full speed and jumped up, wrapping her legs tightly around him. She kissed him all over his face before jumping down and taking a step back to admire him in his uniform.
“Wow, you look amazing, soldier! I have missed you so much.” I can't believe you're finally here, Josh.” A tear escaped down Angelina's cheek.
“You look so beautiful, I have thought of this moment every single day for the past twelve weeks. Come here you.” Joshua picked her up and spun her around, he kissed her tentatively on her lips and she responded eagerly, their tongues dancing together as they reunited.
They spent the next fifteen minutes kissing passionately, not letting each other go. When they finally prised themselves apart, Angelina took Joshua by the hand and led him to the dining table.
“What's all this then? The lady does cook!” teased Joshua as he sat down. Joshua watched as Angelina served up dinner, she was a vision of pure beauty and he realized right at that moment that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
“Okay, I believe I have cooked your favourite dish! I can't promise it has been produced to perfection or how you like it but I gave it a shot.” Angelina placed the carbonara pasta bake down onto the table and poured them both a glass of wine.
“Here's to us,” toasted Angelina.
“Here's to us, darling,” repeated Joshua.
“Okay, we have two whole weeks before you're off again, and I have booked time off so I can spend every last minute with you.”
Joshua jumped off his seat and planted a kiss on her lips then picked her up and spun her round. “Now I am even happier, if that's possible. How on earth did you wangle that?”
“I have lots of untaken leave and decided it was high time to use some of it, now I have a reason to!” Angelina smiled mischievously. “Just wait there for a moment.” Angelina dashed up the stairs to retrieve the gift she had bought for him a few weeks before. She walked down the stairs slowly.
“I have something for you. It's a belated Christmas present.” She handed over the gift and Joshua opened it with great care. As he unravelled the ribbon and opened the small box, he gasped and looked to Angelina. He turned it over and read the inscription: May you always return safely to me. I love you, Angelina x
“It's beautiful, the most beautiful and thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much, darling.” Angelina walked around the table and sat across Joshua and hugged him so tight. Then she cupped his face in her tiny hands and kissed him gently on the lips.
“I wanted to give you something that would provide you with extra care on your deployments, because I'm not taking any chances, Joshua. I have just found you and I have no intentions of ever losing you, okay!” Joshua nodded and buried his face in her chest.
Before returning home, he had been given details of his next deployment and he had no idea how to tell her. He knew it was going to devastate her, not to mention worry the hell out of her. He pondered over telling her right there and then and changed his mind. He thought he would let them have their two weeks together and tell her before he left.
Angelina sensed a mood change in Joshua; she was puzzled and looked at him with a quizzical look on her face. “Joshua, what is it? And please don't say it’s nothing. I can tell by your brief silence and the pensive look on your face that something is wrong. So please, just tell me.”
Joshua looked at Angelina. “I will be posted to Afghanistan for six months at the end of
our two weeks. I'm so sorry, this is the part of being in a relationship I hate; the look of disappointment that you're displaying right here, right now and the worst thing is there is absolutely nothing I can do or say to change this. It's my job, Angelina, and I have to go where I'm needed. Please don't worry, I will return safely, I promise.”
Angelina was sobbing and could not speak through her tears. She was scared, afraid that something would happen to him. She remained silent and saying nothing, Joshua held her close for a long while.
Finally she said, “We better make these two weeks count then, Joshua.” Angelina threw him a sad smile and took his hand and led him back to the dining table so they could finish their dinner.
“I cooked this dinner with loving hands so let's not waste it!”
Not another word was spoken about his next tour in Afghanistan. They finished up their meal and moved over to the couch where they watched a movie together before heading upstairs. Angelina was trying so hard not to show how tormented she was, more afraid than she'd ever been in her entire life. She had no idea how she was going to cope while he was away. However, she wanted to send him away happy and did not want him to worry about her at all. He would have enough to deal with once he was out there without her adding to his worries. She decided she would put on a brave face for his sake and cry herself silly once he'd left.
Joshua lay Angelina gently down on the large bed. He slowly slipped off her shoes and threw them onto the floor. His large hands glided up the outside of her toned legs until they reached the top of her stockings and then he teasingly and slowly slipped them off. Angelina's heart was racing; she closed her eyes while Joshua continued to undress her slowly and teasingly, kissing her all over whilst doing so. He circled her belly button with his tongue and Angelina gasped and took in a deep breath. He removed his own clothes and then slowly kissed every inch of her lithe body.
Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) Page 10