Read In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) for Free Online Page A

she sat on the bed.
    “I’m fine.”
    “Are you sure?” Stella appreciated her cousin’s concern, but she knew what she meant – she thought she was in bed because of her illness.
    “I love you to bits, Lis, but if you don’t stop treating me as if I’m dying, I’ll strangle you.”
    “Sorry,” said Lisa, as a smile spread on her lips. “What did you do today?”
    Stella threw the covers away from her body and swung her legs from the side of the bed while she thought exactly how to phrase today’s events so that her cousin wouldn’t freak out.
    “Why is your foot bandaged?” Lisa shrieked.
    Too late for that plan.
    “I’ll tell you if you promise to take it down a notch.” Lisa mumbled something like “Sorry,” so Stella continued: “I went for a run, barefoot on the beach. I wasn’t paying attention where I was going and stepped on a broken mussel shell.”
    “OK ... How did you get home, all bleeding?”
    “I didn’t.” Lisa looked confused and Stella knew it was time to confess the whole story. “I wasn’t paying attention because all my brain cells were focused on the guy who was jogging towards me. It was the lifeguard that I told you about yesterday. He was off duty and out for a run and I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw him. And then I sliced my foot. He came to help me, took a first-aid kit out of his station and bandaged me.”
    “Why are you smiling? That’s horrible!”
    “Horrible? I’ve never been more thankful for an accidental bodily harm in my life.”
    Stella giggled and soon Lisa followed suit. Relaxing, she asked,
    “And then what happened?”
    “Nothing. He helped me up, said, and I quote, ‘Take care,’ and left. I don’t even know his name.”
    “Hmmm, that’s strange.”
    “Yeah ... I thought maybe he was offended because I was ogling him ...”
    “Right, because men hate that.” Lisa rolled her eyes.
    “No, I’m serious. He’s so perfect that I couldn’t stop myself. I’ve never, ever, met someone who made me feel that way.”
    “You know what? You came here to have fun; you deserve a summer fling. The hotter – the better.
    “My thoughts exactly.”
    “What’s the plan?” asked Lisa, with a mischievous grin.
    “I know where he works. Tomorrow we go to the beach and I’ll go and thank him for ‘saving’ me. In my skimpiest bikini.”
    “Perfect. I’m not working tomorrow, so it’s a deal. Now, get your perky ass out of this bed and get ready. Everyone’s coming in about half an hour.”

    Lisa prepared everything and refused to even let Stella anywhere near the kitchen. She was instructed to ‘get a cold beverage and sit her butt outside by the pool’.
    “Can I at least start the barbecue? I can see you’ve got enough meat to feed a small Chinese village.”
    “No, it’s Max’s thing. You know, men and barbecues,” said Lisa, rolling her eyes. She placed the meat and vegetables in plastic containers near the grill. Then she brought a huge bowl of salad and a jug full of icy lemonade, followed by a jug of Prosecco and a plate of nibbles. Placing everything on the table, she flopped on the lounger next to Stella. As if on cue, the doorbell rang.
    Lisa went to open the door, and a minute later cheerful voices filled the house. Stella couldn’t help but smile – hot weather, BBQ by the pool, Lisa and her friends. Life was good.
    Suddenly, she had a flashback of the last time she had thought her life was perfect – right before the call about the car crash that killed her dad and Eric. Stella hoped this time her fortune wouldn’t turn, just because she was thankful for what she had.
    Turning her head towards the French doors, she realised her fortune had definitely turned. For the better.
    Because, taking his first step outside, was her lifeguard.

Chapter Four

    His eyes bore straight into hers and in a couple of seconds his expression changed several times – surprise, realisation and then delight. The corners of his mouth