Free Golden Angel: (Broken Angel #5) by L.G. Castillo

direction.
    “You’ll find out soon enough.”
    Maybe this was meant to be. She’d met Lash when he was one of the fallen. Maybe Jeremy’s banishment had a purpose.
    “Is this what I think it is?” she asked Gabrielle.
    “What?” Lash took a closer look. “I don’t get it. I see Jeremy with a couple of kids on the beach. It looks like they were surfing.”
    “This will only be more difficult for him if it is,” Gabrielle said.
    “It happened with Lash and me.”
    “What happened? I’m confused.”
    “You’re different,” Gabrielle said, ignoring Lash’s question. “This one is human.”
    “So was I.”
    And so were Lash and Jeremy, though Jeremy seemed to be fighting it at the moment. Maybe he’d forgotten what it was like to be human, the imperfection and vulnerability, when he had become an archangel.
    She looked down again, her heart beating faster, when she saw Jeremy’s lips moving, forming the word ‘Leilani.’ When the girl turned and they gazed at each other, it was indisputable.
    “Oh! I get it,” Lash said. His handsome face lit with a huge grin. They were thinking the same thing.
    The woman, the one Jeremy called Leilani, might just be the one to bring him back home.

12
    J eremy couldn’t stop thinking about Leilani.
    She’s a girl. She’s a girl. She’s a girl.
    He slapped his hand against the car’s steering wheel, repeating the phrase like a mantra. Flying hadn’t helped to clear his mind. It was so bad, even Bob had noticed something was wrong, probably because he’d broken more tiles than he’d actually placed on the floor. In a not-so-subtle way, Bob had told him about a local bar a few blocks away. To save his sanity, and the cottage’s floor, he’d driven off, hoping to clear his mind.
    Nope. So far it wasn’t working. The image of Leilani in the world’s smallest red bikini would not go away.
    He was disgusted with himself. She’d almost died, and all he could think about was how stunning she had looked. The image played in his mind in a continuous loop. He pictured her dark, wet hair molded along her slender neck like black velvet, and water droplets rolling down high cheekbones and across full red lips, lips that were so soft he wondered what it would feel like for them to kiss him back.
    She’s a girl.
    Soulful dark eyes gazed at him through wet lashes. Her heavy breathing made her chest rise and fall.
    Stop it! He groaned, pressing his palms harder into his eye sockets.
    Where was the Leilani with the short, spiky hair and bubble gum? That girl he could handle.
    Pulling into the parking lot, the car sputtered as he turned it off. He headed into the bar. He needed a drink.
    The dimly lit bar was crammed full of locals and tourists. Music blared through the speakers. It was so loud he could feel the bass pumping in his chest.
    Spotting an empty table, he made his way through the rows. A voluptuous woman with auburn hair gave him the once-over and whispered to her friend. The redhead held his gaze as she fingered the tip of her beer bottle suggestively.
    Normally he would’ve just kept walking. They weren’t his type at all, but he needed the distraction. At least they were age appropriate.
    He took a step toward their table and stopped. His heart just wasn’t in it.
    Man, what was wrong with him? They were waiting. And what was with the nagging guilt? There was nothing to feel guilty about. He did what he had said he was going to do—make sure the Leilani was okay. He had even turned back into his angel form and made sure that man-child, Kai, had taken her to the clinic. Leilani had complained every single minute they were in there and hadn’t shut up until Kai dropped her and Sammy off at their home. Jeremy had even stayed outside their house the entire night.
    The redhead flashed a welcoming smile. He sighed. He wasn’t interested. This wasn’t going to work. He should just keep to himself and his drinks—lots of drinks.
    As he headed to an empty table,