In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) Read Online Free PDF

have to be at the gallery and won’t be able to see you until late in the afternoon.” She sounded guilty and conflicted – it was obvious Lisa loved what she did, but at the same time she felt bad for not spending every second with Stella after they hadn’t seen each other in five years. But that wasn’t the only reason; Stella suspected her cousin was also worried about her because of her illness.
    “Don’t worry, Lis. I don’t expect you to drop everything because of me. I’ll be fine – I’ll go for a run on the beach in the morning and then I might take a stroll around town.”
    When Lisa didn’t say anything, Stella continued, “I’m fine . I haven’t felt better in months. I’m ecstatic that I’m here. I’m going to have a great time this summer. So stop feeling bad for ‘ditching’ me – I’m anything but ditched.” That made Lisa laugh, just as Stella had anticipated.
    “OK. But in the afternoon when I come back, I’ve invited everyone over to meet you.”
    “Sounds great.”
    They talked till the middle of the night, attempting to go to sleep several times, but unable to let go of each other’s company. In the end, Lisa couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer and fell asleep while Stella talked about her obsession with True Blood.
    Soon, she drifted off herself, smiling at the vision of the wonderful summer ahead of her. The last thing that popped into her mind before she lost conscious thought was that hot lifeguard.
    I wish I could see him again. Just once.

Chapter Three

    Genoa in the morning was breathtaking. Although it was hot, the heat didn’t press on your body like a giant vacuum. The air felt fresh and smelled of salt, sea, coffee and something else Stella couldn’t place. Something unique to this city.
    It was relatively quiet; not too many people were out still. Even though it was past 8 o’clock, the streets were just waking up. Lisa had told her that Italians were not early risers, unless they absolutely had to be. They preferred to sleep late in the mornings and work late at night. That suited Stella just fine – she didn’t like to get up early, but found it hard to fit her daily run in during any other time of the day. Keeping as healthy as she possibly could was her top priority and what took her out of her warm bed in the morning.
    Running in London had been a chore. Running in Genoa – not so much. Not at all, actually. Stella didn’t even need her earphones to fill her head with music and silence all other noise, because the noise in question was wonderful. She reached the beach and couldn’t imagine anything more perfect – the sand was silky and freshly cleaned; the water was sparkling under the sun; and, best of all – there was nobody around. Taking her shoes off, she hid them under a bench, hoping nobody would steal them or throw them away, and took off barefoot in the direction of the sea.
    After some light stretching, Stella started a gentle jog to warm up her muscles. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face – how perfect was this? In a few minutes, she picked up her pace until she was running at a comfortable speed – not too slow, but not so fast as to leave her breathless. She’d never bothered with watches and pedometers, so she didn’t know what her speed was exactly or how long she ran for every day. She did it until she felt it was enough.
    Looking around, Stella didn’t see anyone in front or behind her, so she decided she could goof around a bit. She couldn’t wait to jump in the water – so she did. She chased the waves, kicked at the sea, splashed her leggings and T-shirt with water, while still trying to keep up with her running.
    This is amazing! Stella thought.
    She hadn’t felt this happy in a long, long time.
    For some reason, her brain associated the word ‘happy’ with her lifeguard, as she was used to calling him now, and the vision of him walking out of the water overshadowed all her other thoughts. Shaking her head