Love in the WINGS Read Online Free PDF Page B

with Corbin, and she opened her mouth to say so, but then hesitated. She really was turning herself into an island, wasn’t she? And Pastor David had made it very clear that he expected her to make an effort to get along with this man.
    She shrugged and closed her car door. “True.” She rounded her vehicle and joined him in his driveway. “My prayer hour is coming up in about twenty minutes, and then I need to make a run to the music store before the meeting. I can walk to Angel Song; it’s just a couple of blocks from the church.”
    “Or you can take my truck. My prayer hour follows yours, I believe. And then it’ll be time for Pia’s meeting.” He walked around and opened the passenger door for her, keeping up a steady stream of conversation as she climbed in. “By then I have a feeling we’ll both be starving. Can I talk you into having dinner with me?”
    He closed her door before she could answer and hurried around to the driver’s side.
    Aria hesitated, studying his profile as they drove out of the complex and headed toward town. This was turning into far more togetherness than she felt comfortable with. But still…it was only dinner. She needed to put forth a genuine effort.
    “How about we bring dinner back to my place?” she offered. “It’ll be quieter, and…maybe we can watch a movie or something?”
    He shot her a surprised glance that made her stomach do an unexpected somersault. “Sounds like a plan.”
    Aria closed her eyes and forced herself to relax against the seat. Sounded like a plan all right. Probably the worst one she could have come up with, but she hadn’t exactly had time to concoct anything better.
    Well, it is what it is. For better or worse…
     
     
     
     

5
     
    Corbin swallowed his last bite of pizza, washed it down with a drink of Dr. Pepper, and grinned at Aria, whose plate still held half of the single slice she’d taken from the box. Her salad bowl was empty, but she’d only filled it about half full to begin with.
    “So…what now? A movie? Or…” He rubbed his stomach, already wishing he hadn’t gone after the pizza with such gusto. “Maybe a walk along the greenway?”
    Aria’s eyes widened. She dropped her pizza crust onto the paper plate and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “A walk, yes! My legs could use a bit of a stretch.”
    “Mine, too.” Corbin groaned as he stood to help her clear the table. “I ate too much.”
    She laughed. “Ya think?”
    He ran a damp dishcloth over her small table and trumped up a shocked expression. “Hey! I only ate my half.”
    She hiked a brow. “Really? OK. Well, we won’t count that extra slice or three if you’d rather not.”
    They were both laughing as they strolled through the complex and set off down the Angelina Trail. Corbin couldn’t believe they’d made it through the last several hours without a single snippy word or withering look.
    “I thought Pia did a good job getting everyone fired up and ready to face the coming storm.” He tossed it out there, knowing it might be opening a can of worms. Aria might be right on board with the whole “angels around us” mentality.
    “She did a great job.” Aria shot him a sweet, relaxed smile—the first he’d ever received from her, especially at such close quarters. It did strange things to his insides. “I was there when Zoe called yesterday. It was pretty intense.”
    “Hmm.” He hesitated, but decided to go for it. “Who is this woman…Zoe? I mean, is she reliable? Why does Pia think she’d know more than anyone else about what’s going on here in Angel Falls? She’s not even in the United States, is she?”
    Shiny auburn hair swung back and forth as Aria shook her head. “No, she and her husband are in Haiti. But they both used to live at Heart’s Haven, and Pia says Zoe is kind of…well…you know, like Mr. Hart.”
    “She’s old?”
    Aria’s burst of laughter trilled across the early evening air like the song of a thrush and curved