My Lost Hero (Angels of War Series #1) REWRITING 2024

Chapter Thirty

"I love you."

My hand stopped brushing the mascara through my lashes in the hotel bathroom mirror at the sound of Joshua's voice. It was soft and smooth as he propped his hip on the side cabinet, watching me pretty up my face for the wedding breakfast.

It still felt surreal to hear those words from him, but trying to quell the surge of excited movement in my belly was impossible. We hadn't slept the whole night through last night, so waking up early this morning was a struggle.

I put down the mascara wand to free my hands so I could cup his face, breathing in his clean scent when he moved in to kiss my mouth. "Love you, too," I whispered.

Spreading a crazy amount of kisses over my face, he motioned towards the gap between the door. "I can hear your phone vibrating in the bedroom."

As I stepped back to traipse through to the next room, he followed after me. My phone vibrated again before I got the chance to pick it up. "It's my sister messaging me."

Hanna - RU awake yet?

Hanna - I hope ur okay after last night? (red love heart emoji)

Hanna - oh, u must b awake. I just saw u were active on Instagram 5 mins ago.

Hanna - Did Josh spend the night?

Hanna - Sis, ur missing the breakfast buffet! I put smoked salmon on the menu especially 4 u. (laughing face emoji)

Tabitha - Morning, sis! (bride emoji) I'm doing great, and yes, he stayed the night. Is it cool for him to join us for breakfast? xxx

💬

Hanna - Yes, of course! Bring him down here! I'm so pleased ur happy! (red love heart emoji)

Tabitha - I am. See you in a few! xxx

After pocketing my phone, I turned to spot Joshua making the bed. It always amazed me how much effort he put into the little things like folding the top of the duvet so he could tuck the edges into the bottom of the mattress.

I cleared my throat once he finished settling the cushions next to the pillows. The bed looked so perfect, it appeared not to have been slept in at all. "Are you hungry? My sister invited you down for breakfast."

He had a smile on his face, an expression that said this meant the world to him. "Yeah, that would be lovely. I only have my clothes from last night. Is that okay with you?"

The impulse to drag him in for a long hug was strong, but we were already thirty minutes late and touching his body would only slow me down more.

"That's totally fine. Maybe just wear the pants and shirt. Smart, but casual," I said, having to walk away from him when he started to fiddle with his hair in the mirror.

Ten minutes later we were walking hand in hand into the dinning hall, trying not to falter when everyone at the table stopped to stare. I did the rounds, kissing my mum and dad, before heading for Hanna and Bruce who were sitting next to two empty seats.

Joshua kept his hand on my back when he greeted my father, leaning to the side to kiss mum's cheek as his shaking hand reached for mine. "Good morning, everyone," he said, the hitch in his voice letting on to his nerves.

I grabbed his hand harder, giving it a comforting squeeze when everyone spoke back to him. "Let's go grab a plate," I said.

"Okay," he replied, kissing my cheek while we walked over to the buffet table in the corner. "Oh wow, look at that salmon."