Page 13 of Night and Day
“We?” Mia’s heart picked up speed and she lowered herself into the closest armchair. “I can’t ask you to take time off to escort me to Wellington. I’ve already gone around the world, so I can make it there and back. Or maybe I don’t have to make it back if I can change my flights.”
Izzy cocked his head and a small frown appeared between his brown eyes. They were so kind and soulful she nearly lost her train of thought. And those solid arms, propped on the arm rests of the chair, muscles bulging out of that flimsy T-shirt... Again, her mind drifted to Greek statues, and she looked away, trying to compose herself. If he knew what was going on in her head, he’d think she was nuts.
“You’re fascinating.”
Izzy’s words shot through her, forcing her attention back to him. The low rumble of his voice made her insides vibrate. She’d noticed hints of it in the car, but with the thrum of the engine, it was hard to tell. Here, in a silent room with soft acoustics, her body responded to the frequency of his voice like an instrument vibrating throughout. Mia drew in a sharp breath, grateful she was sitting down. “What do you mean?”
Izzy shifted closer. “I can’t figure out if you’re trying to be incredibly polite and no trouble to anyone, or if you really are uncomfortable around me.” A smile tugged at his mouth as his gaze drilled into her like a laser.
A warm flush spread across Mia’s chest. Definitely a new experience, she noted, trying to control her breathing. “I have no reason to be uncomfortable around you,” she half-whispered. “You’ve been very accommodating.”
But he was right. She wasn’t comfortable. She felt terrified or excited. Maybe both. Being alone with a stranger in his basement, she should have been afraid, but there was something dependable about this man, even if his deep voice and brown eyes cut through her defences, making her unsettled. He hadn’t made a move on her, not even jokingly. She had to get her body under control and focus on solving the issues life had thrown at her.
The sound of a door banging echoed from somewhere upstairs. Mia glanced at the stairs, her muscles tensing.
“That would be my flatmate, Deke.”
Just as Izzy said it, the muffled sound of conversation carried from the upper level. “Does he have company?” Mia asked.
A flicker of confusion crossed Izzy’s eyes. The medley of voices rose in volume. A group of people. Their footsteps echoed in the hallway.
“Izzy? Are you there?” The male voice bellowed from the top of the stairs.
“Yeah,” Izzy called back. “Who is it?”
“Your... family,” another voice called back. “Should I send them down?”
“Just a second!”
Izzy turned to Mia, his eyebrows raising in alarm. “Sorry. I don’t know what they’re doing here. You must be tired. Would you rather wait in the bedroom?”
Politeness and exhaustion warred in Mia’s mind. The overlapping voices above them grew into a medley that sounded like a fleet of ten. Her introvert heart began tying its sneakers, ready to sprint for safety. As much as she thought of herself as a capable person, part of her wanted to crawl into a hole. And Izzy was offering her an out.
She bolted from the armchair. “Yeah, I’ll hide in there, if you don’t mind.”
“No, all good.” Izzy followed her to the bedroom and hastily gathered the laundry off the bed, dumping it into a nearby basket.
Mia waved her hands to make him stop. “I didn’t mean in your bed! I can sit behind the door and read.”
She swiped two books off his nightstand and scooted onto the floor behind the half-open door. Judging by the sounds, the family had descended the stairs.
Izzy flashed Mia a quick smile. “I’ll get rid of them,” he whispered and disappeared, leaving her perched behind the door holdingGrapes of Wrathby Steinbeck, and a black book with no title on it. She opened it on a random page and found it full of handwriting. Was it a diary? There were no dates, only a long-winded sentence describing a strange, otherworldly scene.
Mia’s fingers hovered on the page, torn between curiosity and respect for her host. But it wasn’t respect that made her close the book – it was the scene unfolding behind the door.
