Page 29 of Night and Day
He helped Mia wiggle the duvet inside the cover, diving half inside it like he was used to doing, wondering about the absurdity of how he’d dealt with this issue his whole life. “So, are you saying you want to share the bed? It’s not very big.”
Mia’s face turned deep pink. “No! I was joking about that... It seems to happen in so many books and movies, I suppose that’s how they get the characters closer to each other and then ‘bam’, they fall in love.” She rolled her eyes.
Seeing her so flustered thrilled Izzy more than he wanted to admit. He wanted to push her further, to see how she’d react. “So, you’re playing my girlfriend at this barbecue tomorrow... we’d be tempting fate with that many romance novel plot devices, right? We’d risk falling madly in love and end up in the world’s longest-distance relationship.”
Mia’s face fell, and her eyes widened with sobering clarity. “You’re right. Good thing you have a couch.”
“Yeah,” Izzy agreed, gathered his own bedding off the floor and carried it to the said couch.
When he returned to the doorway, Mia had finished making up the bed. “Are you sure about this?” She asked, eyeing the bed longingly.
“Absolutely.” Izzy swallowed a lump. She was so beautiful there, in her little shorts and flowery top, hair sticking out to the side, eyes reflecting the nightlight that glowed on his bedside table. “There are T-shirts in that top drawer, if you want something else to sleep in.”
“Thank you. Do you mind if I just go to bed?” She gestured at the sheets, looking like her legs might give in any moment.
“No, go ahead! Good night!” Izzy grabbed the door handle. “I’ll use the upstairs bathroom,” he said before closing the door between them.
As he later settled on the couch, he couldn’t stop thinking about those words, those jokes about falling in love, and the distance that stood between them. How could it ever work? He had to keep this woman at arm’s length, otherwise she’d leave his heart in pieces. He’d been successfully avoiding heartache for years. If he ever wanted to finish his film, he had to stay the course.
Nothing could come of this charade of fake dating.
Chapter 13
Izzy found Mia in thekitchen, opening cupboards and peering into them. The cereal packet she’d chosen last night sat on the kitchen table. Bran with raisins, gag. Next to it, she had a carton of unsweetened almond milk. Double gag.
“What are you looking for? Bowls?” Izzy pointed at the tall pantry cupboard.
“Ah, thanks.” Mia opened the pantry and got on her tippy toes. She wore one of his old T-shirts, one he’d ordered online, in the wrong size. It didn’t look too tight on her, but hitched up as she reached for the bowl, revealing the pair of black undies she’d bought last night. She was a bit too skinny, but even in supermarket underwear, her bottom looked spectacular.
To Izzy’s disappointment, she got her bowl, found herself a spoon and sat at the table.
“Is it okay if I borrow this T-shirt?” She asked, looking down at her front, which read ‘Fix it in post’ with an image so pixelated you couldn’t tell what it was. “I felt like this message is for me, since I asked you to fix all those things in editing... Plus everything else in your drawer was gigantic.”
“Keep it. It doesn’t fit me. But I’ve had clients far worse than you.” Izzy smirked, popping bread in the toaster and switching on the hot plate to fry an egg or two. Maybe he could persuade Mia to eat something with a bit of fat and flavour.
“What’s with the bran and fake milk?” he asked.
