Page 94 of Night and Day
Chapter 38
Mia ran down Mannerheimintie, towards the main transportation hub of Kamppi, her fingers frozen against the phone screen as she tried to type an email.
Where are you, Izzy?
As she pressed ‘send’, her gaze landed on the green neon sign.Iguana.The word drew her like a beacon in the night, glowing behind the flurry of snowflakes that had started falling. An odd feeling took over her. She could sense his presence, like a faint beeping of a metal detector.
Mia approached the window, leaning in to peer through the glass. She saw a dark shape sitting at the table further down, but couldn’t tell who it was. The moment she grabbed the door handle and stepped in, the inner door flung open and she crashed straight onto a wide chest. She recognised his scent before her eyes even travelled up to his face, landing on that scruffy beard and dark eyes.
“Izzy!”
The doors closed, trapping them in the small vestibule that kept the cold and snow away from most Finnish buildings. A draught lobby.
“Mia?” Izzy dropped his suitcase and raised his hand towards her face, stopping just short of making contact. His eyes searched hers.
Mia bit her lip, her heart flip-flopping between relief and desperation. “I had this strange feeling, like I could sense you somewhere close. And you’re here.”
His gorgeous brown gaze darkened. “I went to your office, but—”
“I know. I’m so sorry.” Mia held up her hand. Every cell in her body called out to him. She wanted to throw herself at that chest before she dissolved in this dark foyer. But the hurt in his eyes held her back.
“You took the job?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, hating herself.
“I suppose it was a good offer. Millions. Shares. A boyfriend.”
Mia buried her face in her mittens. “No! I’m not back with him, and I didn’t take the shares. I needed the money and had no other options. Nothing I could just jump into and—”
“So you went back tohim?” Izzy’s voice cracked with emotion, making her heart ache.
“It would have been the fastest way to make money, but I couldn’t stand it and today... I resigned. I’m sorry. I should have told you.” She peeked at him from behind the wet wool. “Izzy.”
“I can’t do the long distance thing.” His voice was gruff. A strand of hair had escaped his man bun, falling over one eye.
The front door opened behind Mia, and two customers edged past them in the narrow space. Izzy picked up his suitcase and they both stumbled outside onto the snow-covered footpath. The snowfall had eased into a gentle sprinkling of picture-perfect snowflakes that landed on Mia’s face like tiny, freezing kisses.
“How did you make it here?” she asked him. “It must have been... so hard.” She wanted to reach for him, touch those tense shoulders, do everything in her power to smooth the worry lines crossing his forehead.
Izzy shrugged. “I got drunk in Singapore.”
“Good call.” Mia risked a smile. She saw the corner of his mouth tug upward and hope lit up in her chest. “I wish I could have been there with you.”
Izzy slid the guitar case off his back and set it on the ground next to his suitcase. Mia’s gaze swept the footpath almost involuntarily, scanning for trouble. If anyone tried to take his luggage, she’d attack them with wet mittens.
Izzy studied her for a moment and his eyes softened. “So, you’re not back with him?”
“No!” She blinked against tears. “There’s nobody else. There’ll never be anybody else. I—”
