All the Romance You Need This Christmas: 5-Book Festive Collection. Romy Sommer
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just assumes that Sami people spend their lives herding reindeer or appearing in traditional dress at Christmas markets in Finnish holiday resorts.’ I suddenly realised what I’d just said, and we both burst out laughing. This was the most comfortable I’d felt with a man since – since Jase. The longer I sat there, in that wonderful little café with this fascinating man called Mikku, the more I knew I could spend the rest of the day just sitting here, talking to him. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. But suddenly, the thought of Jase, well, it was enough to make the laughter stop.
‘What is wrong, Jess?’ Mikku asked. ‘I could tell from the second I met you that something was weighing heavily on your shoulders. But you can talk to me.’
I looked at him, watching as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of matches, striking one up to light the candle in the centre of the table as outside the afternoon darkness that had been threatening to take over the day finally arrived, sweeping away the beautiful rose-coloured sky and replacing it with a dark, black blanket.
‘You get used to it,’ Mikku smiled, blowing out the match. ‘The dark days and the long nights. By the time you go home it’ll feel like normality.’
I smiled back, looking outside again, the Christmas decorations now lighting up the dark afternoon, illuminating the street, heightening the festive feel.
‘How old are you, Mikku?’ I hadn’t actually meant to ask that out loud but curiosity had got the better of me. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask anything so personal…’
‘I am twenty-eight,’ he replied without missing a beat.
Fourteen years younger than me but, as I’d said, he seemed to have a much older soul.
‘Age is not a barrier to anything, Jess. I understand a lot more than you may think.’
I wanted to ask exactly what he meant by that, because it seemed such an odd thing to say, but the words wouldn’t come out and instead I just looked at him for a few more seconds, not really sure where this day was heading, because it certainly wasn’t turning out the way I’d thought it would. But, all of a sudden that need to open up to someone took over and I found myself about to tell him things I wouldn’t ordinarily have told a complete stranger. But Mikku didn’t feel like a complete stranger. Not anymore. ‘I lost my husband – a year ago. He died in a motorcycle accident two weeks before Christmas… just before we were due to fly out here, to Lapland.’
‘Then this trip must be very hard for you,’ Mikku said quietly, fixing me with another look that I couldn’t quite read. But his eyes were almost as mesmerising as that rose-coloured sky had been earlier. Hypnotic, almost.
‘It is… in a way. It’s very hard,’ I replied, unable to tear my eyes away from his. It was as if there was some invisible force-field that was preventing me from looking at anything other than him.
‘He would have loved this place, am I right?’
Those dark, penetrating eyes of his filled me with that strange, warm and calming feeling again as we looked at each other. ‘Yes,’ I said quietly. ‘He would have loved this place.’ I started fiddling with the handle on my coffee mug, briefly breaking the stare to glance out of the window, focusing on the flashing Santa Claus outside the shop opposite, just for a second or two, before turning back to Mikku, the flickering light of the candle making that stare of his all the more intense.
‘I just needed to get away,’ I said, unable to take my eyes off him now. I just couldn’t do it, even if I’d wanted to. ‘The memories… I don’t want to forget Jase, I could never do that, but…’
‘You need to move on?’
‘I… I don’t know,’ I whispered, my eyes now watching my fingers as they continued to fiddle with my coffee mug.
‘There is a reason you are here, Jessie. I am certain of that.’
I frowned. It seemed such a strange thing to say to someone he’d only just met, but in a way that didn’t feel threatening or strange – in fact, it felt as though I should know what he was talking about. But I didn’t. Not yet.
‘What… what do you mean?’ I asked. ‘I don’t understand…’
He stopped me from talking anymore by taking my hand, which in turn made me look at him again, those dark eyes of his switching on that force-field to keep me focused on nothing but him. ‘You will enjoy your stay here, Jessie. I promise you.’
‘I will?’ I was starting to feel a little confused now.
‘You will.’ He kept hold of my hand, his gaze intensifying even more as those dark eyes peered right into mine. ‘You have to do what your heart tells you to do, Jessie. It’s as simple as that. And then you will be happy once more. Because I’m sure your husband wouldn’t want you to be this sad for the rest of your life.’
I looked up at the ceiling for a second, taking in the dark wood and the twinkling fairy lights and the Christmas music in the background, Mikku’s hand still holding tightly onto mine. This felt like the weirdest, most confusing few minutes of my life, yet there was also a feeling of total clarity somewhere underneath the surface that I didn’t quite understand, but I had a feeling I would. Soon enough.
‘Do you like music?’ Mikku asked, a completely random question that threw me for a second.
‘Erm, yes. Yes, I do. My brother and my dad have their own band and… we went to see them – Jase and me – we went to see the band on our first date.’
‘There is a band on at The Ice Tree après ski bar this afternoon. You should go.’
‘I… I was supposed to be meeting my brother at the bar later, but… but I don’t really feel like it now. I’m so tired…’
‘You should go,’ Mikku repeated, looking straight at me, his eyes practically boring into mine with an intensity I’d never experienced before. This surely had to be some crazy dream because I had no explanation for any of what was happening to me today. Meeting this incredible young man with his old soul and his deep, dark eyes, who seemed to be able to talk to me without uttering a word – because that’s what it felt like – was this some kind of fate? I believed in fate. Was that what was happening here? Was it fate I’d come to Lapland? Was it fate that I’d found Mikku? Or had he found me? And why was he so insistent that I went to the après ski bar this afternoon? Surely the band would be playing again at some point during my time here? Why did I have to go this afternoon?
‘Are you going to come with me?’ I asked, still unable to break eye contact.
Mikku shook his head. ‘I cannot. I have other things to do, but I think you would enjoy it, Jess. I think you will get a lot out of it.’
He did say the oddest things, but it still didn’t feel like anything I should be concerned about. If anything, the strange things he said seemed to mean more. I just couldn’t quite work out what, exactly.
My head suddenly started spinning and I sat back as he let go of my hand, and it was like the spell had been broken as the intensity faded and that wonderfully warm smile of his returned.
‘I must go,’ he said, standing up and slipping on his jacket, pulling his hat down over his short, black hair. ‘But I will see you again, Jess.’ He looked at me once more, those eyes fixing me with that stare that lasted just seconds, before he started walking away, towards the door that led back out into the cold, dark Lapland afternoon. ‘I will see you again.’
And of that, I had absolutely no doubt.
The Ice Tree was jam-packed by the time I got down there. After Mikku had left me in the café I’d decided to do a little more exploring, taking a walk around the small resort, checking