is nice. I’m sorry I don’t have words to—”
“Don’t apologize. Do you know what ‘actions speak louder than words’ means?”
“Yes, I understand.” He laced his fingers through hers. “We have English lesson and then maybe we kiss again?”
“Definitely.” She dipped her head, ridiculously excited about a sweet, mostly chaste kiss. His hand was dry and warm, engulfing her much smaller one, making her feel wanted. It had been so long since she’d had attention from a man, she’d almost forgotten what it was like, but her body hadn’t. Her body was totally on board for all this hand-holding and kissing and sitting close together in two separate chairs. They were leaning over her laptop, looking at English and Finnish words, talking and smiling, pausing to occasionally gaze into each other’s eyes.
She felt sixteen again, out on a date with a cute guy, butterflies in her stomach and her smile almost permanently affixed to her lips. This was lunacy, but she loved it, and leaned in even closer. Just the brush of his thigh against hers made her heart flutter and when he squeezed her hand, she wondered if he knew how much fun she was having. If she’d had her way, they would have sat at Starbucks all day.
Charli hadn’t stopped smiling since Miikka had kissed her. He’d caught her off guard, because she hadn’t imagined he was interested in her beyond their tutoring arrangement, but she wasn’t complaining. They’d kept everything casual, including when he’d kissed her goodbye, but they had a dinner date tonight and she was excited. Miikka was also coming by her house today to hang out. They’d been busy between his hockey schedule and her trying to make the most of the last two months of the school year, so this was their first opportunity to spend time together. He’d had practice earlier today but they were going to dinner and she’d invited him to come over early so they could have a quick English lesson. He was visiting the children’s hospital tomorrow and she wanted to make sure he was as prepared as possible.
“Hi!” Miikka was grinning when she opened the door. “My name is Miikka Laasonen…”
“You’re going to need a new pickup line,” she said, laughing as he leaned over to brush his lips across hers.
“You will teach me.”
“You’ll.” She led him inside, wondering if he had any idea how much she enjoyed even this small amount of physical contact. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
He merely quirked an eyebrow and she shook her head fondly. “It’s just a fancy way of welcoming you to my house.”
“Is yours or rent?”
“It’s mine. My grandfather left it to me when he died. It’s old and needs a ton of work, but I do a little at a time.” She motioned with her hand. “Some of this stuff has been here since the 1950s and 60s, but I’ve updated it a little. I had a new roof put on when I moved in, had all the plumbing updated last year, and now I’m renovating the master bathroom.”
“You know how?”
She laughed. “I watch a lot of HGTV and tons of YouTube videos. But I haven’t done anything big yet. I’m going to try to retile the master bath. I don’t know if I can, but—”
“I can help. My father is carpenter.”
“I can’t really afford it yet, but when it’s time to buy the tiles, I’ll let you know.”
“This is nice,” he said, fingering the wooden bannister of the stairs. “Good quality.”
“Yeah, the woodwork is all original. The fireplace will be beautiful when I fix it.”
“Oh…” Miikka’s eyes widened. “I love this.” He moved to the fireplace and ran his fingers along the carved mantel. It was scratched and beat-up, but the foundation was there and it would be gorgeous again once she learned how to refinish wood.
“One project at a time,” she said.
“I can show you,” he said, turning to her. “I do this with my father many times.”
“I have to finish the bathroom first,” she said softly. “And you’re busy with hockey now anyway.”
“Show me?”
“Show you…the bathroom?”
He nodded.
“Okay.” She led him up the stairs and through her bedroom. She winced at the unmade bed and the bra she’d tossed haphazardly on the chair, but at least the bathroom was clean and tidy.
“You painted,” he murmured, glancing at the walls. The box containing the new bronze faucet and fixtures was on the counter and he picked it up. “The color is pretty and these will look nice.” He