Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,76

could slide in next to her.

“It’s okay. Don’t cry.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

“M-Miikka… How did you…” She cried harder, her tears soaking his shirt, and he gently stroked her hair, waiting for her to get it all out.

“It’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s a good thing. He’s beautiful. Do you want to see a picture?”

Her head snapped up and she nodded. “I… Yes!”

He pulled out his phone and showed her one of the two photographs Gage had sent him.

“Oh my god.” She held the phone in shaking hands, staring down at the dark-haired, blue-eyed little boy who definitely had her nose.

“He plays baseball and hockey,” he said with a smile. “He likes chocolate ice cream and also takes karate.”

“How did you find all that out?” she demanded, swiping at her eyes.

“Gage. Mr. Caldwell. He did it.”

“Oh, Miikka. Isn’t he beautiful?” Her eyes met his.

“He’s gorgeous. And healthy. And happy. Look, this is him and his little sister.” He swiped and brought up the second photo.

“Oh, wow.” She gave him a tremulous smile. “Miikka, this is amazing. Are you sure it’s him?”

“Look at him. Your eyes, your nose… This is your son.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Would you like to meet him?”

“What? You can’t… I mean, did the parents… Can you make that happen?”

“Gage spoke to the parents. He promised to set up college funds for both children if they would agree to let you meet the boy, perhaps keep you informed of how he’s doing. Through me.”

“Through you?” She blinked.

“He’s a big hockey fan. We have a meeting set up for tomorrow, in St. Louis, if you’d like to. But you don’t have to. The parents asked that you not tell him who you are, merely meet him as my girlfriend. The focus would be on me, making his dream to meet a professional hockey player come true. It would be a one-time thing, but I told them I had to ask you first.”

“Ask me?” She burst into tears all over again. “Yes! Of course I want to meet him.”

“Then we will.”

“Oh my god, Miikka! How did you… Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” She buried her head in his chest and Miikka stroked her hair, waving away the waitress when she came by and making sure Char-lot was okay.

Charli cried for what felt like a long time. Seeing her beautiful son’s picture had nearly broken her heart all over again, but seeing his happy smile and the resemblance between them was more than she could handle. When she finally got herself together, she had to get up and go to the restroom to wash her face, blow her nose and calm down a little. She was an absolute wreck, her eyes red and puffy, her makeup gone, and her face a little blotchy from how hard she’d cried.

When she finally had herself together, she put on a dab of lip gloss—as if that would somehow fix the mess her face had become—and walked back out to the booth. Their food had arrived, but Miikka hadn’t touched his and he pulled her down beside him instead of sitting across from each other again. She rested her head on the side of his arm, letting the warmth of his skin seep into her, soothing her frazzled nerves and out-of-control emotions.

“You’re okay now?” he asked softly, kissing her temple.

“I’m getting there.”

“I didn’t want to upset you. And you don’t have to see him tomorrow if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do. I really, really do. You just caught me by surprise, and then to see him… I’ve dreamed about what he might look like and he’s so beautiful.”

“He is,” he agreed. “Like you.”

“How did you do this, Miikka? I mean, you said Gage did it, but did you just call him up and ask him to find my kid?”

He swallowed, as if a little nervous. “Yes. I had to… You’re so hard on yourself, so sad about giving up your child, I had to find out for myself if he was okay. If Gage didn’t help, I would have hired a detective. I wasn’t going to give up until we had answers.”

“And what if he wasn’t happy? What if the people who adopted him were assholes?”

“Then we would have found a way to go to court and get him back.” His eyes met hers. “We were going to figure this out, no matter what.”

“Oh, Miikka.” She closed her eyes as she reached for his