Helsinki Sunrise Read Online Free PDF Page A

another cup and the coffee pot, and placed them on the table beside their breakfast. “Did you sleep well?”
    “Best sleep I’ve had in a while.” Adam pointed at the windows. “Where was the remote? I searched for days.”
    A giggle escaped her mouth. Another would have done the same had she not trapped the naughty laugh behind her lips. The last thing she needed was for Adam Carter to think she enjoyed having him there. “My grandfather fried it in the sauna. I had to get a new one.”
    Adam smoothed the cover over the mattress and laughed. “No wonder I couldn’t find it.”
    Eveliina returned to the kitchen area for milk and cereal. “Would you like some coffee and breakfast before you leave?”
    He shook his head. “No. But thank you.” He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for Eveliina. “You go ahead, though.”
    Adam waited for her to sit down before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table.
    She placed a piece of bread on her plate and covered it with a slice of cheese and some cucumber. “Maybe some juice?”
    He shook his head again. “Thanks for the offer. I’ll just have a glass of water.” He walked to the kitchen and filled a glass from the tap.
    Suddenly Eveliina remembered what Mikko had told her last night.
    “I’m so sorry.”
    Adam slipped into his chair and took a swig of water. He rested his left arm on the table. “For what?”
    Eveliina reached across and touched his hand, unprepared for the tingling sensation that followed, although the feeling was not totally foreign. Though she’d tried to deny it, she’d felt it when Adam had walked in and smiled at her minutes ago. She’d felt it as she’d watched him through the blinds earlier, standing at the water’s edge. And she’d certainly felt those same tingles when she’d visualized the painting of The Kiss .
    “I just remembered. Mikko told me you were fasting. I should have had breakfast after you’d left.”
    Adam set his glass down on the table. “It’s not a problem.”
    “No really, that was thoughtless.” Eveliina got up to clear the table. She’d eat later.
    Adam grasped her arm gently.
    Drat, there were those tingles again. This wasn’t good. She had Joel. And Adam was everything she didn’t want in a man. She looked at his hand—strong, hardworking. Then at his handsome face. OK, so that wasn’t entirely true. Except for his profession, he was probably everything she could ever want in a man, and more.
    “It’s OK. I don’t mind. Sit and have your breakfast.”
    Eveliina dropped back into her chair and lifted the bread to her mouth, eyeing him over a cucumber slice. Adam stared at her, or was it her breakfast that held his rapt attention? She set the bread down on a plate and took a mouthful of coffee.
    “So how long have you been fasting?” Had that been presumptuous of her? Wasn’t there something in the Bible about not being able to talk about your fasting? She wished she remembered.
    “Five days.” His smile set her a little more at ease.
    “Fi— I can’t go a day without food. How do you do it?”
    “Anything’s easy to do if you believe in the reasons enough. The benefits far outweigh the discomfort.”
    Eveliina wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug again. The porcelain vessel had become her lifeline, something she could do with her shaking hands. “What are your reasons for going without?”
    “To entreat God to save your country, to save your city—” He hesitated and lowered his eyes. His fingers trailed the wood grain patterns. When he looked up, he captured her gaze. “To save you…”
    Eveliina shifted. She took a slow drink of her coffee, using the mug to hide her reaction. She should end this conversation now, tell him she didn’t need saving, but somehow she couldn’t resist asking the next question.
    “How much longer before you can eat again?” Just how important were Finland, Helsinki and Eveliina Mikkola to Adam Carter?
    He smiled.