He held up his hand. “I just came to say hello, but you seem to be busy explaining something. Don’t let me disturb you.” His tone was acerbic. Obviously he was going to be furious about this.And,Nora thought,who wouldn’t be?
“I ... I didn’t mean ... I was talking about ...” She fell silent. “I was talking about a friend that we ...” Her eyes darted around—hello, couldn’t one of the girls step in?
“It’s cool.” He smiled, glanced at her friends and then back at her. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Oh yes, of course.” She stood up. “This is Henrik Eklund,” she announced with a sweep of her hand, as if she were hosting some kind of gala.Ridiculous.Then she introduced her friends, one by one. The atmosphere was still strained, she could see that Bea wanted the floor to open up and swallow her, but that was nothing compared to the way Nora was feeling. This couldn’t get any worse.
“But where are the children?” Henrik asked.
“The children?” Apparently it could get worse. “They ... They’re ... I ...” She broke off as a series of potential lies flashed through her mind. “The parents had a change of plan and I ...”
“It’s fine, I won’t tell the others.” Henrik leaned a little closer. “I get it—it’s nice to have some free time.” She could feel his breath tickling her cheek, and she shivered. A very pleasant shiver.
She cleared her throat and he leaned back.
“So where are the others?” she asked, wondering how she could have been so stupid. How could she have come to Slottsholmen for dinner when they were staying here, for fuck’s sake. She was lucky that Henrik was the only one around.
“They’re at another restaurant. We had a drink here in the hotel bar, and I stupidly forgot my wallet. That’s why I came back.”
“Yes, that was stupid.” She let out a shrill laugh.
“It’s fine.” He leaned in again so that his mouth was close to her ear, so close that she could smell him—like a pine forest on a hot summer’s day, mixed with freshly baked gingerbread cookies. And somethingelse—she didn’t know what it was, but it was incredibly masculine. His scent, along with the taste of the oyster lingering on her tongue, gave her a tingle deep in her belly. “I promise I won’t say anything to the others,” he said quietly. His warm breath and his deep voice made her shiver again, and something inside her vibrated. The feeling died a quick death as soon as she met his gaze, which was cold and anything but sensual. He must really loathe her.
“I’d better go.” He turned to her friends and said, “Good to meet you,” before he walked away.
Oh God.This was definitely a disaster—she could see it in their eyes.
“I don’t suppose that will have improved your working relationship,” Bea said.
Nora sank down onto her chair, stared gloomily out the window, and took an enormous swig of her wine.
11
The air was dry and chilly, making Henrik’s nostrils sting as he walked. On the other side of the water, he could see the illuminated silhouette of the town. He had enjoyed seeing Nora caught out. He had found her comments about him quite amusing, but lying to Elnaz was unacceptable, and reinforced his view that she was ungrateful. Participants usually appreciated and enjoyed dinners with the team, but Nora behaved as if they ought to be paying her to be on the show.
He reached the restaurant, the Smugglers, which was housed in a red wooden building reminiscent of an old warehouse. The team had been allocated a long table in a separate room upstairs.
The food was just being served when Henrik arrived; he was greeted by the smell of burning candles and a variety of dishes. The predinner drink had probably turned into several drinks by now, because the hum of conversation was loud. The mood was also more relaxed now that Don had gone back to Stockholm. Henrik felt much more relaxed now that he was with the crew he’d worked with for years.
He sat down next to Elnaz, thinking this might be a good opportunity to have a chat with her, as he hadn’t managed to speak to her alone during filming.
Halfway through the first course he turned to her. “Hey, I heard from my dad that TV24 is launching a new baking show on Wednesdays next fall. Please tell me I misunderstood him.”
Elnaz didn’t say a word and didn’t meet his eye.
“He went on to say that TV24’s unhappy with this year’s viewer ratings forLet’s Get Baking,” Henrik went on. “Be straight with me—we’ve worked together for a while now, and I consider this show our baby, not just mine.”
“I only found out about the ratings a couple of days ago,” Elnaz said eventually, looking apologetic. “Hasn’t Camilla discussed it with you?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of her, but she’s Dad’s agent, too, so I suspect she’s avoiding me.”
“You mean the show they’re commissioning is your dad’s?”
He nodded.
“I had no idea.”
“Is TV24 planning to scrapLet’s Get Baking?”
