Henrik poured himself a large cup of coffee, closed his eyes, and inhaled the rich aroma. Roasted coffee beans—was there anything better? Freshly baked bread, maybe—he couldn’t decide between the two. He headed over to the hotel breakfast buffet, helped himself to a bowl of yogurt, and topped it with fresh berries and muesli with plenty of nuts. Then he joined Ted at a corner table by the window. It normally had a view of the sea, but at this predawn hour, the water was nothing more than a dark, shapeless mass. A week of filming had passed, and things had gone relatively smoothly. Nora’s opposition to almost everything he suggested made for more conflict, which Ted seemed to like. Henrik might have gone in a little harder than in previous seasons, but he didn’t think he’d ever crossed the line.
He went back to the counter to fetch some bread and felt a hand on his elbow. He turned to see Elnaz smiling at him, holding a cup of coffee. “It’s going well so far.”
“Thanks, I’m glad you’re pleased.” He reached for a white porcelain plate, then picked up a fresh roll and a croissant that was still warm. Elnaz hadn’t moved. “Was there something else?”
“Like I said, filming is going well. But ... I wish you could be a bit more flirtatious.” She gave a wry smile. “Something needs to happen between you two.”
Henrik sighed. “Why does this make me feel dirty?”
“What’s the problem? You’ve fallen in love on TV before.”
“With Bente it was real. There’s a difference when you’re pretending to flirt with someone.”
“We’ve talked about this. When the baker is a single woman around your age, the viewers are going to expect something. Christmastime and all that. Magic—you know.”
“Magic,” Henrik repeated.
“Think of the ratings.” Elnaz took a sip of her coffee.
“But won’t it look weird if I criticize her and then start flirting?”
“I think that’s exactly what the viewers want. Like I said before, everyone loves a good enemies-to-lovers story.”
Half an hour later, Henrik arrived at the patisserie. Filming began as soon as Sara had finished his makeup.
He started by going through the cookie selection. Took a bite of a vanilla and chocolate checkerboard cookie that melted in the mouth, but was still crunchy. “Not bad, I have to say. And this is a classic. Everyone likes these.” Then he tried a raspberry jelly cookie. The jelly was hard, almost impossible to chew. He spat it into a napkin and looked at Nora. “What’s your insurance situation?”
“Insurance?” She folded her arms defensively. She was wearing a black T-shirt with the same straight, slightly trendy cut as before, and black jeans. He couldn’t help but notice that her outfit highlighted her blonde hair and red lips, which were currently pursed to indicate her displeasure.
“Yes—does your policy cover dental costs for broken teeth? How long has this cookie been sitting here?”
Elnaz was glaring at him, but how was he supposed to flirt with the baker when the whole premise of the show was to cut the participants down to size?
“What do you mean ... I ...” She broke off and shook her head. “I don’t usually have stale cookies for sale—there must have been amistake.” She snatched it out of his hand, took a bite, and made a face as she chewed and swallowed. “Like I said, a mistake.” Henrik had won that battle.
Nora folded her arms again. “Any more unnecessarily nasty comments?”
“I’m not nasty, I’m just honest.”
“I’m just honest,” Nora repeated with a snort. “You do know it’s only unpleasant people who have to make that excuse to justify what they say.”
“Thanks, good job,” Ted said, looking ridiculously pleased. “We’ll do an interview clip, then you two can take a break while we talk to some of the customers.”
Henrik used his interview time to rant about how crazy it was to have eighteen different cookies for sale—or maybe it was thirteen—and how appalling it was that Nora didn’t focus on a few bestselling items. Not much flirting there. He just didn’t know how to do it, it felt totally unnatural.
When they’d finished, he looked at Ted. “Have you and Elnaz agreed on the angle?”
“You mean the fact that she wants more flirting and romance?”
“Exactly.”
Ted shrugged and sipped his coffee. “I know she thinks it’s a good idea, but I’d rather go down a different route.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “As Don says, Nora is pretty feisty, and that can make for very good TV.”
Henrik also took a sip of his coffee. Clearly Ted and Elnaz weren’t entirely in agreement—should he be worried? Then again, it wasn’t his problem. It wasn’t up to him to make decisions, he simply followed their directives. But he was the face of the show ...
“Hi there!” a familiar voice called out, and Henrik turned to see Don walking in. He was wearing a woolen hat on his shaven head, and a thick winter coat. Henrik was surprised to see him. And judging by the reaction of the team, the others were too.
Henrik went over and shook his hand. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
