“And me,” Camilla said firmly.
“Good.” Hasse positioned himself on the edge of the terrace, took a deep breath, and hurled the stick toward the other side of the garden. They heard a soft thud as it landed on the grass.
No one moved.
Hasse looked at them. “What are you waiting for? Down on all fours—off you go!”
They exchanged dubious looks, and then Tom dropped to the ground and let out a quiet bark.
“Louder—otherwise it doesn’t count!” Hasse said.
Henrik dropped to the ground, followed by Camilla. Tom already had a five-yard lead, but Henrik sped across the lawn. “Woof, woof!” He had longer arms and legs than his brother, and quickly reduced the distance between them.
Camilla was some distance behind; he could hear her barking.
The smell of freshly cut grass tickled his nostrils. They had reached the gravel path now; Henrik was only a couple of feet behind Tom.
“Louder!” their father yelled.
The heat of the sun on his back made him sweat, and the gravel was scraping his knees. But he kept going. Why? For the money, or because their father was issuing orders? He didn’t really know.
Camilla gave up; the boys were too far ahead.
Henrik extended his arms, moved his legs faster, his knees torn to shreds. He was level with Tom now, and the stick was only a couple of yards away. Henrik hurled himself forward, grabbed it between his teeth, growled when Tom caught up with him, and rolled away so that Tom wouldn’t be able to take the stick from him.
Henrik lay on his back on the grass, panting.
The competition was over.
“Congratulations, Henrik.” Hasse came and stood over him. “And never forget that people will do anything for money.”
When Henrik had finished telling his story, Nora gazed at him, then drew him close. He rested his head against her breast. She didn’t say anything, but after revealing something so deeply personal, so humiliating, it was nice just to be near her.
“I guess the point of the story is that my father has made me believe everything he says, made me do virtually whatever he wants. If he says that a project is doomed to failure, then I believe him, and I fail. If he says a relationship won’t last, I believe him. I see the slightest setback as confirmation of my incompetence.”
Nora shook her head. “And now he wants to killLet’s Get Baking?”
Henrik nodded.
“What does your sister think about this? She represents both you and your father, doesn’t she?”
“She does. She just says our father has handled all communication with TV24—she hasn’t had anything to do with it. I’m guessing she doesn’t want to be dragged into our dispute.”
“But you haven’t let him win—you’ve fought back. I think you’re well on the way to freeing yourself from your father.”
He nodded slowly; maybe she was right. Then he realized that she was a big part of it. He had learned so much from her. She was sostrong, so capable. And she was right about his father—Henrik’s relationship with him was destructive, and he really had to free himself of it.
What was it about Nora that made him open up to her like this? He didn’t want to leave Västervik next week. It was too soon. And he didn’t want whatever it was that they had between them to end. It had only just begun.
35
Over the next few days, they continued filming the Christmas preparations as the snow melted away. Nora still opposed half of Henrik’s ideas in front of the cameras, but the atmosphere between them was different—more highly charged, but also more relaxed and teasing. Henrik told her off from time to time, and Nora came back with a spiky comment or two. Then they would meet up in the changing room and make out in secret.
Orders had come pouring in over the past week, and he could see how happy Nora was. Apart from Gunnebo’s standing order, there were other companies who wanted her help. She had started to sell her crispbread, and a number of grocery stores in the town had bought several boxes, so she and Renée had their hands full baking tray after tray. She hardly had time to see Henrik, nor had they had a chance to discuss what would happen when filming was over. The big gingerbread house finale was fast approaching, and Henrik was falling more and more deeply in love.
One evening he managed to take her out for dinner, and of course they ended up in his hotel room. She also came to his hotel on the penultimate day of filming, but it was too late to eat in the restaurant, so they opted for room service instead. She showed up at almost midnight, exhausted after preparing all the orders for the next day. They were due to film the gingerbread house competition in the square in the morning.Despite her frenetic schedule, he managed to get her to relax, and she slept soundly all night.
They had breakfast in his room, sitting by the window with its sea view. At first there was only darkness, but the sun slowly rose, lighting up the horizon. They were in their underwear, and Henrik realized he would happily sit here with her like this for the rest of his life, eating scrambled eggs with freshly baked bread and drinking strong black coffee. He inhaled sharply. Was that really how he felt? He sipped his coffee and gazed at her in the golden glow of the dawn. Yes ... it felt so ... right.
