‘Not a chance,’ he said, clearing their plates and cutlery and leaving Charlotte to collect the wineglasses as he walked back to the kitchen. ‘We’ll get it done quickly if we do it together.’
She set the glasses she was carrying down on the counter and stood back as he filled the large sink in the kitchen with soapy water and began to wash, surprised by how at ease he was. The one and only serious boyfriend she’d had would never have rolled up his sleeves and got to work like this—whether she’d cooked for him or not—whereas she had a feeling that no matter how much she’d protested, Harrison wouldn’t have walked away.
‘You don’t seem to mind the clean-up,’ she said, adding pots and pans to the dirty pile to his right. ‘It’s nice to see.’
‘My sisters made sure that I always did my share of the chores growing up,’ he said, ‘and we always had this unwritten rule that the chef never had to clean up. If you were on cooking, you got to do whatever you wanted once everyone was fed.’
‘Ahh, someone who knows my entire life philosophy.’ Charlotte laughed. ‘My brother used to believe it was the only reason I cooked, so that he had to be on dishes through all his teenage years. But then he was the golden child, so it did him good to have to do something he didn’t want to.’
She bumped her shoulder into Harrison’s without meaning to, but she found that she liked standing close to him and didn’t move away. There was a calm energy about him, a feeling that he would be almost impossible to fluster, and she also found that she didn’t particularly want the night to end. He was easy to bearound, and she would have liked to have found out more about him. She realised that all she’d done was talk about herself all night, albeit because he’d asked, but still, she’d have liked to end the evening feeling as if she knew him a little better.
‘I’m sorry you had to hear about my family dramas,’ she said. ‘It’s something I usually avoid talking about at all costs, and yet I told you almost everything in one night.’
‘It’s fine, I liked learning more about you. It explains a lot, actually. Why you’ve achieved so much at such a young age, and where the fire inside you comes from.’
‘Next time, I promise to let you do all the talking and I’ll try out some of my new mains on you. If you’re game, that is.’
‘I actually haven’t had such a nice evening in a very long time, so thank you,’ Harrison said, as he let the water out of the sink and she put the last dish away. ‘And yes, I wouldn’t miss it. You tell me when, and I’ll be here.’
Harrison moved closer to her then, and Charlotte placed one hand on the counter to steady herself. She looked up into his eyes, wondering for a fleeting moment if he was about to kiss her, but instead he took her hand and squeezed it gently before collecting his coat, catching her eye one last time before turning away. The wine had clearly gone straight to her head if she’d thought he was going to do anything more—their night together had been lovely, but it certainly hadn’t been a date.
‘Goodnight, Charlotte. Thank you for the most wonderful culinary experience.’
‘You’re very welcome,’ she replied. ‘Thankyoufor letting me experiment on you.’
She clasped her hands together, watching him go. And when he turned at the door and glanced back at her, she had a feeling that there were so many more layers to the man she’d just spent the evening with.
Usually that would make her want to run. She didn’t have time for men in general, let alone ones she couldn’t figure out on the first date, which was of course not what this had been, but Harrison was different. Harrison was the kind of man who made her want to find out more, and it had been a very, very long time since a man had made her feel that way.
If one ever had.
Realising that she had no way of contacting him without going through Daniel, Charlotte quickly dashed after Harrison, running out into the empty foyer and calling to him.
‘Harrison.’ Her voice wasn’t loud, but it still echoed through the vast space as if she’d shouted it.
He stopped walking and turned, one hand pushed casually into the pocket of his jeans.
‘I was thinking I could show you around tomorrow, since there’s so much you haven’t seen. If you still want that tour, that is?’
Charlotte knew she would never forget the smile that lit his face, the way his chocolate-brown eyes seemed to soften. ‘I’d like that. But could we say the day after tomorrow?’
‘Sure. After lunch? Early afternoon?’
‘I have meetings until two, but I can meet you in the lobby straight after.’
‘I’ll be here.’
And this time when he left, she knew she hadn’t been imagining the spark between them, and she also knew that it would be impossible to sleep, because the idea of showing him around, just the two of them, was even more daunting than devising a bold new menu for the biggest, newest hotel in Oslo.
13
THE MAJESTETISK HOTEL, SOGNEFJORD, NORWAY, 1950
The days were racing past, and Amalie couldn’t stop counting the weeks they had left together. The summer had become a blur of work and time spent with Oskar, and even though she knew her friends missed her, she wanted to spend every spare minute she had with him. Whenever he finished a shift, no matter how late, she was waiting for him, sitting on the low wall outside the hotel as she stared at the water, knowing he would always bring something delicious for her to try. And then they’d walk or go out in the little rowing boat he’d commandeered, or lie on the grass and stare at the sky. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they just lay there in silence, content in each other’s company, fingertips touching as they stretched out their arms. Other times Oskar would wrap her in his embrace and they would kiss until they were breathless, their bodies intertwined, making her wonder how she could ever live a day without seeing him.
Tonight though, it seemed that Oskar had other plans, and she could tell from the mischievous look on his face that he was up to something. He had a spring in his step and the corners of his mouth were tilted up into a smile.
‘How was your night?’ she asked, grinning when he passed her a small plate with a slice ofbløtkakeon it. She lovedhis layered cream cake, and she took the dessert fork he gave her and quickly ate her first mouthful, closing her eyes as it dissolved in her mouth. It was divine, as was everything he brought for her.
