Charlotte turned, narrowly avoiding burning her hand when she misjudged the handle she reached out for. She secured the towel more carefully around it and took the salmon off the heat before acknowledging Harrison—that was a rookie mistake, and she’d have been furious if she’d seriously burnt her hand.
‘I was actually just thinking about Amalie. I saw her again this morning.’
‘Any more answers about how everything ties together?’
She shook her head, not taking her eyes off what she was doing as she plated the salmon and dressed it, wiping the edge of the plate and passing it to Harrison only once she was certain it looked perfect.
‘I’m honestly starting to wonder if we shouldn’t just let sleeping dogs lie,’ she said, waving him away with the plate. ‘She said something along the lines of how some things aren’t supposed to stay secret when I first showed her the box, but that might not be the case. I’m happy I came back, but part of me wonders whether we shouldn’t have just ignored the clues and pretended they didn’t exist, given how she’s reacted to it all.’
Charlotte watched as Harrison placed the plate on the table then turned back to her, but she waved him away again as soon as he came back.
‘Sit, eat! I’ll finish up here and come and join you shortly.’
Harrison hesitated, as if he didn’t want to eat without her.
‘I’m the chef, I’m not supposed to be at the table,’ she said. ‘But I promise I’ll join you soon. I’m looking forward to an end-of-service glass of wine.’
He seemed to accept her reply and rejoined his friends, and she realised that shewasactually looking forward to sitting down with a glass of wine, trying some of her own food and just enjoying the company of others.
When she finally joined them some time later, Charlotte was delighted to see that they’d barely left a bite of food, and she happily let Harrison fill her glass. She’d kept aside a plate for herself, and she began eating while listening to the friends talk, happy to be the observer rather than the centre of attention. But that changed the minute she finished eating. Louisa turned to Charlotte as she dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
‘So, I want to know how you two met,’ Louisa asked. ‘From what Harrison’s told us, you’re almost a fully fledged Londoner.’
‘Ha, well, I suppose you could say that. London has a way of making you fall in love, and I do see it as my home now, or at least I did until very recently.’ She grinned. ‘I love my family, but I’ve found it can be good to have some distance.’
‘I think that’s why Harrison came here,’ Luke said. ‘He was running away from his family, and by family, I mean us.’
‘We’ve known each other since?—’
‘Okay, enough talking about us,’ Harrison said, interrupting Louisa and giving her a sharp look that Charlotte couldn’t decipher. ‘How about we talk about what sights you’re going to see while you’re here? I’m sure our host has plenty of recommendations.’
Charlotte took another sip of her wine, looking between them and seeing that there was definitely some tension linked to whatever Louisa had been about to say.
‘Well, I would recommend the MUNCH museum to see the Edvard Munch art exhibition, and the Viking Ship Museum, too. It’s hard to explain what it’s like to see a ship from the 9thcentury until you’ve actually stood there and looked at it with your own eyes,’ Charlotte said. ‘You could book a cruise on the Oslo fjord, and I have some great walks I could recommend, if you feel like being active.’
‘All of the above, except perhaps the walking,’ Louisa said with a conspiratorial grin. ‘Harrison, you’ll be our tour guide? Please tell us you’ll be joining us on our adventures?’
‘Ahh, I’ll think about it,’ he said, before excusing himself to go to the restroom, calling back over his shoulder, ‘Although you’re talking about the guy who’s been here for months and has barely seen any sights!’
Charlotte watched Harrison walk away and found she couldn’t stop smiling. He’d been unfailingly good company, andshe didn’t know what it was, but she felt different when she was with him. The fact that he seemed to love her food helped, but it was more than that—she’d been alone for such a long time, so focused on work—but he was making her wonder what it would be like to have someone special in her life. Although there was that little matter of him putting distance between them every time they got close, which told her that she was either way off the mark in thinking he was attracted to her, or that there was something else holding him back. Or maybe she’d just forgotten how to flirt and was somehow getting it all wrong.
She turned to the couple seated at the table across from her, and she rose to retrieve the bottle of wine she’d left on the kitchen counter, seeing that they both needed another top-up. The night had been a wonderful success, and seeing the way they’d all reacted to her menu had helped her to make her decision. She was going to say yes to Daniel about the job. Perhaps she was always going to accept, but this was the first time she hadn’t sought her brother’s approval before making a big decision, and it felt good.
‘You know, we didn’t expect him to be in such good spirits today,’ Louisa said as Charlotte joined them at the table. ‘It’s nice to see him happy again.’
‘Lou,’ Luke said, shaking his head.
‘I can imagine it’s been very stressful for him, but hopefully once the hotel opens…’ Charlotte stopped talking. There was something about the look they were both giving her that told her she was wrong, that they knew something she didn’t. ‘Why are you looking at me like that? What have I missed?’
‘That’s not,’ Luke started, before clearing his throat and looking to his wife. ‘It’s not our place, Lou. Just leave it.’
‘He hasn’t told you?’ Louisa asked, seeming to ignore her husband.
Charlotte’s brow furrowed as she looked between the couple seated across from her. ‘Told me what?’
They exchanged looks, which only made her feel even more unsettled than she already was. What exactly did they expect him to have told her?
‘If you’re trying to make me feel confused, you’re doing a great job, because I truly don’t know what you’re talking about.’
