We only met once, but it was enough to leave a lasting impression on me, as you were so like my beloved Oskar. But Oskar is gone now, and I find myself only weeks away from having his baby, alone and scared in London. We’d planned a life together, and now I’m left with few choices about what to do next.
If I’m honest, I don’t know what I’m asking of you. All I know is that I need your help. I want to raise my baby and honour Oskar, to never let his memory fade, to keep part of him alive through our child. But I cannot do it alone.
Please, for the love of your brother, can you help me? I will be forever grateful if you can find it in your heart to enable me to keep this baby, and love it with every fibre of my being.
Yours faithfully, Amalie
Now all she had to do was wait.
25
PRESENT DAY
Charlotte sat with her hand in Amalie’s, watching her as she slept. Her heart had broken listening to her talk, but it was as if all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle were coming together. She only wished her grandmother had been there to listen to her today, but Charlotte had made an impromptu call to see Amalie after dropping Harrison back at his apartment.
Amalie’s eyes fluttered then, and Charlotte leaned forward, pressing her cheek to Amalie’s warm hand.
‘I’ve met someone,’ she said. ‘And I think he might be as lovely as your Oskar.’
Charlotte closed her eyes then, thinking about the weekend they’d shared and wishing that he had another project in Norway to keep him here; that they’d had longer to be together.
‘How did you know he was the one, Amalie?’ she whispered. ‘How did you know that it was worth sacrificing everything for him?’
‘I just knew,’ came a shaky whisper in reply.
Charlotte lifted her head and looked into Amalie’s kind, tired eyes. But there was still life there, still love shining from them. Charlotte moved so that she was lying on the bed with her as Amalie’s eyes fluttered shut again, pressing her body gentlyagainst hers and holding her hand again. When she’d been younger, she’d missed her mum so much that she’d sometimes forgotten how fortunate she was for the women whowerestill part of her life, but she certainly cherished it now.
‘Thank you for sharing your story with me,’ Charlotte whispered. ‘You’re so brave, Amalie. Braver than I’ll ever be.’
On the night of the hotel grand opening, Charlotte had arranged to meet Harrison outside the hotel, and she was so pleased she had so that she didn’t have to walk in alone. Huge arches of fresh flowers filled the entrance and there was security checking the tickets of each person arriving, but it was Harrison who caught her eye among all the festivities. He was standing slightly away from the door, dressed in a black tuxedo and white shirt, and she’d never seen any man look so effortlessly handsome. His thick dark hair was brushed to one side, and instead of his usual worn leather boots, he was wearing highly polished black shoes.
‘You look great,’ she said, looking him up and down. He always looked good, but this was something else, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
‘Well, you look beautiful,’ he said, holding his hand so that he could give her a little twirl. ‘Absolutely beautiful.’
Charlotte was wearing a mid-calf black slip dress that flared out when she spun round, with an oversized coat slung over her shoulders for warmth. She’d been in the kitchen since first thing that morning and had barely had a chance to catch her breath, so she still felt that it was a miracle she’d managed to get home, change and dress in time for the opening. But it had been nice to have an excuse to dress up for an evening out, and she’d been thankful that her grandmother had forced her to go shoppingthe day before. Otherwise she’d have found herself woefully underdressed compared to the impeccably well-heeled man in front of her.
‘Shall we go in?’ he asked, letting go of her so she could slide her hand through the crook of his arm.
Charlotte smiled up at him and pressed a light kiss to his lips, before quickly smudging away the little trace of lipstick she’d left there.
‘We shall,’ she said. ‘But be warned, I’m going to want to head up to your room, curl up in bed and order room service by nine. I’m already feeling dead on my feet.’
‘That’s absolutely fine by me,’ he said with a sigh. ‘This is all part and parcel of the job, but it’s the part I like the least. I’d much rather be quietly in the wings and let someone else handle the whole public-facing part of my job.’
‘You don’t like the praise?’ she teased. ‘What was it that the news article said? London’s trendiest young architect takes Oslo by storm. That can’t feel half bad, reading something like that.’
He groaned. ‘I hate that kind of publicity, but it’s being around so many people that I find the hardest. I’m a small group kind of guy, and by the looks of it, half the city has been invited tonight.’ Harrison laughed. ‘Take me back to the Sognefjord any time.’
‘Let’s just try to enjoy ourselves,’ she said. ‘We can whirl around the room, meet everyone and do our duty, and then sneak away without anyone even knowing we’re gone. We’ll be ensconced in your hotel room before you know it.’
‘You really do look beautiful tonight, Charlotte,’ he said, his eyes searching her face.
‘You’re being far too kind, but thank you,’ she said, knowing she was blushing.
‘You don’t believe me?’
‘Let’s just say that I’m used to praise about my food, not my appearance. The former I’m well versed at accepting, the latter not so much.’
