He stopped in his tracks, then turned to face her again.
‘Chloe,’ she introduced herself. ‘My name. It’s Chloe.’
He smiled and held out his hand. ‘It is nice to meet you.’
She put her hand in his. ‘You too.’
And now he needed to let go. Because something he hadn’t felt in a long long time was sliding through him like a sharp ice skate on a clean rink. He dropped her hand like it was hot lava and waved his in the air.
‘Bless.’
8
The apartment was about as far from dungeon-esque as a penthouse suite in a luxury hotel. It was large, bright and airy despite Iceland’s infamous lack of hours of daylight and there were views of the city including the church she had been stood outside earlier. There was a bright blue sofa in the living area, a small dining table now housing her laptop, a modern kitchenette and a large bed next to an almost spa-like bathroom with luxury tiles and fluffy towels. Chloe couldn’t have been happier that the friends of the friend of a friend had cancelled, as it was a grade up from anything she had looked at online. There was even fast Wi-Fi, once she had entered the code – 12345678910…
The first connection she made, when she finally sat down, was to Kat.
‘Hi, Kat.’
‘Oh, thank God! I’ve been worried sick. Your location has been in the sea for the past two hours. I checked the plane, and started to think about the possibility of your phone having been stolen or you having been kidnapped or jailed for having overweight luggage?—’
‘I texted you when I landed,’ Chloe said, leaning back on the sofa and starting to realise how incredibly tired she was.
‘Objection, your Honour, someone texted me from your phone,’ Kat said.
‘Have you been reading those kinds of books again?’
‘Sooo, tell me about Iceland and don’t leave anything out. I’m currently choosing between sushi or a sandwich but really wanting a festive pasty.’
Chloe laughed. ‘I’ve only been here in the centre for about an hour. I’ve made a coffee, I haven’t even unpacked the oversized luggage.’
‘Do you have a great hotel? I bet Michelle has made sure you have a great hotel!’
‘Actually no,’ Chloe said. ‘But I have a great apartment thanks to a helpful bus driver.’
‘What? Tell me more! Was he hot? And blond? Aren’t they all blond in Iceland? Like Vikings!’
Chloe recalled Gunnar and immediately there was a little fizzy fusion in her chest like she’d swallowed one too many Love Hearts sweets… That was weird. He was good-looking. Tall. Definitely blond…
‘You’re not saying anything!’ Kat yelled. ‘Shit! This is something!’
‘You’ve knocked over the sushi?’
‘No! You’re not saying anything about this bus driver. That’s what you do when you like someone! You pretend they don’t exist.’
Chloe laughed. ‘I don’t do that.’
‘You did that with Jonah when I organised the dinner party,’ Kat continued.
Chloe swallowed and sat up a little. She had been to a few dinner parties at Kat’s where her friend had tried her hardest to set her up with guys those first couple of months after Michael had left but her heart hadn’t been in it. Her libido hadn’t even been in it…
‘Kat, I went quiet with Jonah because he was terrifying.’
‘He was sweet!’
‘Kat, he built miniature homes out of ice cream sticks.’
‘For the ants in his garden! Like I said, sweet!’
