‘Yes, yes I am. I would ask you to join me, but I’m with my sister and I think we’d both regret it.’ He held his phone out to her.
Lotta had to stop herself from barking out a laugh with the pure relief that washed over her. His sister! ‘The chandelier sister?’ She took his phone, feeling almost dizzy with the adrenaline that was coursing through her, typed her number in and handed it back. She could hardly believe she’d been devastated less than a minute ago.
‘No. My youngest sister. She’d love you but she’d be far too invested in us.’
She laughed in understanding, thinking that the last thing she would do is introduce her sisters to a man before she’d got to know him properly.
‘Maybe we could grab dinner some other time?’ he said.
‘I’d love that but I’m flying back tomorrow afternoon.’ Clearly, by the way he was dressed, he had a day job, probably a very important one, so there was no point asking him to meet tomorrow before she left. And she wasn’t flush enough to think about paying to change the flight Snug had already booked for her.
‘That’s a shame.’
‘I’m pretty sure I’ll be back,’ she said. ‘I’d like to keep in touch.’
‘Me too. I’m glad I saw you, Lotta.’
Kiss me. Kiss me. Please.‘Bye, Mats.’
He held the door open for her, and she smiled, loving how he looked when he smiled back. So handsome. She couldn’t wait to see him again.
Lotta felt like running or skipping; her heart was so full. It felt like fate that they’d run into each other again, and he genuinely seemed to regret not asking for her number the other day. Okay, it wasn’t ideal that he lived in Norway, but the fact that he was wearing a suit and had been in the business class lounge in London meant maybe he travelled regularly for work.
Making a mental note to check on how much a normal flight from London to Oslo would be, she headed across the road towards the Opera House and found a wall to perch on so she could enjoy her ramen overlooking the water. It was a clear night, and the temperature had dropped, but Lotta felt too wired to go back to the hotel now. She ate the delicious ramen, then shoved her hands in her pockets and walked along the path that led around the edge of the fjord, taking in the floating saunas and making another mental note to add that to her list to do next time she came.
Next time. With her thoughts full of Mats, it was hard to think about when that would be. She’d be able to connect with influencers online, and now she’d been to the Folk Museum, she wouldn’t need to come back until she had a shortlist of makers. Then, it would be important to meet them in person to see their work and hear their ideas. She was going to enjoy that part of the process and although it meant more work not having Elin involved, and perhaps it would take longer to get it off the ground, it would help her bring more depth to the campaign if she had a better understanding of the creative processes.
The following morning, Lotta had a late checkout so she could spend the morning working ahead of her flight home. She was engrossed in trawling social media accounts when her phone buzzed. She grabbed it, hoping it was Mats. Last night, it hadn’t occurred to take his number too, and since she’d realised, she’d been torturing herself wondering why he hadn’t rung her straight away so that his number was in her phone.
Joanna: Me and Freya are coming to London. Is that okay? x
Her younger sister, Freya, lived in Gloucestershire, near the town where they’d grown up, and their older sister, Joanna, lived in Oxford. Every so often, Freya and Jo would catch the train to London and stay with Lotta in her tiny flat, and they’d spend two days talking endlessly about anything and everything. It was great timing on their part because Lotta was desperate to tell them about Mats.
Lotta: Today? I’m in Oslo, back later this afternoon xx
Joanna: Freya has the weekend free — a last-minute thing and Rob is taking Freddie to his parents.
Lotta: Good timing. I’ve met a man!
She deleted that. She hadn’t heard from Mats yet and didn’t want to jinx herself.
Lotta: Great! Let me know which train and I’ll meet you at Paddington xx
Her sister sent back a string of emojis to convey her excitement, and Lotta smiled. She checked her messages again just in case one from Mats had arrived in the last minute or so and she hadn’t noticed, but no. Annoyed with herself for being so impatient to hear from him, she turned her phone upside down and went back to trawling the internet.
When she still hadn’t heard from him before she left for the airport, she wondered whether she’d dreamt last night. If he’d given herhisnumber, she’d have texted him straight away to say how great it was that they’d run into each other again, something like that. But she had nothing. Had a tram run him over on his way home? Had he dropped his phone in the fjord? These things were possible, but she knew in her heart that none of them were true. The truth was that fate had given them a second chance, and he wasn’t as thrilled about it as she was. And why had she thought he’d be any different to the men she’d dated before?
7
Mats went into the office early the next morning, predicting that Ole would be back and keen to be brought up to speed on the London meeting. Hanne wasn’t in yet so he made himself a coffee and sat down to text Lotta. He should have done it last night but by the time he and Ingrid had finished dinner and he’d walked her back to her flat, he’d been too tired to think of anything to say. The first message needed to say more than hello.
Mats: I can’t wait to see you again.
No, far too much.
Mats: Great to see you last night.
Repetitive. He’d said that when he saw her. What did he actually want to say? It needed to start a conversation. But anything more than he’d already thought of was tantamount to blurting out how he felt over a text message, and he ought to save that for when they were in the same room.
