‘You look like you made a run for it.’ She grabbed his lapels and kissed him on the cheek.
‘I’m sorry about the other chandelier. Did Knut sort it out?’
‘Yes. It’s fine. I spoke to Becca, and she was so excited explaining how it’s going to look in the grand scheme of things. It’s hard to stay cross about it.’
‘Are Becca and Anders here yet?’
‘No, they’re coming at the time they actually said rather than giving me a heart attack by surprising me.’
Anders was a friend of the family from Iceland. He was already in the hotel business and had been acting as an adviser to Mats on his plans. He’d put Mats in touch with Becca, who was a colleague of one of his friends, and she was on board now as the interior designer. She worked freelance and was busy working on a project in Reykjavik, which meant she and Anders were in the same country at the same time for at least a few months. She was English and had been based in London, so they often struggled to see each other as much as they’d like.
‘Sorry. What’s for dinner?’
‘Chilli with crusty bread.’
‘I’m going to get changed.’
He took his things upstairs to his bedroom. It was still the bedroom of eighteen-year-old Mats. He hadn’t been inclined to bother changing anything once he went to university, and after that he’d never really lived here. Coming back still felt like home, although he wished he had a double bed. He pulled on sweatpants, a hoodie, and some thick socks, and, feeling more like himself, he headed downstairs.
Ida was opening a bottle of wine.
‘How’s your week been?’ he asked, fetching two glasses down from a cupboard.
‘Okay. I’ve taken on another new client.’ Ida was working as a virtual assistant. She’d always worked in admin roles in many different businesses and was so good at it she had taken temporary contracts to set up processes for businesses tostreamline their operations. She’d been highly sought after. But since their mother died, she’d struggled to cope and hadn’t taken on any new contracts. This virtual assistant thing was relatively new and seemed to be going well. It was just a few hours a week, but Mats had noticed over the past few weeks that she seemed happier, and he thought that was why.
‘That’s great news. Anyone interesting?’
‘It’s for a woman who coordinates influencers for some of the big clothing brands. I’m helping her with scheduling and wrestling her mailing list into some sort of order.’
‘I bet Ingrid would know her,’ said Mats.
‘Probably. You had dinner with her last night?’
He could tell by the way Ida looked at him that she’d heard about Lotta from Ingrid.
‘Yes.’
‘Lotta looks lovely. She must have a Norwegian connection with a name like Lotta Jansen.’
He groaned and rested his forehead on the counter. ‘Can I keep nothing to myself? I barely even know her yet.’
Ida laughed. ‘We’re pleased for you, Mats,’ she said, putting her arm across his shoulders and briefly laying her head against his. ‘So come on, tell me about her.’
Mats told his sister how they’d met. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t ask for her number.’
‘Because you were worried that once she knew you were a rich investment banker, she’d see you differently.’
‘True. I don’t want her to see me like that, and until I left her at the airport, she had no idea. But now I guess she knows I have an office job.’
‘I expect she’s stalked you too.’
‘I didn’t stalk her, that was Ingrid. And she doesn’t know my last name yet.’
‘Look, Mats. You don’t know what she thinks about you, whether she knows who you are or not, so you have to give her a chance to show you she’s different from all the other women. But I feel like you already think she is, or you wouldn’t have been regretting not getting her number.’
‘I do really like her,’ he said, his honesty fuelled by the few sips of wine he’d taken. ‘She’s the first woman I’ve met for ages who wasn’t trying to impress me. She’s beautiful. Her hair was all over the place,’ he said, smiling as he remembered. ‘And she was full of nervous energy about the business trip she was on. I like that she’s passionate about what she does.’
‘Oh, Mats. Are you in love with her?’ Ida looked serious and a little shocked.
