‘I’ve been looking forward to this,’ he said, taking her hand again.
‘Me too.’
‘Better than text messages.’
She twisted slightly in her seat so that she was facing him. He watched her eyes drop to look at his lips. His breath hitched. He badly wanted to kiss her, but he also wanted their first kiss to be perfect, and the back of a car wasn’t the place for it.
‘Later,’ he murmured.
She nodded and sat back in her seat, closer to him than she’d been before. He could almost feel the heat of her against his arm,although it was impossible because they were both wearing too many layers. He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed his back in a wordless agreement that they both felt the same way.
It seemed no time at all before they were in the city, and the driver cleared his throat to announce himself before checking the hotel that Lotta was staying at.
‘Do you want to come up?’ she said when they pulled up outside.
Mats shook his head. The magic was real, and he didn’t want to ruin it by going too quickly. ‘I’ll let you get settled and then meet for dinner, like we planned.’
She smiled at him. ‘That sounds perfect.’
The driver opened the door for her and unloaded her luggage while Mats lowered the window and waved goodbye, feeling as if he’d be unable to survive the next hour without her.
‘Thank you, that was a lovely surprise,’ she said.
He smiled. ‘See you later,’ he said.
‘Bye.’ She kissed her fingers and then blew him the kiss before he closed the window and was driven away.
An hour later, Mats waited outside her hotel as they’d originally planned. He’d changed out of his suit into dark jeans and a soft grey sweater. He wore his favourite black boots that were ancient but always looked smart enough if he kept them polished, and his navy blue wool coat.
‘You look beautiful,’ he said the moment he saw Lotta. She was wearing a plaid skirt that came down to just below her knees and chunky black boots that gave her an edgier look than the skirt and cardigan combination would normally make. Her hair was around her shoulders, with some of it tucked into the neckline of her coat and blousing out.
‘Thank you,’ she said, blushing. ‘I was trying to strike a balance between being warm and cosy and looking smart for going out to dinner.’
‘I think you’ve nailed it,’ he said, taking her hand now and feeling so much satisfaction at being in that place. Being able to take her hand because that’s what they did as a couple. They were a couple.
‘Where are we going?’ She leant into him and he felt her other hand wrap around his arm.
‘I’ve booked somewhere with a view, and we can either walk there now, or get a drink and then take a tram.’
‘I’d like to walk. Take the opportunity to see the city with a local.’
That was his preference too, and he wondered whether all of this was going too well. Then he looked down at Lotta. She was looking around as they walked, taking everything in, her expression open and happy. Why was he trying to find a problem when there wasn’t one?
‘So, what are your plans for the next few days?’
‘I have some meetings set up tomorrow with makers, then the following day with a couple of influencers and then hopefully, if I can pin down which maker we want to go with, I’ll go to the Folk Museum with them to do some brainstorming.’
‘What kind of makers?’ He wasn’t entirely sure he’d understood what her brief for the project was. She’d shared it with him over a few text messages, and he thought it might have got lost in translation.
‘I’ve found a textile artist who specialises in free-machine embroidery, a woodworker who makes kitchen utensils, and a glassblower.’
‘That’s quite a mix,’ he said, having no idea what free-machine embroidery was and not wanting to find out right now.
‘It is,’ she agreed. ‘And the challenge is going to be in finding out what they can do that my influencers will be excited about, and that is also linked to Norwegian heritage.’
‘And that is all going to happen in the next three days?’
‘Yes,’ she said confidently. ‘And if it doesn’t, I’ll just have to come back.’
