‘Do you need a hand getting ready?’ He ran his hands over her waist and hips, making her groan.
‘We’re already running late,’ she said, thinking that if she’d started getting ready half an hour earlier, they would have time for what he had in mind. But it was too late for that now.
‘I only need to put my suit on,’ he said, kissing her neck and chipping away at her will power a little bit more.
‘There is nothing I would rather do than fall into bed with you, but I can’t be late. It’s an important night, Mats.’ She put a hand on his chest and that snapped him out of it.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, picking up his bags and heading into the bedroom. ‘It’s just that you look amazing.’
‘Thanks. It means a lot that you think that when I’m not even dressed.’
He grinned and went into the bathroom.
Once Mats was ready, Lotta felt the tables turn. Now she was the one who wanted to ravish him. She had butterflies in her stomach. It was a big night for her and she was going to have the most handsome man in the room on her arm. Both things were a new experience for her.
‘Can you zip me up?’ She held her hair to one side so he could slide the zip up. She’d splashed out and bought a new dress. It was navy blue with a long, full skirt and sleeves that puffed out gently before ruching in at her elbow. She felt elegant and ready to be the woman who ran a successful marketing agency.
‘You look stunning,’ Mats said, his eyes shining as he turned her round to take her in.
‘You look pretty good yourself, Mr Larsen.’ She glanced at herself in the mirror. ‘I think I need my hair up.’ With her hair over her shoulders, the dress looked like it was swamping her. There wasn’t time to do anything more than twist her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck, but in the way these things sometimes went when you spent no time on it, it looked perfect.
‘Where are we going?’ Mats asked as they went down in the lift. ‘Should we get a taxi?’
‘It’s not far, we can walk.’
He looked at her and smiled. ‘You’re like a local now.’
‘It really isn’t far though,’ she said, pointing across the road to the Edvard Munch Museum when the lift doors opened.
‘Here?’ Mats laughed. ‘That’s the most convenient party location you could have chosen.’
‘And we’ve still managed to be late.’
‘So, tell me who’s going to be there.’ He held the door open for her, and they went out into the street.
‘Clemmie and Sophia from Snug in London plus some other higher-up people I haven’t met before. The people we’ve been working with at the Folk Museum, some influencers, Oda,obviously, and they’ve invited lots of other people, local press, that sort of thing.’
‘It is a big night.’ He stopped before they went inside the museum. ‘I’m so proud of you, Lotta. This is all because of you. The pitch you did in London just before we met has led you here to this posh party that wouldn’t even be happening if it wasn’t for your hard work.’
She felt tears spring to her eyes. It was what she hadn’t known she needed to hear. He believed in her right from the moment they met. When she was struggling to find a maker, he could have suggested that was the end of the road, that her idea wasn’t going to work, but he didn’t. He’d helped her and supported her all the way, and it meant so much to her that he could say he was proud.
‘Thank you. I love you.’ She hadn’t expected tonight to be the first time she said that, but it came out and it was the right time. She loved him, as if she hadn’t known that already, and it felt wonderful to say it to him.
‘I love you too. You’re incredible. I want to hug you so hard, but I don’t want to crumple you.’
‘I’ll take a kiss,’ she said, smiling.
He kissed her gently, perhaps worried about smudging her lipstick, then held the door open. ‘I can’t believe you’ve made us late,’ he said, gently patting her bottom as she walked past him.
The Sky Room, a glass-sided function room at the top of the museum with a large outdoor terrace, was perfect for a party and a beautiful place to enjoy the gentle warmth of a Nordic summer. The room was already full of people mingling and drinking, and it had a pleasant buzz about it.
Lotta spotted Clemmie near the doors that were open to the terrace and headed over there with Mats following.
‘Lotta! You look gorgeous,’ Clemmie said as they kissed on both cheeks.
‘So do you.’ Clemmie was wearing a pea-green maxi-sundress with bright pink embroidery in a deep band around the bottom.
‘Clemmie, this is my partner, Mats. Mats, Clemmie is the Head of Branding and Marketing at Snug.’
