‘So, is your work on that project finished?’ Ida asked.
Mats tensed, worried that she was launching into an interrogation of Lotta that involved the question of whether she was planning to move to Norway. After last night, he was keen to steer clear of that since they only had a couple of days together before Lotta went back to London.
‘It’s ongoing for a bit, but not quite at the level it has been. Hopefully, I’ll have time to look at pitching for new work over the next few weeks.’
‘And when does the marketing start for Mats?’
Lotta looked at him, eyebrows raised. It was something they hadn’t discussed seriously. He hadn’t wanted to assume she would want to do it or have time for it. And now, he didn’t want her to think he might use it as a trap to get her to agree to stay.
‘We haven’t discussed that yet,’ Mats said honestly. ‘It feels too soon to start thinking about that when it’s still a building site.’ And he would want to pay her properly for any work she did, something he wasn’t in a position to do yet.
‘It’s not really too soon,’ Lotta said easily. ‘We could use some of Becca’s sketches and start teasing it on social media. You need to think of a name for the place to begin with.’
‘You don’t have a name?’ Ida said.
‘Not yet.’
‘It’s not as simple as just choosing a name. You need to make sure you can get the website address and the social media handles, and it needs to scan well.’
‘See?’ Mats said, pointing his fork at his sister. ‘There is a lot to consider.’
‘All the things you hadn’t thought of until now,’ Ida said, batting his hand away.
‘We need a brainstorming session sometime,’ said Lotta.
‘Count me in,’ said Ida.
‘No way! My island, my name.’
He watched Lotta laughing at him and Ida, with no hint now of the melancholy of the night before. He was torn between whether to mention it again, to try and get Lotta to open up to him more about her fears, or whether now she seemed okay again, it was better to leave it. He still wasn’t sure he understood exactly what had happened between her and ex, but with every mention, it became clearer to Mats that he was at the root of her doubts. Perhaps the next time she mentioned anything to do with him, he would probe a little deeper into what had happened.
For now, he was happy to be here, watching her laugh with his sister. Hopefully she’d find this could be an escape from having to think about anything else, even if it was only for a couple of days. And even if it wasn’t the escape from reality for him that it had been before.
23
When they approached the island by boat the following day Lotta could see that the track leading from the jetty to the farmhouse was muddy to say the least. There were piles of old wood near the jetty waiting to be taken away and a few people milling around who Mats waved to, but he carried on along the fjord that went around the left of the island.
‘We’ll get off at the other end,’ he said. ’It’s not as muddy.’
It was interesting to view the island from the water, some of the cabins dotted amongst the trees were visible but the farmhouse was closer to the other side of the island and couldn’t be seen. There were some flat grassy areas next to the water that although they didn’t have such a good view as at the top of the island, would be more secluded to sit near the water.
‘Have you ever walked around the edge of the island in one go?’
He shook his head. ’No, I’ve never thought about it.’
‘We should. This side is lovely.’
Mats jumped off first, lending a hand to Lotta after he’d tied the boat to the jetty.
She exhaled, feeling a sense of calm wash over her. It was surprising that her body had such a reaction since she’d only been here once before, but it felt like she’d come back to somewhere she knew. And now that she was here, the unease she’d started feeling in Oslo dissipated.
Mats grinned at her. ‘Good to be back?’
‘Yes. I already feel relaxed,’ she laughed, leaning against him and sliding her hand into his back pocket.
‘That’s a good sign. Let’s hope that happens to everyone. Can I show you our cabin first?’
Our cabin. That sounded good. And after feeling the pressure, admittedly from herself rather than from Mats, to think about moving here now that he was leaving Oslo, it was a relief that her mind didn’t leap to feeling uneasy when he said it.
