Her eyes danced and his stomach did a weird flip, something that hadn’t happened for a long time. She was so open, sharing her fears with him as if he were a friend. And she was getting more beautiful with every moment. She was beginning to relax. Maybe it was the conversation putting her at ease, maybe it was the wine, but either way he loved seeing it.
His phone rang, and he was going to ignore it, but saw it was Ida. He sighed, ‘I’m sorry, I have to take this.’
She shook her head and concentrated on her plate of food.
‘Ida.’
‘Is this a joke? Another chandelier has arrived. I assume you only have one hallway and only need one chandelier.’
Mats sighed and ran his hand over his face, telling Ida he had only ordered one chandelier and that it must be a mistake. He offered to call Knut, but Ida already had.
‘Why are you calling me, then? I can’t do anything else from here, Ida.’
‘Get your life sorted out, Mats. This isn’t my project, it’s yours. I can’t run around for you all the time.’
He bit his tongue because Ida wasn’t working full-time at the moment, so he knew she had time. But she had been opposed to his project from the start, and he respected the fact that shedidn’t want to be part of it. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.’
‘Are you renovating a palace?’ Lotta asked. ‘I heard you mention a chandelier.’
‘You speak Norwegian?’
She nodded. ‘Although, I understand it better than I speak it. My father is bilingual and wanted the same for us.’
‘That was my sister. Apparently, it is my fault that the chandelier company have accidentally delivered another one. It’s not a palace, and it’s a very small chandelier. It just comes in a big box.’
Lotta laughed. ‘I have two sisters. It’s nice to hear we’re not the only ones who speak to each other like that.’
‘I have three sisters and a brother, but the others are all nicer to me than Ida is.’
‘It always comes from a place of love, I guess.’
‘It sometimes doesn’t feel like that.’ He smiled, thinking how long it had been since he’d spent time with anyone he could talk to like this.
When it was time to head to the gate, Mats picked up his luggage and waited for Lotta. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye, and since they were on the same flight, there was no need to yet.
Unsurprisingly, they weren’t sitting next to each other on the plane, but Mats could see her from across the aisle as she was a couple of rows ahead of him on the other side. She accepted a glass of wine from the cabin crew and spent the flight reading a novel. Ridiculously, Mats was pleased she wasn’t talking to the passenger next to her. It made their airport lounge encounter that bit more special.
Mats left the plane ahead of her since she had to wait for the person in the aisle seat to get up, but he waited for her in thetunnel. She beamed at him when she saw him there, and again his stomach flipped.
‘I have to say,’ she said, ‘It’s a bit disappointing to have a business class seat for the first time ever and find it’s the same as a normal seat but with an empty seat in between me and the other person,’ she said.
‘It’s a small plane. And you can’t put a price on not having to sit right next to someone.’
Mats almost told her what a business class seat to New York was like, a trip he took regularly, but he decided against it. He much preferred to leave Lotta with the impression of his life as he hoped it would be going forward rather than tell her he was an investment banker. He didn’t think she was the kind of person who would care one way or the other, but he didn’t feel like that person when he was with her. He felt like Mats from Bergen, eldest of five, in the middle of a crazy project, and that’s who he wanted to be.
‘I did get a free glass of wine. That was nice.’
‘Do you have luggage to collect?’ He hoped she didn’t, because then he could suggest they travel into the city together. But then he remembered Hanne had booked a car to take him home, and while he’d be happy to share with Lotta and drop her off wherever she was staying, he didn’t want to look like the corporate businessman who got picked up in a chauffeur-driven car.
‘I do. But don’t wait for me.’
He sensed she might be hoping he’d say of course he would wait. He pulled his phone out to cancel the car, but before he could open the app to cancel, there was a notification that his car was there. Torn, he made the split-second decision to go in the car, not wanting to stand up his driver. Besides, what did he think would happen? They had to say goodbye sometime,whether it was now or when they got to Oslo Central Station. What was another thirty minutes here or there?
‘It’s been great to meet you, Lotta. Good luck with your campaign.’
‘Bye, Mats. Hope you get your chandeliers sorted out.’
He grinned and walked away, his heart sinking as he did. This was ridiculous. He should get her number at the very least. Turning, he looked for her in the crowd of people waiting for the luggage carousel to come to life. But she wasn’t there. Her blonde hair spilling out from the elastic on top of her head should be easy to spot, but he couldn’t see it. He stood for a moment, wondering whether to wander round to see if he could find her, but what would he say?I’ve been with you for four hours and only thought about getting your number when you’d gone.He’d sound like an idiot.
