‘It’s nice that you live close enough to each other to help out,’ said Lotta. ‘My sisters and I live nowhere near each other.’
‘I moved back to Bergen when Kristi left so I could get a hand from the family,’ Fredrik said. He was very open about it as if he knew Mats had told Lotta about his situation, which obviously he had. ‘But I work for a company in Oslo so I have to go back and forth sometimes, depending on what’s going on.’
‘It’s lucky for you that I’m a single woman with nothing going on in her life,’ Ida said, as if she were making a joke, except Lotta wasn’t sure it was.
‘I think we’ll head into town for a drink,’ Mats declared, without asking either Ida or Fredrik if they wanted to join them.
Lotta had a feeling there was more to it than just a drink. He had a lot going on, too much that he needed to be here for, and wasn’t that exactly the problem? He’d been straight with her from the start that he’d be stuck here at some point, and it seemed like that point had been reached.
24
Mats took Lotta’s hand as they left the house and headed along the main road into the small town.
‘I’m so sorry. I thought they knew about your job,’ she said.
He sighed. ‘It’s okay. I should have told them. It’s just that I knew they’d want to help and I can’t let them. It’s one thing me having the island, even though my father clearly wanted nothing to do with it, but to spend his money on it is the worse decision I’ve ever had to make.’
Lotta pulled on his hand and folded herself into him. ‘I had no idea. You could have told me all of this, you know.’
But he couldn’t. How could he share all of this with her when just last night he felt as if she was questioning whether they could even be together?
‘You have enough going on without having to listen to my money problems. I can deal with this. I’ll come up with a strategy just like I do — did — at work. It’s no different, just a few million kroner less to play with.’ He managed a grin as they pulled apart. Hopefully, he’d convinced her. ‘And it just hit me today that this might be the last time we see each other for a while.’
‘It might be.’
Whatever scenarios he’d been playing out in his head, it was like a knife to the heart to hear her say that. It confirmed his worst fears and played into the feelings of regret that had surfaced about his decision to build a hotel on an island, sincehe’d had to dip into his inheritance money. That decision was ruining the only relationship he’d ever been this invested in.
‘It can’t be.’
They stopped walking, the lights of the bar he’d intended to head for, not far away.
‘We always knew this would happen,’ Lotta said.
It was true, but not helpful. He needed solutions, plans, a strategy. That was what his life had been until now, and he was struggling to picture the future without any of that.
‘I’m in love with you. I can’t let that go, Lotta.’ He could hear the desperate tone in his voice, and she must have too.
‘Hey,’ she said gently, taking his cheeks in her hands and forcing his eyes to land on hers, calming him. ‘I feel the same as you. I love you, and this is not the end. It’s going to be a challenge, and we’re going to have to think about how to make it work, but it’s just a problem to solve. Isn’t that what you told me when I was spiralling because I didn’t have a maker?’
He took a deep breath and nodded.
‘Okay, so what are we going to do?’
He knew the answer she was looking for wasn’t a repeat of her question but in a much more desperate tone.What are we going to do??And imagining himself saying that to her made him smile. ‘We need a strategy, and then we execute the strategy.’
‘Come on, then. If we’re strategising, I’m going to need a glass of wine,’ she said.
The bar was busy. It was a huge building that looked as if it had been stuck to the side of a mountain, which it sort of had. There was a lot of outside space with terraces that spilled down towards the water and a very lively atmosphere.
Mats bought a bottle of wine for them to share and they headed upstairs where it was quieter and found a table next to the windows that overlooked the fjord.
‘As usual you bring me somewhere with an amazing view,’ Lotta said, smiling. She took her coat off and folded it over the back of the chair next to her.
‘It’s a great view. It’s a while since I’ve been here.’
‘How bad is this money situation?’ She went right in there.
‘It’s not great. I feel out of control. And I don’t know if I can plan my way out of this. I need to come to terms with the fact that I don’t have a contingency plan if my apartment doesn’t sell quickly. It could be the end of the project.’
