Lotta met her at the station on Friday afternoon, and they picked up supplies on the way back to the flat, including a bottle of ready-chilled rosé wine. London was in the grip of a heatwave so although Lotta threw the windows open as soon as they got back to the flat, it was too hot to stay indoors, so they wandered up the road to the park in search of a tree to sit underneath.
‘So Mats was here last weekend?’ Freya said, opening the wine and pouring it into the two plastic cups they’d thrown into the bag before they’d left the flat. They’d found an oak tree whichgave them plenty of shade but was close enough to the path that they could people watch.
‘Yes. I had to work on Saturday but we still had a good time.’
‘And you’re going there next weekend? Do you think you’ll get fed up of all the travel?’
As someone who until now, hadn’t travelled much, the novelty hadn’t worn off yet. ‘It’s a short flight to Bergen, and the airport is so close to the house, it’s pretty easy. But I have been thinking about spending more time there.’
‘Really? That’s great, Lots.’
‘You don’t think it’s too soon?’ It meant a lot to her to have the validation of her sisters when she was making such a big decision.
‘I think it’s inevitable. And it’s got to be more efficient to be together all the time instead of juggling work and travelling like you both are now.’
‘Efficiency isn’t the most romantic reason, but I hadn’t thought of it like that. You’re right. I’m so busy with work, I know I’m keeping my distance when we’re apart.’
‘Because you don’t want to think about how much you’re missing him?’
‘That, and because I’m starting to feel the pressure of work and there’s only so much I can deal with.’
‘See? That’s what I said. It’d be more efficient. Presumably he’ll be pleased if you decide to do that?’
She grinned. ‘He’ll be thrilled.’
‘And how’s his hotel looking? I saw some of the designs on Instagram, it’s going to be amazing.’
‘On Becca’s account? The one you found when we were stalking Mats?’
‘No, on the hotel account. I think the algorithm suggested it to me because I follow Becca.’ Freya pulled her phone out and searched for the account.
So many questions ran through Lotta’s mind, the biggest one being who was doing Mats’ marketing?
‘He’s named the hotel without me,’ said Lotta, when she saw the post.
‘Didn’t the island already have a name?’
‘Probably, but no one knows what it is. We were going to change the name to something more meaningful.’
‘Well, this means…’ Freya googled it. ‘The peaceful island. I mean, that’s quite good.’
‘Roøya? I don’t know how it sounds in Norwegian, but it’s ridiculous in English. Rooyah? It doesn’t sound right. I can’t believe he did this without me.’ Lotta took a huge gulp of wine, ignoring her sister, who was wide-eyed at her reaction.
‘Are you doing his marketing then?’
‘I didn’t think he’d got that far yet. I’ve been working on a campaign for him this week, but I was waiting until I visit next weekend to surprise him with it.’ She never thought for a minute he’d have gone to someone else without mentioning it to her.
‘Maybe he’s just testing names? I mean, that’s not the logo, is it? I’m sure he’ll discuss it with you if that’s what you agreed.’
Lotta lay back on the grass and sighed. ‘We didn’t agree anything. We didn’t discuss anything because… I don’t even know why. Of course I want to do his bloody marketing. Why would he think I wouldn’t?’ Even as she said it, she knew why. Because she hadn’t offered. All she’d done was go on about how busy she was. No wonder he hadn’t asked.
‘Well, perhaps he thought it would muddy the waters to be involved professionally as well as personally,’ said Freya.
That was another reason she could perfectly understand Mats having. She’d gone on enough about how Curtis had ruined her life, how being involved with someone she worked with had ruined everything. Of course Mats was going to be hesitantabout asking her. But it still hurt that he hadn’t mentioned that he’d asked someone else.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
‘Does this look professional to you? It’s half-arsed at best.’ Freya said, waving her phone across Lotta’s face. ‘He hasn’t even got a proper logo. Would you let any of your clients launch with this?’
