‘Amazing! I thought that would be the hardest part.’
Lotta opened her laptop again, keen to get the name into what she’d already done to see how it looked.
Mats pushed the laptop closed with a single finger. ‘We’ve got better things to do now. We’re celebrating.’ He shifted his chair so that his knees were touching hers, then kissed her.
Lotta put aside her feelings about making love in Mats’ teenage bedroom because she couldn’t wait to have him against her. She was finding it hard to contain her feelings; the overwhelming love she felt for him, and this was the release she wanted.
Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms, the sunlight streaming in through the window, looking at each other. Lotta could hardly believe that this was going to be her life now. Waking up to Mats every morning, although hopefully not in this bed. It was one thing clinging to each other because they didn’t want to be apart, but another to have to avoid falling out of bed.
‘I’ve had an idea,’ said Lotta. ‘Maybe a way to get some cash flowing in.’
Mats propped himself up on his elbow and kissed her. ‘Tell me more.’
‘The kitchen is being installed soon.’
‘Yes.’
‘How do the other downstairs rooms look? Are they finished?’
‘Aside from decorating, yes. There haven’t been any big changes.’
‘What do you think about running some foodie nights? We could turn the lounge and dining room into a restaurant. Boat guests over from Bergen for a tasting menu type meal.’
He frowned slightly as he thought about it. ‘I guess that could work, but I don’t have a chef yet, and we’d have to decorate and sort out the landscaping from the jetty. It doesn’t look very welcoming at the moment.’
‘You could get a local chef, someone who can cook good Norwegian food, it doesn’t have to be fancy. We can line the path from the jetty with storm lanterns. I bet Knut would have some idea what we could do for a path.’
‘It’s a good idea,’ Mats said, his face lighting up. ‘If we run it over the autumn, there’s a chance people could see the Northern Lights. We’re away from the light pollution of the city. We can put chairs and blankets on the veranda for people to sit outside.’
‘That would be amazing.’
‘I don’t think it’s enough to kick the project back to life before the spring, but it might be enough to get a few things done over the winter.’
‘And it’s great publicity for the hotel before it’s even opened.’
‘It’s a fantastic idea, Lotta. I feel excited about it all again.’
She kissed him, happy that she’d helped him to see that all wasn’t lost. ‘The plan is just taking a detour.’
‘As long as you’re on the journey with me, I don’t mind. Come on, let’s get out of here before Freya and Ida get back.’
Knowing that Freya was in safe hands with Ida, since they’d hit it off straight away, Lotta was happy to go along with Mats.
His version of getting out of here meant taking a trip to the island, and she was excited about seeing what developments there had been since her last visit, almost a month ago.
Instead of pulling up at the jetty on the nearest tip of the island, he went to the farthest end and moored there, as he had the last time they’d come. The remains of their fire pit was still there and the grass surrounding it seemed lusher and greener than it had even three weeks ago. But today was sunnier than the last time she’d been here. Sunnier than any time she’d been here, and it made the island seem more idyllic than ever.
Mats wordlessly led the way through the trees along the now-familiar path to their cabin. Even from a distance, Lotta could see it had been spruced up. It had a brand-new veranda on the front instead of the steps it had before, and a canopy with wooden shingles came out from the roofline to shelter it.
‘Mats, it’s beautiful,’ Lotta said, hardly able to believe that he’d transformed the little cabin so much.
He grinned, stepped onto the veranda, and pulled the door open, gesturing for Lotta to go inside first.
Next to the front door were shelves to store shoes, gloves, hats, that kind of thing, and hooks for coats. Inside what had been the main cabin before was now a lounge with a two-seater sofa, the same colourful rugs that had been there before, as well as the same small table and chairs. There were some new cupboards in the corner for storage and a new wood store in the corner opposite the stove. Where the cabin joined the new extension, there was simply a doorway with no door that led into the bedroom. The bed looked inviting and cosy, and there was now a bedside table on either side with matching lamps. Therewere shelves above the doorway and along the wall for storage, and another door led into the tiny ensuite bathroom, housing the incinerating toilet Mats had installed a few weeks ago.
‘It’s perfect,’ Lotta said, as Mats took her in his arms. ‘Our cabin.’
‘Our holiday cabin,’ he corrected. He pulled away and took a couple of beers out of his bag and handed one to Lotta. ‘Shall we sit on the veranda?’
