‘Well, you’re welcome to him. I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing gatecrashing my holiday. He’s been ignoring my messages. How did he manage to book in anyway? I thought you were full.’
Henrik stopped. ‘Are you serious? He toldPappayou’d offered to share.’
‘He didwhat? The cheeky git!’ I was furious. ‘What time does he get in?’
‘Six-ish. I’ll call Tore back when we’re on our way.’
‘And there aren’t any other cabins available?’
Henrik shook his head. ‘He mentioned your name and said he was your husband, so with the same surname and everything Tore thought it was legit.’
‘We’re getting divorced! What was he thinking?’ I paused. ‘You didn’t think that was strange?’
Henrik shrugged, looking past me and out over the lake. ‘I didn’t think it was my business.’
Hmm. I checked my watch and it was already half three. We had to dry off and drive back and I wanted to meet Mark straight off the boat and find out what he was playing at. I did a little stretch then broke into a swim, gliding off into the middle of the lake. I felt so conflicted at the thought of Mark arriving. Whatcould he possibly want that couldn’t wait until I got back? There must be some paperwork I’d forgotten to sign. Why else would he bother? He’d been actively avoiding me ever since I’d moved out.
I floated on my back in Henrik’s direction. ‘Ahh, well this has been lovely, but we should probably think about heading off soon.’ I said, stifling a yawn.
Henrik opened his eyes. ‘We can stay another hour or so – I’m in no rush.’ He frowned. ‘Unless you are?’
‘No, not especially, but we’ve got to go back sometime, and I wouldn’t mind being there to find out what’s going on with Mark.’
‘Oh. Yes, sure.’ Henrik climbed out of the lake and pulled on his T-shirt which clung attractively to his wet back.
‘I didn’t mean immediately,’ I said lightly, attempting to salvage the moment. I wouldn’t mind a few more minutes with my legs wrapped around that back.
‘No, no, let’s go. You’re the guest; I don’t want to keep you here against your will.’
Bloody hell.Men and their fragile egos. ‘You’re not keeping me here. This is bucket-list worthy and has been amazing. Thank you.’ I tried to catch his eye, but he threw a towel over his head and started vigorously drying his hair. ‘I just wouldn’t mind having a shower before dinner,’ I said, getting out of the lake and shuddering into my Firefly robe.
I didn’t want Mark seeing me like this, a bedraggled rat smelling of pond water. My hair was curling up without my weekly blow-dry and the frizzy bits on my hairline were almost impossible to tame. My ginger roots were poking through, and I needed to iron out the kiss curls on the nape of my neck. Assuming there would be a hairdresser here was possibly my biggest regret. I hadn’t even packed shampoo. I’d have to use theblock of vegan soap on the shelf in the shower. Or worst-case scenario – the vegan washing-up liquid.
*
Ana and Lars stood on the edge of the boat as it chugged towards the jetty. What a weird existence; boating in and out all day, going around in circles. Although wasn’t that what we were all doing? I was on the never-ending King’s Cross to Central London loop, which was far less pretty and far more polluted. I wondered what Lars would make of the Victoria Line.
Even if I hadn’t known Mark was coming, I’d have known it was him. Even more so because he was arriving by boat. His red curls glowed in the sunshine as he stood tall and sure of himself, with his hands on his hips. Boats were his forever happy place, so why he’d decided to work in ‘real estate’ was entirely beyond me. I pulled my hat down and fluffed my hair forward as Tore side-eyed me with amusement. I’d done the best I could, but it was irrepressibly wild and woolly without a professional to wrestle it into shape.
‘Glad to see him?’ Tore asked.
‘Glad, no. Confused, yes. Although it’s always nice to see a familiar face when you’re somewhere strange.’
‘Does it still feel strange here? I think you fit right in.’
We waved as the boat got closer, and Ana and Lars returned the greeting. Mark stayed still, surveying the shores like a pirate directing his ship in to land. Waving like a children’s TV presenter would have ruined his vibe.
‘Mr Pearson, welcome,’ Tore said, shaking Mark’s hand, while Lars tossed his Armani holdall into the snow.
‘Thank you, it’s great to be here.’ Mark turned to me, then did a double take. ‘Look at you!’ he said, holding up a piece of my hair. ‘Trying out a new style while you’re here? I like it.’
‘Hey, you,’ I said, trying to hide my immediate irritation. We’d get to that later. ‘Good trip?’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said, looking around in awe and taking it all in. ‘Bet you didn’t expect to see me here, did you? How did you ever find this place? It’s not even marked on the map.’
‘Isn’t it?’ I frowned over at Tore, who had Mark’s bag and had already started walking.
‘The forest is listed, of course, nothing we could do about that, but not the buildings. Deliberately so. It’s private land and I opt out of giving information to the tech companies when I can. We try and keep the retreat somewhat off-grid.’
