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She jumped at the sound of Mo’s voice right behind her. She had been staring at the globe for so long that it was once again crystal clear, without a speck of snow.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
She cleared her throat. “No, uh…”
She sniffled and put the mermaid back on the table and glanced to her left to see Johan. “Are these local castles?” she asked, picking up two snow globes.
He nodded. “That’s Frederiksborg and Kronborg.”
She stared at him for a beat before she said, “And you weren’t going to take me to see these wonders?”
“I planned to take you to Kronborg, since it’s where Shakespeare based Hamlet.” His lips twitched when she gasped. “It’s an hour away, so if we’re here tomorrow, that was going to be our excursion. We can stop at Frederiksborg on the way back.”
Satisfied, she pursed her lips and selected one for each of her nieces. She didn’t believe in fairytales, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t. The castles sparked ideas of writing her own spin on Beauty and the Beast, but that would have to wait. She picked up one of the colorful Nyhavn globes and smiled at the vendor, who was thrilled over selling so many to one customer. As Johan helped her count out her money, her eyes strayed to the rows of dejected mermaids. She wasn’t surprised they weren’t selling as well as the snowmen or Christmas trees. Snow globes were supposed to be whimsical, not depressing, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave her behind. She waved off Johan and Mo’s offer to take the mermaid and tucked it under her arm, as if by holding on to it, she could comfort the girl. As she resumed her stroll, she vowed she was going to put the mermaid next to her computer, which would serve as a reminder to write happy shit for all the brokenhearted women out there who needed some fucking hope.
In desperate need of some levity, she paused to examine some Christmas gnomes with long beards and pointy hats pulled over their eyes, and thought of Kye and Bailey. Instead of looking around for Johan, she approached the vendor to see if she could communicate using what she had learned. Most of the locals spoke English, but she was eager to try out the Danish that Johan had been teaching her.
The man’s eyes lit up as she spoke. He was extremely patient as she tried to describe what she wanted. He nodded, pointing at the gnomes she wanted to look at, and then dug beneath the counter to grab a wool reindeer ornament she wanted for Polara. He continued the conversation as he bagged her purchases, asked where she was from, and taught her some words when she came up short. He even helped her count out the Danish kroner and smiled kindly as he handed her a bill back.
She protested when he slipped one of the ornaments she had been deciding between into the bag. When she tried to give him more money, he stepped back with his hands up. He said something too rapidly for her to catch, but she got the gist. She finally gave up and blew him a kiss before she turned and walked into someone.
“I’m sor—" she began and then her smile vanished. “What are you doing here?”
Roth’s cold gaze flicked from her to the seller. She placed a hand on his chest and pushed. When he didn’t move, she slipped her arm through his and bumped his hip with hers to get him to move.
“Leave him alone. He hasn’t done anything,” she hissed.
“What was that about?”
“He was being nice. Maybe you should try it!” When his expression didn’t change, she reached into her bag and pulled out one of her gnomes. “You really think a man who sells something this cute has wicked intentions?”
Roth looked at the gnome and frowned. “What is it?”
“A present for the kids,” she said impatiently and then raised her brows. “Maybe we should get one for your office.”
When he tugged on the hat, she slapped his hand. “What the hell are you doing?”
“It doesn’t have eyes?”
She stared at him for a long moment before she shook herself. “Seriously, what are you doing here?”
“Sarai moved my meeting to tomorrow morning.”
She waited for more, and when she didn’t get any, she pried,“And?”
“She blocked off time for us.”
Fucking Sarai. Roth had made himself scarce for the past two days, which allowed her to indulge in this winter wonderland without reality intruding. The only sign that he shared the room with her was the damp towel she discovered hanging beside hers and his cologne that lingered in the air. That was Roth, drifting in and out of her life like a ghost, yet irrevocably changing everything in his wake. Invisible is how she preferred him. She was going to wring Sarai’s neck. “That’s unnecessary. I’m perfectly happy on my own.”
His eyes moved over her face before flicking around the market as if he had never seen such a place before. And he probably hadn’t.
“How many times have you come to Copenhagen?” she asked.
“Over a dozen times in the past three years. Why?”
“Have you ever come during winter?”
“Yes.”
