Page 18 of Entwined in Norway

‘No.’ Mats smiled at him. There was no judgment there. ‘You could ask her out to dinner. She loves eating out. It could be a good way to win her over.’

‘You think she’d say yes?’

‘She might. The way she was complaining about you… it’s worth asking.’

Erik was highly doubtful that Ida would want to go out to dinner with him. After the whole apology attempt, he’d rather die in a hole than put himself through that again and get rejected, but maybe Mats thought he deserved a little pain since he’d been rude to his sister.

‘Maybe I will. Put a word in for me?’

‘Trust me. That’s a sure way to get turned down.’

Erik concentrated on planing a piece of wood while Mats turned his attention to measuring up for another replacement beam. Perhaps he would take Mats’ advice and ask Ida out. What did he have to lose?

9

While Ida was on the phone to the linen company negotiating a quote, Erik and Mats had come back to the hotel and were talking in the hall. She badly wanted to listen to their conversation, but she needed to concentrate on what the person on the other end of the phone was saying. They’d chosen exactly the wrong moment to return her calls. She was still on the call for the time it took for Erik to disappear up to his room and then reappear in what looked like swim shorts. He had a towel tucked under his arm. So he hadn’t listened to what she’d said yesterday.

After the call, she headed outside. Mats had already left, giving her a wave on his way out. It was a shame he’d gone; she could have taken him with her. Perhaps his new best friend would be more likely to take his advice.

Which way would Erik have gone? The only places to get into the water were from either of the jetties. If she was going to take a dip in the fjord having been warned against it, she would probably go to the far end of the island where no one ventured.

She walked through the woods, wondering why she was bothering. If he wanted to kill himself, it was up to him. But something nagged at her. After reading about his accident and knowing the mindset of people who liked extreme sports, she wondered whether he was the type of person who was looking to take things to the edge. Maybe yesterday he hadn’t known that the fjord was too cold to swim in, but he knew today and was doing it anyway.

As she came into the clearing, she could see him standing on the edge of the jetty. His shirt was off, and he was looking down into the water.

‘Hey!’

Her shout was swallowed by the splash he made as he lowered himself into the water. He did it very carefully, keeping one hand on the dock. At least he was being sensible.

She couldn’t see him now he was in the water because he was hidden by the jetty, but she heard him shout out, ‘Ha!’ and it made her smile. There was joy in the sound.

She walked a little further then backed off, hiding behind a tree as he lifted himself out of the water, giving her a fine view of his chest in all its glory. Tanned skin, quietly defined muscles, except in his arms where the muscles worked so effortlessly to push him out of the water. He stood up, and it was like watching a slow-motion sequence in a movie as he ran his hands through his hair and lifted his face to the sun. Ida couldn’t help but gasp. He was glorious.

He picked up his towel and patted the water off his torso before turning around and doing it all over again. This time Ida walked over to the jetty and peeked over the edge where Erik was doing a graceful breaststroke along the edge. She took a step back, not wanting to startle him while he was in the water, and had to take another step back when he hauled himself out.

‘What can I do for you?’ He didn’t look surprised to see her. But he was grinning in a way that disarmed her. It was quite annoying because she’d been ready to point out that he had come for a swim without letting the reception desk know. And now she didn’t feel able to say that at all. It was hard to think of anything to say while he was standing glistening and golden in front of her.

‘I was out for a walk.’ As if he was going to believe that.

‘Sure you were. Come to check up on me?’

She shrugged. ‘You look like you know what you’re doing.’

He smiled. ‘Thanks. And for what it’s worth, I know I was a grumpy asshole this morning. I’m really sorry about that.’

Ida felt her heart melt. ‘It’s okay. Everyone has their own stuff going on. I know it probably wasn’t about the hot water.’

He looked puzzled but didn’t ask what she meant, which was good because she shouldn’t have said that. Letting on that she knew anything about him was a mistake if she didn’t want to come across as a stalker. Which was exactly what she was.

‘This side of the island is beautiful,’ he said, nodding to the mountains that rose higher further down the fjord.

‘It is.’

He came to stand beside her. ‘Did you grow up around here?’

‘Yes. Across the fjord in Loddefjord, on the outskirts of Bergen. Still in the same house.’

‘And you travel here every day?’