Page 22 of Entwined in Norway

‘Fjellskål.’

Emilie raised her eyebrows as she came to the obvious conclusion that Ida was going on a date. ‘Lovely.’

She finished stabbing Ida in the back of her head and turned her so they were facing each other. Emilie gently teased some strands from the front of Ida’s hair so they were free of the chignon and waved gently around the sides of her face.

‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome. Have a great time!’ Emilie gave her a quick hug, then turned and led the way back out to the reception desk.

Ida spent the next minute or so doing a handover with Emilie before she spotted Erik coming down the stairs.

‘Thank you, Emilie.’ She headed straight for the door and walked outside at the exact moment Erik reached her side.

10

Erik looked down at Ida, but it seemed there was no time to linger or say hello. She strode along the path to the jetty in front of him, not stopping until they reached the edge of the woodland.

‘You look beautiful,’ he said. She took his breath away tonight in a way he hadn’t expected. Her eyes were bright, and she had a slight look of triumph as if she’d just won something. Her cheeks blushed at his words, giving her some colour and bringing out the blue of her eyes even more.

‘Thank you. You look handsome.’ Her eyes darted to the ground but he could see her smiling. He didn’t have many options to choose from, clothing wise, but he had packed a navy blue linen shirt that his mom had insisted was a mistake because it would crease. It had, but he thought he could get away with it, and he’d put in a pair of khaki trousers as the only alternative to jeans or the hiking clothes he’d been wearing so far. He’d switched his boots out for a pair of sneakers, his only other shoes, and had attempted to tame his unruly hair into submission.

Erik offered her his arm. ‘May I accompany you to the boat?’ He didn’t know why he’d said that, as if he was from the olden days, but he’d never been on a date like this before.

She looked straight into his eyes, with a wider smile this time. ‘You may.’ And slipped a hand into the crook of his elbow.

He felt on top of the world in a way he hadn’t since his last tournament win. And even then, this felt different. His arm tingled at her touch, even through his shirt. She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide and his heart felt like it stopped for a second.

They strolled along the path to the jetty where the boat had docked. A handful of guests who’d been over to the mainland for the day disembarked, followed by staff arriving for the evening shift in the restaurant. A few people greeted Ida, and Erik noticed a few looks of surprise amongst them. Ida’s hand was still on his arm but she didn’t seem to mind that people saw them like that, even if the speed she’d left the hotel suggested otherwise.

They sat inside the boat rather than on the deck. Erik knew Ida would probably worry about her hair, so he didn’t suggest it, even though he’d have loved to sit up there. Maybe on the way back. He waited for her to sit in a seat next to the window and then slid in next to her. He stretched his leg out into the aisle since his knees were touching the back of the seat in front and laid his arm across the back of the seat behind her.

The boat moved slowly along Radfjorden, but picked up speed once it entered the larger fjord.

‘Can you see your house from here?’

‘Not quite. Our house is on the other side of the fjord.’

‘Is it like these?’ He nodded towards the houses that sat above the water’s edge with boathouses and jetties below them.

‘Yes, but not as fancy. It’s the same as it was forty years ago, I think.’

He laughed. ‘My parents’ house is the same. My room is the same.’

‘You don’t live at home, though.’

‘No, although I moved back there for a few months last year. My mom wanted to take care of me. I broke my arm and my leg, so it was hard to get around for a while.’ That was an understatement, and the last thing he’d wanted was to move back with his parents, but actually, it had been good for him to be around people instead of wallowing alone in his apartment in Banff.

‘That was the accident you had?’

He nodded. ‘It was weird going back home. Like, not for a visit. Made me realise how much I love my own place.’

‘I’ve never had my own place. Not properly. I worked away on fixed contracts so rented a couple of places, but it’s not the same as being settled somewhere.’

‘Banff’s better for snow sports otherwise I might not have left Toronto.’ He wanted to make her feel better. He heard the tinge of regret in her voice.

‘I always thought I’d leave Bergen but by the time I was ready my mother was sick and my father needed me to help.’

‘And your brother wasn’t around?’