Page 27 of Entwined in Norway

‘Anyway, he’s very nice. We had a lovely meal.’

‘And then he caught the boat back to the island?’

‘What else is he going to do? Do you think he’s waiting outside for me to sneak him in?’ Wouldn’t that be a delightful prospect?

Mats laughed. ‘I don’t know, Ida. It’s unusual, that’s all. You can’t blame us for being interested.’

‘Thank you for your interest. Feel free to inform the family that I may have new friends going forward.’

‘Hey,’ Mats said, pushing her arm and forcing her to turn and face him. ‘No one’s anything except pleased that you had a great evening with a friend. You don’t have to tell us everything. I know you’re not Ingrid.’

‘I bet she’s already looked him up and sent Lotta a link to something or other.’

Mats immediately looked guilty. ‘He was the best snowboarder in Canada, Ida.’

She couldn’t help but smile at her brother. He looked conflicted by trying to be loyal to her while having clearly joined in Ingrid and Lotta’s stalking. And it was funny to see him impressed by Erik’s achievements.

‘I know. He mentioned it.’

‘What’s he doing here? We’re a long way from Canada.’

‘Family research. And didn’t he mention to you he’s looking for a supplier of spruce? His father’s a joiner. I was going to ask you if you could let him know where you got the wood from for the hotel. Wasn’t it from somewhere local?’

‘Very local. He asked me this afternoon. It was from our own land across the fjord from the island. I’ll catch up with him again tomorrow. I did quite a lot of research on other suppliers around here before I realised we could use our own trees.’

‘Thanks. I think he’d appreciate that.’ Ida gave her brother a hug.

‘It’ll be a good opportunity for me to find out what his motives are.’

He held onto her extra tight so she couldn’t pull away and give him the wallop he deserved and after a moment of fruitless struggling, she started laughing and went all weak and helpless.

‘Mats!’

‘Ida!’ He let her go. ‘Seriously. Give yourself a break,’ he said, holding her upper arms so she had no choice but to look at him. ‘There is nothing wrong with liking a guy and going on a date. Let us be pleased for you. Be pleased for yourself.’

She wanted to give him another hug, but he held her fast, waiting for acknowledgement. So she nodded. ‘Okay.’

Mats’ words meant a lot to her. She needed to hear that it was okay to fall for someone she’d just met. That it was okay to be someone other than the Ida they all knew. The Ida who was fierce, maybe verging on grumpy sometimes. Who held everyone but the family at arms’ length until she knew them. Until Erik.

12

Erik went down for breakfast the morning after his evening out with Ida, hoping to see her at the reception desk, but there was no one there. Disappointed, he headed into the dining room.

‘Hey, Pål.’

‘God morgen, Erik. Same table as yesterday?’

‘That’d be great.’

Pål handed him a menu that listed the items he could order from the kitchen. ‘Help yourself to the buffet as well. Can I get you some coffee?’

‘Sure, thanks. What would you recommend from this?’ He waved the menu, thinking that following Ida’s advice on the fish last night had worked out well.

‘The eggs with smoked salmon is a good choice, perhaps with some rye bread?’

‘That sounds great. Do you know whether Ida is here today?’

‘She’s in the kitchen. Would you like to speak to her?’