Page 30 of Entwined in Norway

‘You can have two hours.’

‘Thank you so much, Ida.’ He smiled at her.

‘No problem. Do you still need the ice pack?’

He shook his head. ‘This is great.’

‘Okay. I’ll leave you to it.’

She headed downstairs, wrote on a sticky note, “Room 308 guest in Spruce until 4pm”, then called the housekeeper to ask for the bathroom in the Spruce suite to be cleaned last thing before they left for the day.

‘Hey, Ida,’ said Mats. He was wearing his building contractor clothes and looked a total mess.

‘I think you should use the back door when you come in looking like that.’

He grinned. ‘But I own the place, so I can do what I like.’

She huffed at him. ‘What are you doing dressed like that anyway?’

‘I’m working on the cabin.’

‘Have you had lunch? Not that you can go into the dining room looking like that.’

‘I ate before I left the house. I came to see if Erik was around. Thought he might like to see the timber I had cut.’

‘I’m sure he would, but he’s in the Spruce suite having a bath at the moment.’

‘Right. I probably don’t need to know why,’ Mats said, looking confused. ‘You’re the boss.’

‘It’s good that you realise that.’

‘Well, maybe point him in my direction when you see him.’

‘Will do.’

Erik appeared about an hour later. His hair was damp and combed to one side, neat in a way it never was when it was dry.

‘I’m done with the room. Thanks again, that was exactly what I needed.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘Is it too late for lunch? I’m starving.’

‘It’s never too late. Come with me,’ she said, heading into the kitchen. ‘Let’s see what we can find.’

The kitchen was quiet since most of the staff were on a break between lunch and dinner service. Ida opened a fridge and pulled out a small tray of open sandwiches.

‘Will these do?’

‘If they’re like the ones I had yesterday, they’ll more than do.’

She pulled a clean plate from a stack on the side and handed it to him. ‘Help yourself.’ She pulled another plate and took a sandwich for herself.

They headed into the dining room and sat at a table in the window that looked out onto the veranda at the front of the hotel.

‘You know I’d love to take you out to dinner again to thank you for helping me out today,’ Erik said.

Ida didn’t know enough Canadians to judge whether Erik was particularly candid about what he wanted or whether it was a trait he shared with his fellow countrymen, but she liked it. She liked it last night and she liked it now.