Chapter 27
For Lotta, Saturday had been perfect in the end.
Mats had left the flat after breakfast and spent the day touring HMS Belfast and wandering the streets sightseeing.
The weather was glorious and she spent the day working, occasionally looking out at the sunshine wistfully, wishing she was with him.
But by the time he was back later in the afternoon, she’d got her pitch finished and felt elated about that as well as the prospect of spending another twenty-four hours with Mats with no other distractions.
Even though he’d suggested going back to Seven Dials for dinner that night, Lotta had already planned something else.
She had a reservation for them on The Cheese Barge.
It was a restaurant on a barge moored on Regents Canal near Paddington.
It was so popular that you couldn’t hope to get a table without a reservation and even two weeks ago when she’d booked it, she’d had to go on a waiting list for a table.
The warm summer evening, walking beside the tree-lined canal was idyllic. They walked hand-in hand from the Tube station, slowing their pace once they were away from the crowds, and looped their arms around each other instead.
‘Is it cheesy to say I’m proud of you?’ Mats said. He was wearing sunglasses and looked very sexy.
‘Is that a joke because we’re going to a cheese restaurant?’
‘No!’ He laughed. ‘I am so proud of you, Lotta. Look at where you are compared to a few months ago when we met at the airport.’
She grinned up at him. ‘I know. I can hardly believe it. Isn’t it crazy how one thing can lead to another and before you know it everything’s changed.’
‘All of it in a good way.’
It was all good, if a little stressful at times. Perhaps it was no surprise that navigating a long-distance relationship, as well as each of them having their own stuff to deal with would never feel easy.
‘Definitely. And it’s so great to be going out tonight with you, knowing I have that pitch ready to go. Thanks for today.’ She stopped for a moment so that she could kiss him. ‘It meant so much to me that you didn’t mind.’
‘We’re basically in this together. I love seeing your business grow. You deserve everything.’
Hearing him say that would have been difficult a few weeks ago.
Not long ago, she wouldn’t have wanted to be in it together; that was the whole point.
She thought she’d needed to do this alone so that if it failed again it was her, and only her, to blame.
Mats was the best; she knew she could count on him and that he supported her.
That was what he was saying, and finally she was secure enough to know that being in it together was a good thing, not something to fear.
‘Can we talk about when we can see each other again? What do you have coming up?’
‘I’m going to have a busy few weeks with the Snug stuff, but I could come to Norway for a weekend.
Do you think aiming to see each other every two weeks is too much?
’ In an ideal world, she’d like to have a less regimented timetable for seeing each other, be a little more flexible around their commitments instead of planning too hard.
But she knew there was only one actual solution to their problems.
‘No, I think that’s okay. And we don’t have to take it in turns, I’m happy to come here again next time if you have a lot going on.’
‘I want to come and see the island, I just don’t know what things will look like in two weeks. If the new work comes in, I might be too busy. Can we wait and see?’
‘Of course we can.’ He smiled, but because he had his sunglasses on, Lotta couldn’t see his eyes to know if he was just saying that.
The fact that he hadn’t been in touch much over the past two weeks, leaving it to her to contact him when she had a chance, told her he was being careful to give her the space she needed.
So her asking him to wait and see might feel like rejection.
‘I know we said we’d agree on the next step every time we meet, but I’d rather not grab a weekend when it’s too busy for one of us. If we wait another week, we might be able to have more time.’
‘It’s okay, Lotta. We don’t have to be dictatorial about it. I understand things are busy for you at the moment.’
They carried on their walk in silence. Mats was upset, she could tell.
He liked to have plans; she knew that about him, and occasionally she wished that wasn’t the case.
If he had a fault, that was it. But she didn’t want to give in by naming a date.
It wasn’t unreasonable to wait for a week and then decide.
The Cheese Barge was wonderful. The slight awkwardness from the conversation they’d had on the way was forgotten, and they told each other stories from their childhoods, prompted by Mats telling her about a cheese fondue his mother had made one winter.
It had led to a food fight with his siblings knocking chunks of bread from each other’s forks to sabotage each other so that no one could have too much cheese to themselves.
Lotta laughed. She could imagine exactly the same thing happening now from what she’d seen of the way they interacted with each other.
Mats left on Sunday afternoon and as soon as he had, the flat felt empty without him.
They’d decided that the following weekend they’d talk and plan the next time they’d meet.
Hopefully by then she’d have more idea about the new Norwegian project, if she got it.
The last thing she wanted was to have to work through the weekend if she was in Norway.
It was important that the time they had together, they spent together.
It was amazing how understanding Mats had been about Saturday, but she’d much rather have chosen a different weekend and spent all of it together.
Her mind was too busy to allow her to relax, so instead, she opened her laptop and started planning a campaign for Mats’ hotel.
Without a name, there was only so much she could do, but having been to the island and understanding the vision Mats had for the place, it was easy to come up with a concept that would be perfect.
What surprised her was that it didn’t feel like work; it was something she wanted to do, not because he’d asked her, because he hadn’t.
She wanted to help his dream come true in the same way he’d helped her.
If she hadn’t met Mats at the airport all those weeks ago, she might never have found a maker like Oda.
She would never have had that base in Oslo where she felt comfortable and happy while she worked on the Snug campaign.
Even though she’d been determined to make her own success after Curtis, it made her feel warm inside to know that Mats being by her side had only enhanced everything for her.
The pitch on Tuesday went very well, and she received an email less than an hour afterwards offering her the contract.
She’d also had an email from Gudrun asking if she’d be interested in some work for an Icelandic tour company who wanted to increase their social media presence.
Lotta replied to say absolutely she’d love to help, and Gudrun said she’d been invited to Bergen the weekend after next when Anders and Becca would also be there.
Could they talk about it then because Gudrun’s partner Olafur, who worked for the tour company, was also coming and it would be good to do it in person.
Lotta: Can I come and stay the weekend when Gudrun and the others are coming? x
Mats: I was hoping you’d want to come that weekend
Lotta: It’s a date
The weekend in between Mats’ visit to London and when she was due to go to Bergen, Freya decided on a last-minute visit.
Jo couldn’t make it because she was helping at her son’s cub camp but Freya declared she was coming anyway.
Lotta told her she might need to work for some of the weekend but she, like Mats, was happy to do her own thing if it came to it.
Lotta met her at the station on Friday afternoon, and they picked up supplies on the way back to the flat, including a bottle of ready-chilled rosé wine.
London was in the grip of a heatwave so although Lotta threw the windows open as soon as they got back to the flat, it was too hot to stay indoors, so they wandered up the road to the park in search of a tree to sit underneath.
‘So Mats was here last weekend?’ Freya said, opening the wine and pouring it into the two plastic cups they’d thrown into the bag before they’d left the flat. They’d found an oak tree which gave them plenty of shade but was close enough to the path that they could people watch.
‘Yes. I had to work on Saturday but we still had a good time.’
‘And you’re going there next weekend? Do you think you’ll get fed up of all the travel?’
As someone who until now, hadn’t travelled much, the novelty hadn’t worn off yet. ‘It’s a short flight to Bergen, and the airport is so close to the house, it’s pretty easy. But I have been thinking about spending more time there.’
‘Really? That’s great, Lots.’
‘You don’t think it’s too soon?’ It meant a lot to her to have the validation of her sisters when she was making such a big decision.
‘I think it’s inevitable. And it’s got to be more efficient to be together all the time instead of juggling work and travelling like you both are now.’
‘Efficiency isn’t the most romantic reason, but I hadn’t thought of it like that. You’re right. I’m so busy with work, I know I’m keeping my distance when we’re apart.’
‘Because you don’t want to think about how much you’re missing him?’
‘That, and because I’m starting to feel the pressure of work and there’s only so much I can deal with.’
‘See? That’s what I said. It’d be more efficient. Presumably he’ll be pleased if you decide to do that?’
She grinned. ‘He’ll be thrilled.’
‘And how’s his hotel looking? I saw some of the designs on Instagram, it’s going to be amazing.’