Chapter 29
Now that she was here, with Mats, what had felt like a huge step when she’d sat in the park in London yesterday with Freya, felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Whenever she was here in Norway, she felt at ease.
Like the pressures of real life lifted a little, giving her space to breathe.
All her memories of being in Norway were good.
The Snug Oslo work had given her so much confidence and belief in herself again.
It was a place that had altogether good associations for her.
Mats was the biggest reason to stay, especially now he needed her support through this crisis he was having with the project, but the rest was just as important.
‘I want to live here.’
‘You’re moving here?’ His eyes lit up, and he grinned in disbelief.
She nodded, giving him a shy smile. ‘If that’s okay?’
‘Lotta! That’s more than okay.’ He took her in his arms and hugged her.
‘But I don’t know if I can live on the island yet. I need good internet for work. And hot showers.’
‘Neither can I. That place is ruined for me,’ he said, laughing. ‘We’ll have our cabin as a holiday home and we’ll find somewhere to live in Bergen.’
‘And although I can’t help out with any money for the island, I’ll do everything I can to market the hell out of it when it’s ready.’
‘I love you so much, Lotta. Thank you. Thank you for wanting to do this.’
If she hadn’t known before that she’d made the right decision, she did now.
Because there was no question; she loved him.
Mats had done everything he could to avoid making her feel forced into moving to Norway, and only now, when she could see how much it meant to him, did she realise how hard it must have been for him to do that.
And she was happy to do this for him. For both of them.
Because what use was a dream if you had no one to share it with?
She’d been so busy controlling her life in the guise of protecting her career that she’d lost sight of the fact that she wanted her destiny to be Mats.
And if she had the most glittering career imaginable, it wouldn’t mean anything without him there.
Being proud of her. Supporting her successes like they were his own.
They went back inside where Ida and Freya were getting to know each other.
‘All sorted?’ Freya asked.
Lotta nodded. ‘Sorry for dragging you to Bergen.’
‘I love an impromptu city break,’ said Freya. ‘And it’s about time we met each other, assuming you’re still together.’
Ida burst out laughing.
‘We’re still together,’ Lotta said, leaning into his side. ‘We’ve made a plan.’
‘He’s got to you,’ said Ida.
‘Absolutely,’ Lotta said, grinning up at him. ‘And you’re going to be seeing a lot more of Bergen…’ she said to her sister. ‘I’m moving to Norway.’
‘That’s wonderful!’ Ida said, getting up to hug her.
‘I’m so happy for you,’ Freya said, hugging Mats.
‘Your sister is amazing,’ Mats said to her.
‘We think so,’ she said, grinning. ‘Our sister Jo is going to be gutted she missed this.’
‘Could you all come over next weekend?’ Ida asked. ‘We can have a party to celebrate. Anders and Becca will be here already with their friends, and we could see if Ingrid and Thea can make it.’
‘We’ll see what we can do,’ Freya said, grinning at Lotta.
Mats made more coffee, and they all took it outside.
‘We need to come up with a name for the hotel,’ he said.
‘I thought we were going to wait until next week when Anders and Becca are here?’ Ida said.
‘No. Someone’s jumped the gun and we need to put it right,’ he said while Lotta showed the Instagram page to Ida.
‘Ro?ya? Who came up with that?’
‘I know,’ Freya said, rolling her eyes.
‘Tell us some Norwegian words that evoke the feelings you want to create with the hotel,’ said Lotta, opening the notes app on her phone.
‘I mean, that is how they came up with Ro?ya,’ Ida said. ‘It means the peaceful island.’
‘It’s the right vibe, but it doesn’t sound right,’ Lotta said.
‘How about stil? Stil?ya?’ said Ida.
‘I don’t hate that,’ said Lotta.
Mats looked unconvinced. ‘What was the name on that old map?’
‘Strandg?rden. The Shore Farm,’ said Ida.
‘Mmm, no,’ he said.
‘I quite like that,’ said Freya. ‘If you’re not Norwegian it sounds like a garden rather than a farm.’
‘That’s true,’ said Lotta. ‘Perhaps something else along those lines?’
‘I’m terrible at things like this,’ said Ida, defeated. ‘Would you like to come into Bergen with me?’ she asked Freya. ‘Leave these two to sort this out?’
‘I’d love to,’ Freya said, already out of her seat.
‘How about Lys? Lys?ya?’ Mats said once they’d said goodbye.
‘Does that mean light?’
‘Yes, Light Island.’
‘It works in both languages. And light has a double-meaning of a person feeling lighter, which you’d hope is how they’ll feel when they visit. What about Lysg?rden? Light garden, light farm?’
Mats sat for a moment, then a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. ‘I think that’s it. Lysg?rden.’
‘Yes?’ Lotta was delighted. It worked on every level. She could sell that name; it evoked what they were trying to create, and it was easy to say and remember.
‘Yes.’
‘Amazing! I thought that would be the hardest part.’
Lotta opened her laptop again, keen to get the name into what she’d already done to see how it looked.
Mats pushed the laptop closed with a single finger. ‘We’ve got better things to do now. We’re celebrating.’ He shifted his chair so that his knees were touching hers, then kissed her.
Lotta put aside her feelings about making love in Mats’ teenage bedroom because she couldn’t wait to have him against her. She was finding it hard to contain her feelings; the overwhelming love she felt for him, and this was the release she wanted.
Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms, the sunlight streaming in through the window, looking at each other.
Lotta could hardly believe that this was going to be her life now.
Waking up to Mats every morning, although hopefully not in this bed.
It was one thing clinging to each other because they didn’t want to be apart, but another to have to avoid falling out of bed.
‘I’ve had an idea,’ said Lotta. ‘Maybe a way to get some cash flowing in.’
Mats propped himself up on his elbow and kissed her. ‘Tell me more.’
‘The kitchen is being installed soon.’
‘Yes.’
‘How do the other downstairs rooms look? Are they finished?’
‘Aside from decorating, yes. There haven’t been any big changes.’
‘What do you think about running some foodie nights? We could turn the lounge and dining room into a restaurant. Boat guests over from Bergen for a tasting menu type meal.’
He frowned slightly as he thought about it. ‘I guess that could work, but I don’t have a chef yet, and we’d have to decorate and sort out the landscaping from the jetty. It doesn’t look very welcoming at the moment.’
‘You could get a local chef, someone who can cook good Norwegian food, it doesn’t have to be fancy. We can line the path from the jetty with storm lanterns. I bet Knut would have some idea what we could do for a path.’
‘It’s a good idea,’ Mats said, his face lighting up. ‘If we run it over the autumn, there’s a chance people could see the Northern Lights. We’re away from the light pollution of the city. We can put chairs and blankets on the veranda for people to sit outside.’
‘That would be amazing.’
‘I don’t think it’s enough to kick the project back to life before the spring, but it might be enough to get a few things done over the winter.’
‘And it’s great publicity for the hotel before it’s even opened.’
‘It’s a fantastic idea, Lotta. I feel excited about it all again.’
She kissed him, happy that she’d helped him to see that all wasn’t lost. ‘The plan is just taking a detour.’
‘As long as you’re on the journey with me, I don’t mind. Come on, let’s get out of here before Freya and Ida get back.’
Knowing that Freya was in safe hands with Ida, since they’d hit it off straight away, Lotta was happy to go along with Mats.
His version of getting out of here meant taking a trip to the island, and she was excited about seeing what developments there had been since her last visit, almost a month ago.
Instead of pulling up at the jetty on the nearest tip of the island, he went to the farthest end and moored there, as he had the last time they’d come.
The remains of their fire pit was still there and the grass surrounding it seemed lusher and greener than it had even three weeks ago.
But today was sunnier than the last time she’d been here.
Sunnier than any time she’d been here, and it made the island seem more idyllic than ever.
Mats wordlessly led the way through the trees along the now-familiar path to their cabin.
Even from a distance, Lotta could see it had been spruced up.
It had a brand-new veranda on the front instead of the steps it had before, and a canopy with wooden shingles came out from the roofline to shelter it.
‘Mats, it’s beautiful,’ Lotta said, hardly able to believe that he’d transformed the little cabin so much.
He grinned, stepped onto the veranda, and pulled the door open, gesturing for Lotta to go inside first.
Next to the front door were shelves to store shoes, gloves, hats, that kind of thing, and hooks for coats.
Inside what had been the main cabin before was now a lounge with a two-seater sofa, the same colourful rugs that had been there before, as well as the same small table and chairs.
There were some new cupboards in the corner for storage and a new wood store in the corner opposite the stove.
Where the cabin joined the new extension, there was simply a doorway with no door that led into the bedroom.
The bed looked inviting and cosy, and there was now a bedside table on either side with matching lamps.
There were shelves above the doorway and along the wall for storage, and another door led into the tiny ensuite bathroom, housing the incinerating toilet Mats had installed a few weeks ago.
‘It’s perfect,’ Lotta said, as Mats took her in his arms. ‘Our cabin.’
‘Our holiday cabin,’ he corrected. He pulled away and took a couple of beers out of his bag and handed one to Lotta. ‘Shall we sit on the veranda?’
They took the two chairs from inside out onto the deck and sat looking at their new view for the first time. There was a glimpse of the fjord through the trees, and the mountains across the water towered over the tops.
Mats gazed out at the view, and Lotta got the feeling that he was building up to say something.
‘You’re sure this is what you want?’
She turned her chair to face him. ‘I love it here, Mats. I love being with you here. I love you.’
‘It’s only just sunk in that this is happening.’ He had tears in his eyes. ‘Just when I met someone I thought I could love, someone I do love, I thought the decision I’d made to take this place on would ruin it for me. Then when I ran out of money, I thought I was going to lose you too, Lotta.’
‘This place was never going to be the reason it wouldn’t work between us. I love this about you just as much as everything else. I love that you’re drawn to this place, because of its legacy, because it means something to you. That you’ve bet everything you have on something you believe in.’
He laughed, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘I think that might make me a fool.’
‘It makes you someone who believes with everything he’s got. That’s how I know that you believe in me more than I believe in myself sometimes.’
‘I do believe in you, Lotta. You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. You make me feel like everything’s worth it.’
‘I love you, Mats, and I’ll be with you every step of the way with this island, Lysg?rden. Even if we get stuck here one day in a storm with no food, at least we’re together. That’s all that matters.’
‘We’ll be there for each other. Good and bad.’
‘Good and bad,’ she repeated, tears falling down her cheeks as well now.
‘Enough of this. We’re supposed to be celebrating.’ He took a swig of his beer, then set the bottle down on the veranda. ‘Coming?’ He stood up and held out his hand.
Lotta smiled and took his hand, wondering how she got so lucky. To have this man who waited for her while she took the time to realise she already had everything she could ever have dreamed of.