Chapter 15
An hour later, Milly was still trapped in her room.
Tears stung her nose and fell from her eyes at the mortifying turn of events and if there was a way she could stay there forever, or at least until he left for the café, and she could escape to the airport, she would.
But she’d promised Ada she’d help, she’d signed them up to the cooking festival, so she couldn’t disappear, however much she wanted to.
To make matters worse, she was starving hungry, but she couldn’t summon up the courage to go to the kitchen and find something to eat.
She might see Theo. She might see him and then they’d have to speak and the moment when he nearly kissed her would replay in her mind and then she’d see that horrid, terrified, regretful expression again and she’d die.
And she wasn’t being overdramatic at all.
Since running upstairs, she’d managed to Mission Impossible style it to the bathroom and take a quick shower, which had warmed her up but hadn’t washed away any of the embarrassment, pain and regret still circulating from their encounter.
Now, she was in her pyjamas, reluctant to get out of bed, but growing hungrier by the second, needing the comfort of delicious food as much as the actual sustenance.
Her stomach gurgled, and she was just about to tell herself to get a grip when the front door slammed shut.
Theo had gone out. She had no idea where to and she closed her eyes slowly, wishing the pain in her heart away.
With a deep breath she quickly launched out of bed and ran downstairs to make a sandwich and grab some supplies before bringing it all straight back to her room.
A few minutes later, she was back in bed and now surrounded by Danish snacks and an open sandwich she’d made herself.
She pulled the covers tightly around her and propped her phone against a cushion.
With a few quick swipes, a second of trepidation and lots of hope the connection would be strong enough for a video call, she saw her best friend’s beautiful smiling face.
‘Hej,’ Ada said, the inside of her tent visible in the background, her brown hair poking out from under a woolly hat.
‘Hej,’ Milly repeated. While she wanted to launch straight into what had happened with Theo and seek Ada’s advice, or maybe even tell her she was leaving immediately, she knew that would be rude and instead said, ‘How are the foxes?’
‘So beautiful! Honestly, I think I have the best job in the world.’
‘You’re in a tent in the Arctic, in thirty layers of clothing!’
‘Well, it’s the best job in the world to me. Can you believe I used to wear a suit all day! Feels like a lifetime ago.’
‘It’s like you’re a different person now, but in a good way.’
‘Thanks, but what’s going on? Are you okay? You seem a bit down.’
‘I – yes and no, but before I start, I want you to tell me everything about what you’re up to and how it’s going in the snowy wonderland.’
‘Okay.’ Ada’s brows pulled together in suspicion, then she began talking about where exactly they were, how much snow there was, the number of foxes she’d seen and the amazing photographs she’d taken.
There was a cute photographer who was also part of the team, and she was enjoying a good old flirt.
She was buzzing with every word, clearly the happiest she could possibly be.
‘So what’s happening with the café and Theo? ’
‘Well—’ Milly stretched out the word. ‘So umm, quite a lot has happened actually.’ She ran through their entry to the cooking festival, their ideas for events and then the fateful swim of mere hours before.
She kept the exact details of the nearly kiss to a minimum because no one needed that much information, not even a best friend, but she did add, ‘I wanted it so badly, Ada. It was never like that with Tom. Ever.’
Just thinking about it now had made her muscles tighten and her body react as it had at the time. She took a bite of her sandwich, which was nowhere near as delicious as something Theo would have made but was worth it in order to avoid him. ‘And then he just sort of panicked and backed off.’
‘That is very odd behaviour, even for Theo.’
‘Do you know why he might have pulled away like that?’ She swallowed down the hard lump in her throat. ‘Said all the things he said?’
Ada sat up, holding the phone in massively gloved hands.
‘He’s not told me anything, but I know there was someone.
I think he got the house not long after their break-up and then I met him and moved in.
I don’t know but I think she might have invested in the café too or have been planning to, and then their relationship broke down.
I didn’t ask questions because I didn’t really know him very well then. He’s not exactly an over-sharer.’
‘No, he’s not.’
‘And with the hours at the café, we didn’t see each other all that much. He was up and out before me and didn’t always make it back for dinner. I think if you want to know where this is all coming from you’re going to have to ask him.’
‘It’s a good idea but I can’t exactly walk up to him and say, “Hey, what was all that relationship stuff about?” Not sure that’ll go down well. I might as well just call him a giant loser if I’m going to say it like that.’
‘It’s true, you might have to be a bit more subtle.’
Milly took her glasses off and cleaned them on the sleeve of her dressing gown; somehow she’d managed to get fingerprints on them from the buttery pastry. ‘Ada, what am I going to do? We have to work together. It’s going to be horrible and weird and awkward.’
‘I’m sure after a day or two it’ll be fine.’
‘You think so?’
‘I do.’ Her tone was super high, and it was clear neither of them believed it.
‘You don’t.’
‘No, not really.’ Ada grimaced. ‘It’s going to be weird for a bit longer, but you’ve just got to get on with it. There’s nothing else for it, because I’m not letting you run off home and give up on this adventure.’
All Milly could think was this trip, which had been amazing so far, was now turning into a disaster and one she had to stick out until at least after the cooking festival.
With a sigh, she resigned herself to her fate.
She’d go directly after the festival, leaving Theo with an action plan for his socials and other things he could look at to help his business, and she’d fly home straight away.
Only she didn’t really want to go home. She liked Copenhagen.
She liked Danish food, Danish culture, the city and being surrounded by the water.
She liked the person she was when she was here: freer, more open to life and all it had to offer.
Would those things transfer with her when she went back to England? She didn’t think they would.
Ada tilted her head and gave a comforting smile. ‘Just go back to the café tomorrow and be your normal self, pretend like nothing happened, and I’m sure everything will be fine.’
‘You’re right. I’m a grown-up and a professional. I’m sure Theo will be too. After all it was one mad moment. It probably didn’t even mean anything to him.’
‘I’m not sure that’s true, given his reaction, but yeah, let’s go with that if it makes you feel better.’
Milly picked up the other pillow and rammed it over her face, letting out a screech.
Ada giggled. ‘Good luck, babe! Sorry, but I have to go. We’re following a trail to find some more fur babies. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
As Milly put her plate aside, her sandwich finished, she grabbed her notebook.
While none of this was pleasant she was grateful for the support of her best friend.
Someone who spoke to her even though they were freezing their bits off in the Arctic.
She was grateful for the technology that allowed them to see each other’s faces.
She quickly made a note, jotting down the warm feeling Ada’s support had given her, and for a second she thought she might have understood a little more of what hygge meant.
But then the front door opened and closed as Theo returned, and she was faced with the reality of seeing him again.
Abandoning her notebook and any thoughts of being a grown-up, she grabbed hold of the covers, yanked them over her head and hid.