Chapter 20
Ella turned from the Seilloftet and, with shopping bags in hand, hurried down the cobbled lane toward the ferry terminal.
She couldn’t believe what she’d seen. She dug her nails into her palms. She was disappointed and jealous of that gorgeous supermodel of a woman who’d been kissing Leif.
Just last night, during her brief evening with Leif, she’d thought there might have been the possibility of romance between the two of them, not simply lust. Of course they hadn’t made any promises to each other, and she was angry at herself for thinking they’d shared a deep connection.
In her experience, chemistry was common but connection was rare.
What was she thinking? He was a boatbuilder from Norway, and she hated the water!
It was clear that she was no more than a one-night stand to him, and she felt ridiculous for misreading it.
But he had seemed to enjoy their time together; she’d seen the twinkle in his eyes when he looked at her. Or had she dreamed that up too?
This was probably for the best, she told herself.
In fact, it would be stupid to let her infatuation distract her from what she needed to accomplish, both in Norway and back home.
She needed to be realistic. Leif was just a guy she met on vacation, a sexy almost-fling.
There was no reason to feel hurt; it simply wasn’t meant to be.
Ella hurried along, passing the bakery and the general store again.
She’d stopped there earlier to ask questions about her family, but the employees only shrugged and explained haltingly in English that they didn’t know.
The real estate office was closed for lunch, unfortunately, but she worried that if she waited for them to reopen, she’d run into Leif.
There was no way she’d let that happen. She knew that the ferry ran every day except Sunday; she reasoned that she could always visit the real estate office again tomorrow.
Yes, she decided it could wait, and Mia had promised to help her.
Ella’s instincts told her she could count on Mia, who seemed kind, supportive, and honest.
She reached the ferry and hurried on board, watching over her shoulder for Leif. Tears pricked her eyes, which made her angry. She didn’t need anyone. Her life was fine exactly how it was.