those who opened doors for others.
He looked as if he might argue as they stepped back into a chilly Västerlånggatan where most of the shops were getting ready for seven o’clock closing but his phone began to ring. He pulled it out and smiled. ‘It’s Josie.’
Though sorry at the evening ending so abruptly, she smiled. ‘I’ll head back to the shop. Goodnight! Great to see you again.’
Then she slipped away as he took his call. She pulled up the hood of her parka against the sleet stinging her face like a swarm of tiny insects, hurrying along the clean cobbled streets in the golden glow of lamps on the corners of elegant, steeply roofed buildings painted cream and gold, catching glimpses of the soaring green German Church tower. As she crossed Stortorget she saw a team had moved in to string lights across from the peach-toned splendour of the stock exchange building that now housed the Swedish Academy and Nobel Museum and Library.
She wasn’t the only one looking forward to Christmas!
Before long she was entering Köpmangatan, pausing between an art gallery and an antique shop to unlock the glass door of Hannah Anna Butik. She stepped inside, happy to spend the evening amongst the mixed smells of leather, silk and cardboard boxes.
In fact, for her, you could bottle the scent and sell it as perfume.
Chapter Two
On Sunday morning, Hannah stared at her new stock. The displays she was stripping hadn’t been up to her usual standard. Maybe her creative energy had been dulled by boyfriend woes.
She was trying to think with the kind of breathtaking imagination of form and style that would compel people into the shop when Nico Pettersson tapped on the door. ‘Hej, hej,’ she greeted him in surprise as she let him in, standing back so he could enter and close the door, making the ‘stängt’ sign swing.
He looked a hundred per cent better today. His coat was brushed, his hair washed and combed, he’d shaved and his jeans and boots were clean. ‘I could maybe double your takings,’ he said without preamble, checking out the bags and belts ready for new displays.
She laughed. ‘How? Doubling the prices? Magic wand?’
‘Better. Magic visual merchandising power.’ He winked, then gazed beyond her to the half-dismantled displays that looked as if a bear had blundered through them. ‘You need visual appeal and style. Unanimity. Dynamic use of colour.’
Half-amused and half-annoyed, Hannah planted her hands on her hips. ‘Sorry … does my shop look in need of a consultation?’
He ceased assessing the stands and sent her a rueful grin. ‘I didn’t mean to be presumptuous. I woke up and realised that, yesterday, though you didn’t understand why I looked as if I lived in a cobweb and we hadn’t met for eighteen years, you tried to help. To make up for being ungracious and defensive, I’d like to help you in return.’ His piercing blue eyes looked as if they were silently urging her to accept.
It was impossible to look away. ‘How?’
He returned his gaze to the interior. ‘My first job was in a department store chain as an assistant account manager. My training took me through various departments and I worked with an outstanding merchandiser – what people call a window dresser. We saw each other for a while. She was stellar, like she was personally in charge of the rainbow. I used to go in on my days off to learn about texture and bold form from her and I was nearly tempted into a career change. Let me loose on your stock. People will be drawn in, I promise.’
Conscious of the jumble of scarves, handbags and belts, she protested, ‘You’re seeing it at its worst.’ But she desperately wanted the shop’s first Christmas to be a success and getting the place sorted before eleven was a big job. Even without Albin-issues on her mind she sometimes felt dissatisfied with the look of Hannah Anna Butik. She knew she could display stock well but was she ever magical? The kind of ‘magical’ that would open purses and wallets?
Nico nudged a box of wallets with his toe. ‘If you don’t like it when I’ve finished, you can tell me what you want instead and I’ll redo it. What are you leading with? Something with a good margin?’
‘Åberg leather.’ She dragged the Åberg box forward. ‘They provide a display schematic—’
He took the goods, ignoring the schematic, then produced a palm-sized speaker from his coat pocket. ‘I brought music.’ He tapped his