‘Right. Well good,’ he smiled. He stepped in closer to her, encouraged by her initiation of body contact, and she sensed the others draw back as their conversation became more intimate. ‘. . . So, it’s funny running into you like this. I was really hoping I’d see you again,’ he said quietly. ‘Did you read my note?’
‘Of course.’
‘And were you going to call me?’
‘. . . Of course.’
He gave a mock-outraged gasp. ‘You weren’t!’
She laughed. ‘I was! I was!’
‘I don’t believe you!’ he protested, grinning anyway.
She leaned into him slightly, pressing her curves gently against him. ‘Does it matter? We’re here now, aren’t we?’
The question was coquettish, and he stared down at her for a moment, a question in his eyes that she answered with a look in her own. She was wildly drunk and she didn’t care who knew it. Him, the whole bar . . . Nothing mattered anyway. Not really. She had made the first move and it was his call whether to respond or not.
He bent his head and kissed her – just like that. It was that easy. His lips were chapped and a little rough, but she didn’t mind; it was better than being kept hanging in mid-air.
‘Attagirl!’ she heard Tove yell, and someone – Kris – gave a two-fingered whistle.
‘Pimps or cheerleaders?’ Mats grinned as they pulled apart.
‘Both!’ she giggled, feeling woozy and silly and like she was on an unstoppable train.
He kissed her again, emboldened now. ‘I wanted to do that all day yesterday.’
‘Did you?’ she breathed, remembering how Emil had stared up at her from her lap all the way back, her hands stroking and cradling his face as she told him it would all be okay . . . What a joke.
She could still see him so clearly, even now, like he was right there –
He was right there.
‘Boss!’ She felt Mats stiffen with the surprise, his hands falling from her waist.
Hanna, Emil and Linus were standing on the other side of the fencing that partitioned off the sea bar from the boardwalk. Judging by their collared shirts, she could tell they had come from having dinner in the hotel.
‘Mats,’ Emil said back, staring at them evenly – before remembering his manners. ‘This is Hanna, my w– . . . Linus’s mother.’
‘Pleased to meet you,’ Hanna said quickly, her eyes darting to her son like a dragonfly on the river. ‘I think we passed by each other in the house yesterday? I’m sorry if I was rude, rushing like that. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
‘All good, I hope.’
‘Of course. I understand it was thanks to you he received medical aid so quickly. Not to mention, the hit from the boom would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t pulled him down.’
‘Not quite fast enough, though,’ Mats said ruefully, looking back at the boss again. ‘How are you now, honestly? I didn’t think you’d be up and about so quickly.’
‘I’m fine, really.’
Mats looked sceptical. ‘Yeah? You took a proper wallop there.’
‘Just some headaches. They’ll pass. I’ve been well looked after.’ He draped an arm over Hanna’s shoulder, as if to prove she was his Florence Nightingale. Bell looked away. Was she going to get any credit at all – she had clipped him back to safety again, protected his head from further blows, held him all the way back – or had he erased her completely from his version of events?
She realized that Hanna hadn’t greeted her. And that in fact, although friendly to Mats, she was seemingly unable to even meet her eyes? She must have realized that she had fallen asleep in the bed, that Bell would have seen her there.
‘Uh, Hanna, about that –’ She pulled a face, hoping she could pull off the lie. ‘Listen, I’m really sorry about this morning. I was going to text you. I’m afraid I slept right through the alarm for the five o’clock check.’
She felt Emil’s stare spring on her like a cat as she watched Hanna’s expression change, relief suffusing her like a spring bloom. ‘You did?’
She shrugged, not sure why she was rushing to save her boss’s blushes. ‘Yes, I’m so sorry. I mean, clearly everything’s worked out well, but still, I feel terrible about it.’
‘No, no, not at all,’ Hanna said quickly, glancing at Emil with a secret look. ‘It’s fine. He’s fine. Aren’t you?’
Emil nodded, his eyes meeting hers finally and scorching her. He was looking