could see her curves . . . it had been like they’d devoured each other, both frantic, as though they hadn’t realized they were starving.
She got goosebumps just thinking about it again, and gave an involuntary shudder.
‘Oh my God,’ Tove groaned beside her, her eyes closed and enjoying the peace as the birds trilled around them. ‘Get a room.’
‘Sorry,’ she whispered.
‘. . . You don’t think you might have made a mistake not getting his number?’
‘Yes. And that’s precisely why I’m glad I didn’t. This way, it just is what it is. One incredible night.’
They heard the pounding of feet, and heavy breathing.
‘You’re back,’ Tove said, still with her eyes closed, as the squeaky gate was opened.
‘Yeah,’ Kris panted, his hands on his hips. He shot an enquiring glance Bell’s way, and she replied with a confiding smile. He winked at her, understanding; it didn’t need to be said. There was a dark arrow of sweat down the front of his top, his hair was pulled into his man-bun, and for the thousandth time she wondered why her soulmate had to be gay. He came over and kissed her on the forehead as Marc pulled to a stop a moment later, looking wrecked.
‘What took you so long?’ Kris asked, sitting on the arm of her chair like he’d been there for hours.
Marc chucked a twig at him.
‘So – lunch,’ Tove announced, as the guys began stretching. ‘I don’t mind where we go so long as they serve stuff starting with carb- and ending inohydrates.’
‘Vardshus, then?’ Kris chuckled, getting up. ‘Let me have a shower and then we can go.’
‘Me too,’ Marc said, following after him.
‘Not together, please!’ Tove called after them as they stepped into the little yellow house. ‘I know what you two are like, and we’ve got a ferry to catch, remember.’
Bell groaned. ‘Oh bugger. It’s Sunday already? I forgot.’
‘He really did fuck you stupid, didn’t he?’ Tove chuckled. ‘Yes, it’s Sunday. All day. Almost time to ship back to real life and our most excellent jobs again.’
Bell felt her good mood get a crazy-glaze. She hadn’t seen the Mogerts at all yesterday, which was just weird. And she had to face Hanna tomorrow. The conversation she’d been dreading was almost here. How to not get fired? She still couldn’t work it out.
‘I think this thing has surgically attached to me,’ she muttered, reaching up and trying to disentangle the floral wreath from her hair. With a sharp tug, she pulled it free, staring at the battered, misshapen garland, the flowers wilted and limp. For some reason, it felt totemic, her first and last remaining link to him.
‘Going to keep it for posterity?’ Tove teased, seeing her hesitation.
‘No. I’m going to get changed,’ she said, getting up and tossing it in the bin, hoping Tove didn’t see her wince.
The pub was rammed, every table taken and a queue snaking down the lane. ‘Looks like we’re not the only ones needing to carb-load,’ Marc muttered as they waited in line, looking as longingly at the shade of the apple tree as at the cold beers.
‘And guess what? They’re all going to be getting the same ferry back with us,’ Tove groaned.
‘Forget to take your happy pills, you two?’ Kris asked, looping his arm through his fiance’s.
‘Ugh, it’s just the Sunday blues,’ Marc groaned. ‘Why does the weekend have to pass so quickly? I want to stay out a few more days. I need to.’
‘Well, we can’t all be as lucky as Bell, getting to spend the summer here and being paid for it.’
‘Excuse me! I’d like to see you keep two three-year-olds and a ten-year-old occupied simultaneously, when there are hazards at every turn. I’m living on my nerves from the moment I leave my bed till I’m back in it again. You have no idea how hard it is.’
‘And to think in my job, I only have to keep them alive,’ Marc quipped.
‘That’s nothing. I’ve got to do that and keep them happy!’
Kris laughed. ‘I’d only know how to keep them fed, but if Tove could do “the birds and the bees” chats, vet their boyfriends, show them how not to get their drinks spiked –’ He raised his hands in the air triumphantly. ‘Between the four of us, we’d be the ideal parents.’
A table came free and they settled at it gratefully, ordering a round of beers. It wasn’t quite in full shade and they played a game of musical chairs for a few minutes as Marc