Page 37 of The Tycoon's Diamond Demand

‘Maja, I need to work, and Hilda needs direction for a wedding that will take place in a fortnight. Decisions need to be made.Today.’ Jens didn’t give her a chance to respond but turned back to Hilda. ‘Can you spend the rest of the day with Maja?’

‘It would be my pleasure.’ Hilda nodded, her expression enthusiastic.

Maja would rather poke hot sticks into her eyes. But she recognised Jens’s determination, and knew that once Hilda got hold of her, there would be no escape. She’d had enough conversations with the wedding planner to know what questions she’d ask so she decided to condense hours of boredom and annoyance into a few sentences. Then Hilda could go, and she could tackle Jens.

‘Shades of cream and white for the flowers, roses, and peonies. Soft and luscious arrangements. A string quartet playing before and directly after the ceremony, a live band for the reception. A blueberry buttermilk cake with a blueberry jam filling for the wedding cake, lemon for the groom’s cake. What else?’

‘The colour scheme?’

‘I told you,’ Maja replied, a little impatiently. ‘Soft whites and cream, maybe with hints of a fresh green. Romantic and elegant.’

Hilda nodded, writing furiously. ‘I can have mood boards done within—’

Maja waved her words away. ‘Jens is paying you a fortune to get this done. I trust your taste.’

‘What about your wedding dress, your attendants’ dresses?’ Hilda asked.

Maja closed her eyes and counted. She wasthisclose to screaming. ‘I’ll sort that out.’ She wasn’t having bridesmaids. If she had her way, and she intended to, there would be no wedding. She was only answering Hilda’s questions to get her out of the room so she could talk to Jens.

‘Do you have enough to work on for now?’ Maja asked her, praying she said yes.

Hilda stared at her tablet and finally nodded. ‘I might have questions—’

‘You have my phone number,’ Maja assured her. To make sure that Hilda got the hint, she walked over to where she sat and picked up her bag. Hilda looked at Jens, and when he didn’t say anything, she stood up and took her bag from Maja.

She slid her bag over her shoulder and told them she would be in touch. When Maja heard the front door close, she sat down in the seat Hilda had vacated and fixed her eyes on her fiancé’s hard face. ‘You and I need to talk.’

Jens gestured to his still closed computer. ‘I have work to do, Maja.’

She tipped her head to the side. ‘I think you misunderstood me, Jens. That wasn’t a request.’

Some events and conversations were turning points in a person’s life and Maja knew that whatever happened next would impact the rest of her life.

This was it, a come-to-the-light conversation with huge consequences. The urge to run was strong. She and Jens had to navigate the future and find a way to deal with each other going forward.

Maja shifted in her chair, crossed her legs and noticed her shaking hands. How would their conversation go? Would they fight? Be reasonable? Would they be able to find a way forward that didn’t involve blackmail and marriage?

And would she know, at the end of the conversation, how much of the young man she loved remained, whether he was truly like her father and who Jens really was?

She’d seen flashes of the old Jens on the yacht and in Ålesund, had caught glimpses of the young man she’d known and loved. Jens could be funny and lovely, thoughtful and relaxed, the antithesis of the hard man in front of her. Bergen Jens was too like her father, hard, tough, abrasive and demanding. Those elements of his personality had scared her as a young girl, and she hadn’t known how to handle them. Or him.

But she was an adult now, and better able to handle his domineering streak. She wasn’t a wilting flower who’d crumble at a harsh word. She could stand up for herself, fight her corner, and wouldn’t let herself be pushed around. She could handle Jens Nilsen.

Maybe.

Jens rested his forearms on his desk and his intense, irritated blue eyes met hers. ‘Say what’s on your mind so that I can get back to work, Maja.’

He didn’t dance around the subject, and she was grateful.

Maja scooted to the edge of the seat and cupped her knee with her linked hands. After a minute of discarding one opening sentence for another, she settled on: ‘You need to know why I left twelve years ago.’

His expression hardened. ‘You said everything you needed to in that video, Maja. I don’t see the point of raking through old history.’

He couldn’t sound more uninterested if he tried. But behind the boredom, his ‘couldn’t care less’ expression, she saw a spark of curiosity in his eyes and decided to push on. ‘I left because it was the only way I could protect you.’

‘What are you talking about? Protect me from whom?’ Jens demanded.

‘From Håkon,’ Maja replied. ‘The reason I didn’t tell him about us, tell anyone, is that I didn’t want him finding out about you until we were married. I needed Håkon in a position where he was forced to accept you, where he had to welcome you into his world. But he found out about you, and us, the week before, and I had no choice but to leave.’

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