Page 16 of Viktor at Sea

“I have to admit, I’m very shocked by this,” Daewon finally spoke up, looking as if he was still in a trance.

“As am I,” Katarina piped up. “At the risk of sounding so bold, but I thought you hated Astrid? And she, you?”

“I can’t speak for Astrid, but I certainly don’t hate her. In fact, I feel the exact opposite toward her. I’ve felt that way for a while now, and when I got back yesterday, I decided it was time to act on my feelings. I want to make Astrid my wife.”

“What made you suddenly come to that realisation?” Daewon asked quietly, his eyes trained intently on me.

“If I’m being honest, I think I’ve known it all along,” I gulped, forcing myself to keep speaking even though I felt extremely nervous and uncomfortable.

I wasn’t one to get nervous easily but the fact that Daewon was my mentor made the situation a little more colourful than it would have otherwise been.

The first hurdle was her parents.

The second was Astrid.

If I was so nervous now, how was I ever going to get down on one knee and propose to her?

“I moved to Jorvik more than four years ago now,” I started, inhaling deeply, willing for courage. “I hadn’t been here for even two weeks before I was assigned my first mission. You don’t need me to tell you how it went,” I chuckled, slightly relieved that they both joined me, sharing my humour in the situation. “When we got back, six days later than we expected to be, everybody already expected that something had gone wrong. However, you didn’t let me take the fall for it. You made up an excuse about making a stop along the way, and everyone believed you. But not Astrid. She cornered me after the feast. At the fountain,” I laughed at the memory even though at the moment, I had been so angry at Astrid for the way she had talked down and disrespected me.

“She did?” Katarina gasped in surprise.

I laughed and nodded. “She demanded to know the truth and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I tried to evade her, but she followed me all the way back to my hut and then stood in front of my door, refusing to let me get inside. She said she knew that something had gone wrong on the mission and that we were lying. Of course, she was right.”

“What did you do?” Katarina asked, her eyes wide as she hung off my every word.

“I told her the truth,” I chuckled softly. “I told her what had really happened at sea, how I had been cocky and refused to take help when you offered it, how we steered so far off course and came into trouble with some pirates. I remember her looking so angry that I thought she would drown me in the fountain,” I laughed. “I don’t recall ever being as scared as I was that night, and that’s including when we were held captive by pirates. Shetold me off for being careless, for putting your life in danger. And the whole time, all I could think about was that I couldn’t even get mad at her for telling me off. Not when she was so passionate about it. Astrid loves you dearly, both of you. A truly devoted daughter and I couldn’t help but think, still can’t, that I’ve never seen such love before—such, pure, beautiful love. Looking back, if I weren’t so blind, I would have realised that I fell for her then. I would have gotten down on my knee and proposed to her then and there, and then she definitely would have drowned me in the fountain!”

“You love Astrid because you thought she was going to drown you?” Katarina laughed, her tone teasing.

“Yes, but so much more,” I laughed and nodded. “I doubt I will ever meet another like her. In fact, I’m certain that I will never meet another like her. Another woman that makes me feel so smitten and irrevocably in love, even when I try to suppress it.”

“You can’t suppress love,” Katarina told me, looking smug, reminding me so much of Astrid when she knew she was right about something.

“I know that now,” I nodded in agreement, my lips curling into a small smile.

“Honey, I think you were right about Crosby,” Daewon said.

He glanced over his shoulder at his wife, reaching behind for her hand. Katarina seemed to understand what he meant, and she smiled warmly at her husband, squeezing it. They both looked so happy and calm, but his words made me feel sick to my stomach.

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Crosby,” Daewon told me. “We’d be happy to have you as a son-in-law, and you have our blessing as long as Astrid agrees.”

“Thank you, Daewon, Katarina,” I exhaled in relief, feeling far more relieved than I anticipated. “I promise I will always doeverything I can to make her happy. To give her the good life she deserves.”

Daewon smiled warmly at me and pulled me into a hug. “I’m sure you will, Viktor.”

“I have to warn you, Viktor,” Katarina whispered when I moved to hug her next. “You have your work cut out for you with Astrid, what with the colourful history between you all. And you probably want to get down on one knee before Crosby does. That might help to sway the vote in your favour. Between me and you, I’m rooting for you.”

Relief washed over me.

“Thanks, Katrina.”

Katarina was right. Whatever happened, if I wanted to stand a chance of making Astrid my wife, I needed to propose before Crosby.

When I gave him advice earlier, I didn’t for a single moment fathom that he would be my competition.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Much to my surprise, things weren’t as awkward as I expected after I proclaimed my love for their daughter. Perhaps that was because Astrid’s older brother and only sibling, Dustin, had arrived with his pregnant wife, Freja, and the moment was swiftly forgotten. The only reason I mentioned she was pregnant was because she was very far along and just about managed to sit at the dining table without knocking her stomach against it.

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