Page 22 of Snug in Iceland
“Yes, no thanks to you.” She shouldn’t be cross with him. What could he have done to help? Nevertheless, he could have tried sounding supportive.
“I’m really sorry, Rach. I was asleep when you called so I wasn’t really with it.”
He was asleep in the middle of the day? That was pretty much unheard of even on a Sunday.
“It’s okay. I called a guy from the tour company I used for the Blue Lagoon. We’ve bumped into each other a couple of times so, you know, he’s the only person I know here.”
“Right…well, at least you had someone to call. So, what are you up to now?”
“I’m just having a glass of wine and doing some knitting,” she said defensively.
“Oh my God, you’re knitting that hat? Things must be bad.” he joked.
“Very funny. Actually, I’m quite enjoying it and you’ll be really impressed when you see it.”
“As long as you don’t knit one for me.”
“You don’t even know what it looks like!” she said, feigning outrage. “You’ll be begging me to knit one for you.”
“Oh really,” he said, drily.
“Did you go out last night?”
“Yes, I went out with Jim, it was great. We went to that club in Soho that you went to with Anna the other week. I felt a bit rough earlier but we went out for a full English and a hair-of-the-dog, so now I just feel tired.” So that was why he was asleep. “Anyway, I was ringing to let you know that I’ve booked a flight for the weekend after next. Is that going to be alright because if not I’ve got a flex ticket so I can always change it?”
“No, that’s perfect,” Rachel said, trying to put the niggling question of how Adam had managed to fit in two nights out with Jim since she’d been away, out of her mind, “I should be able to have the weekend off because they’ll only just have finished the floor. It’s great timing.”
“Fantastic. I’ll email you the flight details but I’m arriving Friday night and leaving Sunday night. Does that sound okay?”
“Yes, fine. Do you want me to come and meet you?”
“No, don’t worry, I’ve organised a car to pick me up so I’ll come straight to the hotel.” Rachel was pretty sure his PA had done all this organising for him which was the only reason it had happened.
“I’m going to book some things for us to do that I’ve been saving until you come.”
“Great, as long as it’s not swimming.”
It was ages since they had spent a whole uninterrupted weekend together so she was going to make it special. After all, when they saw each other again, she was hoping for sparks galore. The fact that she didn’t feel like that now was just a blip.
After they finished talking, Rachel rummaged in her bag to find the brochure that Jonas had given her. It had a brief description of what she now knew was the obligatory Golden Circle tour, they would definitely do that one. Could they fit in a Northern Lights excursion too? It would be amazing to see them here together. She flicked through looking at the more adventurous things on offer. Two weeks before she had to properly start work and Luisahadtold her to relax. Even organising the Design Call wasn’t going to take all that time…
13
ON MONDAY MORNING Rachel went to the shop to meet the new manager, Gudrun. Having spoken briefly on the phone, they had arranged to meet so that Rachel could go through the plans with her. The locations and floor space that would be allocated to the visual merchandising all needed deciding as well as the positions for the mock-up rooms and all the little things that weren’t on the main drawings of the internal build. It was a great opportunity for Gudrun to be involved right at the beginning which could only be good for the store.
At 9 am there was a knock and Rachel opened the door to find Gudrun on the doorstep, grinning.
“Hello, you must be Rachel! It is great to meet you,” she said, enthusiastically holding out her hand to shake.
“Great to meet you too, Gudrun. Come in!”
They shook hands as she walked through the door, her face full of wonder in the manner of a kid seeing Disneyland for the first time.
“Wow, it’s an amazing space!”
“It is indeed,” Rachel agreed. “Have you been in here before?”
“Yes, it used to be a clothes shop. A bit too old-fashioned for me but my mother loved it. It looks so different now it’s empty.”
