Page 33 of Snug in Iceland
“Well, I love it. And I’d never have come here if it wasn’t for work, it just wouldn’t have occurred to me. Most people I know head to Greece and Spain on holiday and that seems so boring in comparison.”
“It certainly isn’t boring, there are interesting things to see in those countries too, it’s just that most people head to the coasts. There are always interesting things, Rachel, you just have to take the time to find them.”
The fire was roaring now and the warmth from it was spreading slowly around the room.
“But you see things differently and I love that. You take time to notice and I’ve only just begun to try but it gives me an enormous sense of everything being right with the world and makes me feel uplifted at the same time. I mean, today could have been rubbish.” Jonas raised his eyebrows and she quickly added, “From a personal point of view, obviously not the excursion. But it was a strangely perfect day in the end.”
“Strangely perfect,” Jonas murmured.
Having finished their drinks, Rachel rinsed the mugs while Jonas fought the sofa bed into submission and found some sheets and pillows from the bedroom. He put some more logs on the fire while she stood watching the snow fall deeper and deeper against the window.
“Do you think we’ll be able to leave tomorrow?”
“We’ll have to wait and see. There wasn’t a big snowfall forecast, I think it will stop soon and as long as we can get back to the main road we should be able to get over the mountain road by midday. I will phone the office in the morning to see what the situation is. Don’t worry, Rachel. We’ll get back sometime tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Jonas had started removing layers of clothes while he was talking until he was down to a long-sleeved top and leggings, presumably his thermals.
“No, I’m not worried, it’s fine.”
If they were snowed in she wouldn’t be sorry, she thought, as she began removing some of her layers. There were far worse situations to be in.
They both got into bed. Jonas had put a separate set of blankets for each of them which seemed to be an Icelandic thing to do. The double bed in the hotel had two single duvets on it, so she knew he wasn’t just being careful to keep them apart.
They lay in the darkness which was punctuated only by the flicker of the fire. Rachel pondered on how odd it was to be sharing a bed with someone she didn’t know all that well and she felt funny about being asleep in front of him for some reason. Maybe he would fall asleep first.
“Are you okay?” His voice came softly out of the dark.
“Yes. Are you?”
“Yes. Are you warm enough?”
Rachel snuggled under the blankets a bit more. “Yes, thanks.”
“Good, I will try and keep the fire going. Night Rachel.”
“Night, Jonas. Thank you for everything.”
“You are welcome.”
Rachel’s eyes closed and she began to think back over the day. She’d enjoyed it so much and it was the perfect end. Well, perhaps not perfect. Seeing the Northern Lights would have been perfect but being here with Jonas, cosy in a snowstorm was a close second.
She wondered what the day would have been like if Adam had come. She probably wouldn’t be here now, that was for sure. Would they have had a great time? Would it have been as much fun given what Anna had told her? Was that the real reason he didn’t come? He had let her down before because of work but this felt like another level, more than just a broken promise or missed flight. It was more like a rejection this time and she’d never felt rejected by him before. Yes, she’d been shuffled down his priority list on more than one occasion, but never rejected.
Being apart wasn’t making things better between them. It hadn’t made Adam miss her because if he did he would have come.
Rachel let out a sigh and then felt Jonas’s hand reach for hers between the covers. He squeezed her hand in his and then didn’t let go. Neither of them spoke but when Rachel went to move position he pulled her to him and hugged her to his chest.
She could feel his heart beating against her cheek as he cradled her head to him. He gently stroked a finger across her forehead as if there were a stray hair he was brushing aside. All she could hear was his heart and the fire crackling periodically. She could feel his breath rising under her and then warm against the top of her head as he breathed out.
They lay still, in silence, Jonas not releasing his hold. Rachel felt safer, warmer and more comforted than she could ever remember. She tilted her head to look at him, seeing from the light of the fire that he had his eyes shut but feeling her move, he briefly opened them, met her gaze, smiled sleepily then closed them again, pulling her even closer. She shifted slightly so that her face was next to his and gently kissed his lips. It took him a second to respond but he softly kissed her back, hooking his fingers behind her neck and stroking her cheek with his thumb.
In that moment, Rachel didn’t care about Adam, she wasn’t even thinking about him anymore, she just cared about this. This stolen, unexpected night in the wilderness of this beautiful country. Just her, Jonas and the warmth of the fire.
19
THE FOLLOWING DAY Rachel woke to an empty bed. The fire was still roaring and she could see that Jonas’s boots and clothes were missing so she guessed he must have gone out to check on the jeep and have a look at the road. The snow had stopped, giving way to a glorious winter day of blue skies and sunshine.
Jonas came back in as she was getting dressed, stamping his feet and rubbing his hands together.
