Page 47 of Ignited in Iceland
‘The reviewers are singing your praises,’ said Rachel. ‘They make it sound as if the lights coming out to play was entirely down to you.’
Siggi laughed. ‘If it was that easy, we could be out every night. Are you trying to mend that?’
‘I was hoping to, but I’m not sure I can remember how it goes back together now,’ said Jonas.
‘I did tell him it was a long shot, but you know how he always looks on the bright side,’ Rachel said.
‘What was it before you got your hands on it?’ he asked Jonas.
‘One of the winches we use to get the heavier equipment up to the top shelves.’
‘Ah.’ Siggi went over to sit beside Jonas and tried to work out what he had in front of him.
‘We haven’t seen much of you this week,’ Rachel said.
This was what slowly drove him mad when he came home. Everyone lived in each other’s pockets, and that was one thing he didn’t miss when he was away.
‘He’s on the Northern Lights tours this week,’ Jonas said. Siggi was grateful for the implication that he’d have no time for anything else.
So, have you seen Iris since you brought her to the bar?’
‘Yes. A couple of times.’
‘Really? Because she was lovely. It’d be nice to see her again.’
Siggi suspected Rachel was being careful not to imply that there was anything between him and Iris. Perhaps it was time to open up a little.
‘We have been seeing each other. We went to Kristján’s place over the weekend.’
‘Oh,’ Jonas said, grinning and inclining his head. ‘That is very romantic.’
Siggi batted him on the arm with one of their excursion leaflets, which was also on the table.
‘Gudrun told me what you’d said to her and Olafur, so I wondered how things were going,’ said Rachel.
This was the problem. There was no point trying to control the narrative about him and Iris, because his friends were a step ahead of him already. It was one downside to his friends being joined at the hip with their partners; you could never seem to catch any of them alone for a man-to-man talk. Although he at least understood it from their point of view a little more now.
‘Gudrun will probably have told you I am in love with Iris.’
Rachel gave him a look that told him that’s exactly what she’d said.
‘She is wonderful.’
Rachel grinned. ‘Siggi? Really? That’s fantastic.’
‘I am not sure. It feels fantastic now, but we have agreed not to continue with anything when she leaves Iceland.’ It felt inconceivable that they might say goodbye to each other in as little as a few days, with no plans in place for seeing each otheragain. But they had decided. It was the right thing for both of them.
A knowing look passed between Jonas and Rachel, and Siggi knew what was coming.
‘That’s what we thought,’ Rachel said, looking at her husband with hearts in her eyes. ‘And we couldn’t do it.’
‘You will find an answer,’ Jonas said knowingly.
‘I don’t think that will be possible. She travels from one place to the other, wherever the volcanic activity is, and I am travelling too a lot of the time. We might never be in the same place as each other again. That is why we are making the most of what we have now.’
‘But you really like her?’
He nodded. All he could think about was the next time he was going to see her. He needed to see her. It was like a primal urge. ‘She is working today at the IMO and has some report to write so we might not see each other for a couple of days.’
