Page 54 of Ignited in Iceland
‘I won’t call him, then. Maybe let him know we’ve spoken and I’ll catch up with you both properly when I get back.’
‘And when’s that going to be? Or will we lose you forever to your Icelandic tour guide?’
‘No, of course not,’ Iris laughed. ‘I think another week or so, that’s all.’ She didn’t want to think about what little time they had left, or what life would be like without Siggi.
‘You know you can stay here when you get back?’ She’d given up her rented flat when she began travelling so much for work and instead had stayed with her parents for fleeting visits home, or at Finn’s when the parental scrutiny became too much.
‘I know. I’ll probably start off at Mum and Dad’s, but thank you.’
‘Enjoy yourself, Iris and take care.’
By the time she’d finished the call with Finn, there was a response from Jay in her inbox. He’d replied to her, removing the other person Iris had copied in to her original message. The gist of his response was a threat that she’d lose her job if she wasn’t back by Wednesday. Twenty-four hours ago, Iris wouldhave been worried enough about the prospect of that to be on the next flight out of Keflavik airport, but now it made her smile. The conversation with Bjarkey had changed how she saw him. He was a bully, and by not standing up to him, by believing in the power she thought he had over her, she’d allowed him to bully her for years. But no more.
Iris attached the email trail to a fresh email to the HR department at British Geology Labs asking them to confirm whether Jay had the authority to dismiss her with no warning. She copied Jay in for good measure, knowing that this was the last thing he’d expect her to do, and also knowing already that he didn’t have the authority because there was a process that would have to be adhered to.
Feeling energised by what she’d done, Iris lost herself in the data she and Bjarkey had collated that morning, formatting it into meaningful bitesize chunks for her report, roughly drafting the text as she went. It was past midnight the next time she looked up from her laptop. She stretched and closed the lid, pleased with the progress she’d made.
She picked up her phone and saw that she had a text from Siggi.
The lights were amazing again tonight, but I had no fun without you x
Want to meet for breakfast tomorrow? xx
Want to meet for a goodnight kiss now? x
It was tempting. She’d resigned herself to not seeing him until tomorrow, although they’d made no plans. It had been a full-on day and now that she’d stopped working, she was already fighting sleep.
I’m too tired even for kisses. Tomorrow? xx
I’ll pick you up at 9 x
She stared at the kiss in his last message. It swelled her heart and reassured her they were both thinking along the same lines.She was falling for him and she knew the same was happening for him.
If only it was just that. That she’d met an amazing guy and was falling for him. It would be so simple. But now, it was going to make it harder to decide about whether the IMO was the right place for her. Iceland was Siggi, as well as everything else she loved about it. Even if she could be objective enough to discount her feelings from the decision, surely they would keep seeing each other if she stayed. Wasn’t that inevitable? Because surely the only reason they’d put an expiry date on their relationship in the first place was because of the reality of their situation in the beginning.
The following morning, Iris headed downstairs to meet Siggi. Embla was on the reception desk. Still feeling invincible because of everything that had happened yesterday, Iris greeted her with a smile and received a narrowing of eyes in return.
‘Góður morgunn,’Siggi greeted her, as she came outside to find him. He took her gloved hands in his and leant in to kiss her.
‘I’ve missed you,’ she said, wrapping her arms around him.
‘And I have missed you. I had to hang out with Jonas and Rachel yesterday,’ he said, as if it was a hardship.
They joined hands and strolled together along the street towards the centre of town.
‘Did you see the Northern Lights last night?’
‘Yes. It was a good night, but they were not the colours that we saw.’
‘Maybe that was especially for us?’ Iris said.
‘I think you are right,’ Siggi said, smiling. ‘I hope you are hungry.’
‘I’m starving.’ Iris hadn’t realised until it was too late that she hadn’t eaten dinner the night before, having been engrossed in her report. All she’d eaten since she and Bjarkey had stopped forcoffee and cake in Hraunvik, were the complimentary biscuits in her room.
The breakfast place was called Sandholt, and was on Laugavegur, nestled amongst the shops. There was a small line forming outside, but Siggi went straight to the front.
‘I have a reservation,’ he said to Iris when she protested about jumping the queue.
