Page 17 of Adrift in Iceland
‘Something like that,’ he said, thinking about his functional but cosy cottage that was devoid of both pillows — except in the bed, which was surely the only place a pillow was needed — and candles.
‘So you live in Hafnarfjörður? Where I saw you yesterday?’
‘Yes. That is my garden, I guess.’
‘Wow. Amazing to live so close to the water like that.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ he agreed. ‘But quiet. That’s perhaps not always good,’ he added, thinking she might assume he was some kind of hermit, being thirty-six and not living in the city.
‘Well, if I lived there, I’d be spending all my free time gazing out to sea too,’ she said softly. ‘The city is on the water, but it’s not the same. It’s hard to find the quiet here.’
It was on the tip of his tongue to invite her round to his house. Maybe suggest they take a blanket down to the shore and contemplate the horizon together. But that would be weird. Unprofessional, maybe...
‘When are you getting your boat back?’ Astrid asked, stealing the chance away from him.
‘Ah, in a day or two. They are almost finished.’
‘I can’t wait to see her,’ she said.
Leifur’s heart swelled. She sounded as if she really meant it. Almost everything Astrid said brought her a step closer to bridging the gap that he’d created this morning. He felt as ifthey were as close as two almost-strangers could be after spending a morning together. Admittedly, the fact that she had been so forgiving was the only reason it had happened, and he was still silently berating himself for behaving so badly earlier. Still, he felt the need to show her he could be redeemed.
‘Would you like to come out onBrimfaxiwith me? I’ll take a test run to see that she’s running okay after being dry for a few weeks.’
‘I’d love to,’ Astrid said. ‘Thank you for asking me.’ Her eyes caught his, and the sincerity in her gaze did something to his insides. She understood what all of this meant to him even though they barely knew each other. Whether it was their shared love of the sea or whether it was because both of them were at a point in their lives where it wasn’t certain what the future looked like, Leifur didn’t know. But he felt that something special might be within touching distance.
9
AFTER DISEMBARKING THE tour boat, Leifur and Astrid strolled back into the centre of town. She was heading to Snug to meet her sister, and he was heading to the Iceland Adventures office to debrief Jonas before he forgot any of the details.
‘I had a great time,’ Astrid said. ‘In the end.’
Leifur laughed and shook his head. ‘I am sorry. Thank you for being so understanding.’
‘About your situation in general or about you being an arse this morning?’
‘Both.’ Thank goodness she was grinning too. And thank goodness she was generous enough to see the funny side of it. He would take her teasing him every day of the week over the idea that he could have missed out on working with her altogether if she’d decided he really was an arse.
‘Bye, Leifur.’
Should he kiss her on the cheek? Hug her as a goodbye? While he was debating with himself, she gave a small wave and went inside the store.
He watched her pause and pick up a candle to sniff, then her sister came over and offered her a different candle to sniff. It wasn’t until the sister caught his eye and then saidsomething to Astrid, who then turned and smiled at him, that he realised he’d been staring. He gave an awkward wave and left quickly before he could do anything else to embarrass himself, ducking into the coffee shop next door to get coffees to take to the office. In the coffee shop, he exhaled in relief as if someone had been chasing him. What was wrong with him?
Armed with four coffees, in case Jonas wasn’t the only one working today, he headed to the office, surprised to find himself feeling a lot more positive about the report he was about to give than he’d expected.
Siggi was in the office too and was more than pleased to accept a coffee.
‘Ah, this is the kind of new team member we like,’ he said, holding out his hand to shake Leifur’s since it was the first time they’d met. ‘Good to meet you.’
‘This is Siggi,’ Jonas said. ‘So how did it go this morning? You met up with Astrid?’
Leifur wondered whether to level with Jonas and explain that perhaps things hadn’t got off to a great start. It sounded as if Astrid’s sister was good friends with Jonas, so it might get back to him anyway. In the end, he decided against it. He felt as if he’d made up enough ground with Astrid that the start of the day wouldn’t be what she came away remembering.
‘Yes, she’s incredibly knowledgeable.’
‘Do you think you can work together?’ Jonas asked.
Leifur nodded. ‘I think we can. She knows her way around a boat, which will be helpful as well.’
