Page 5 of A Nine-Month Deal With Her Husband

Millie wasn’t about to explain she wasn’t good at checking her personal emails. She’d skimmed through her mail yesterday, seen a message from the hotel and presumed it was a standard, looking-forward-to-seeing-you letter.

‘Our correspondence strongly suggested that, unless it was an emergency, you postpone your trip. We have a blizzard on its way and your plane would’ve been one of the last to arrive. We have guests who can’t leave and a dire shortage of rooms.’

‘I was raised in this country, Stefán, blizzards are not that big a deal,’ Millie said, as her heart sank to her toes.

‘As someone raised here, you should know how the weather influences travel, especially in winter, and you should know how important it is to stay well informed.’

Millie felt like an errant schoolgirl being reprimanded by the headmaster, but Stefán wasn’t wrong. Shedidknow better and she should’ve checked on what was happening with the weather. But when she got to the airport, her flight was on time and she’d assumed all was well.

‘This one is going to be one of the worst in two decades.’ Stefán twisted his hands together. ‘As per our email, we cancelled your reservation because you didn’t confirm your arrival and we needed the room. We do not have a room for you.’

Dammit!Millie cursed.

‘You said that you grew up here,’ Stefán said, looking hopeful. ‘I don’t suppose you have anyone you can stay with?’

Yes, Benedikt. But also, no. She wasn’t going to ask her husband/stranger whether she could ride out the storm with him. What if he had a lover living with him? Having his wife in the spare room would be, at best, problematic.

Aargh!

‘I will try to find you accommodation, Ms Piper, but it might require you to share a room with another single female guest.’

Millie couldn’t think of anything worse than having to be cooped up in a hotel room with a stranger. That sounded truly awful. ‘I’ll phone someone,’ Millie told Stefán.

‘Thank you,’ Stefán replied. ‘I will not start with my calls until I know whether or not you have been successful. Idohope you come right, Ms Piper.’

She did, too. She’d come to Iceland to ask her husband for a divorce, but now she’d have to ask Benedikt for help, too.

Blast!

She wouldn’t get a place to stay, or a divorce, if she didn’t call the man. Ignoring the nauseous feeling in her stomach, Millie did what she’d never had cause to before and placed a video call to Benedikt. He’d given Millie a mobile phone number the day they married and this was the first time she’d used it.

‘Millie, are you all right?’

She blinked at the sound of his chocolate-over-gravel voice, which was deeper than most. His face in her tiny screen came in focus and she took in those still familiar features, that ruggedly angular face, his high cheekbones and sensual mouth. His eyes were a deep blue, tinged with violet, and she noticed flecks of grey hair within his blond hair. The creases at the edges of his eyes were deeper than before. Millie wondered where he’d picked up his tan and could easily imagine him on a windsurfer or a surfboard, sunlight and seawater on his broad shoulders and muscular arms.

Millie met his eyes. He looked older, hotter and even more inscrutable than he did twelve years ago. ‘Hello, Benedikt. I’m glad this number still works.’

He lifted one shoulder, covered in what she could see was a very expensive designer shirt. The discreet logo on the pocket was a dead giveaway. He wore a perfectly knotted mint-green tie.

‘Millie, again, are you all right?’

‘I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?’ she asked.

He released a sigh and sat back, his shoulders dropping. ‘Forgive me for thinking that, the first time I get a phone call from my wife, something might be wrong.’

Fair point. Millie pushed her long fringe off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. ‘Sorry, I didn’t think about that.’

She should tell him why she was calling, but she felt like an idiot. Benedikt would surely never ignore his emails and be caught out by an approaching blizzard. She decided to make small talk to build up her courage to ask him a favour. The first in twelve years...

‘So, I’m going to be attending Star Shine’s Gala Concert on the twenty-second. It’ll take place at the Harpa Concert Hall.’

Every five years, the foundation her mum had established held a benefit concert to raise funds for the foundation and, as Jacqui’s daughter, she was always invited to attend. She’d missed the last one due to flu and the one before that because she hadn’t felt ready to return to Iceland. Bettina, her mum’s best friend and the CEO of the foundation, would tolerate no excuses this year.

It was also the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the foundation and Bettina wanted Millie to do a tribute speech to her mum. The Gala Concert was one of the major social events of the decade and the idea of talking to the great and good of Europe made her quake in her boots.

‘I thought I’d let you know,’ Millie added, feeling like an idiot.

‘The foundations’ trustees will be glad to hear that,’ Benedikt calmly replied. As one of the country’s most celebrated business people, he would’ve been at the top of the list to receive an invitation to purchase a ticket to the much-anticipated Gala Concert. She knew he’d attended previous concerts and Millie wondered if he’d bring a partner to the event this time, although he hadn’t before. Should she bring someone? But who? And why did she feel it was weird to take a date knowing her husband would be attending the same event?

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