Page 41 of Meet Me Under the Northern Lights

The husky puppies had been adorable and one day all of them would be trained to pull the sledges like their older counterparts.

Chloe had taken so many photos, of the dogs and of the idyllic setting.

She could imagine a fire pit near the teepee, the staff of Sinclairz Chairs sharing mulled wine to warm up and having photo shoots with the puppies.

She thought it was a complete bucket list experience, a memory to last forever.

And, as promised, Gunnar had negotiated hard but respectfully on the price with the business owners.

In Chloe’s mind the dog sledding was already a ‘must do’ on her Sinclairz Chairs suggestion package.

‘More thinking, krúttio mitt ?’ Gunnar asked.

They were back in his truck, leaving the dog sledding adventure behind, heading back towards Reykjavik.

And, here in his vehicle, Chloe was definitely not only thinking about the celebration event, she was re-imagining those kisses in the sleigh.

It had been the heat of the moment, but perhaps also a culmination of whatever this slow burn between them was.

Because it was definitely there. However, something was telling Chloe to proceed with caution.

How well did she really know Gunnar? And what exactly had transpired between him and Kirstin?

‘OK,’ Gunnar said. ‘There is only one thing that we do now.’ He sharply turned the wheel of the truck, taking a turn.

‘What?’ Chloe asked, hand braced on her door.

‘When you need to think you must do this in the best place.’

‘Which is?’

‘You do not know this yet,’ Gunnar said, taking his eyes off the road momentarily and looking at her. ‘But, relax, because I do.’

‘O-K,’ she replied, tentatively.

‘Do not worry. We drive only ten minutes. Then you will see.’

* * *

Gunnar took a deep breath as he pulled the truck to a stop a short while later.

What was he doing? He was taking Chloe to somewhere he had only been with one person.

His mother. It was a place so special to him that he had not been here since she had passed away.

Was this a mistake? Was he acting on the same kind of intensity he had felt when he had kissed her in the sleigh?

It had felt so perfect in the moment, when he had not allowed a chance to second-guess his emotions.

And this was what he was still feeling now.

Acting on impulse, or, more accurately, going with his gut instincts.

And if he waited for his brain to overload him with other thoughts now, he would start to catastrophise.

‘So, we are here,’ he said, turning off the engine.

He looked at Chloe who was facing the window now. ‘I don’t see anything.’

He laughed. ‘That is some of the point. Come.’ He opened the door of the truck and stepped out onto the snow.

He heard Chloe gasp the second she saw what was up ahead.

‘A lighthouse!’ she announced like the type of structure was one of her favourite things.

‘ Grótta ,’ he said.

‘Grotto? Like Santa’s cave?’

‘Yes, it is the word for “cave”. Here it is best known for the lighthouse that still works, guiding the boats through this area of sea, the Faxaflóli bay, and for the wildlife. There are many different birds here, gulls, Arctic terns but…’

‘But?’ Chloe asked, looking at him.

‘We are not here for those.’

‘No? The birds are sleeping?’

‘I do not know what the birds are doing but… the stars never sleep. Look up.’

He didn’t need to look up to know what was going to be there.

He wanted to watch Chloe’s reaction to the first time she saw the night sky in this place.

She tipped her head back and then… complete silence.

No gasp like when she had seen the lighthouse shining at the end of the peninsula, no sound whatsoever.

He liked that. She was drinking it in, as if she was lost in thought. He moved closer to her.

‘Come, krúttio mitt .’ He pointed towards the lighthouse on the peninsula. ‘The view is better down there.’