Ninni thought about Jack. Her stomach tingled. ‘I suppose so,’ she admitted.

‘I’ll absolutely have to go see him for myself now. Sexy men are few and far between, especially here.’

‘What about Tobben? I saw how he looked at you at the meeting, and I saw that smile you gave him,’ Ninni teased.

Britt pulled a face. ‘Tobben is a nice man, but not very exciting. All he talks about is the price of meat, and whether or not I think he should plant broccoli this year.’

‘Perhaps he has hidden depths,’ Ninni said.

‘If he does, I haven’t found them and I wouldn’t be bothered to look either.’ Britt looked at her. ‘What about you? Is Karl coming later?’

Ninni had expected the question, but it still stung. ‘No, he’s not. It’s over between us.’

Britt’s jaw dropped. ‘I’m so sorry. I really thought you’d make it. You seemed to have it so together, you know. You both seemed so happy whenever you came here. What happened?’

Ninni couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud. The truth was too raw, and even more embarrassing.

‘It just didn’t work for me any more. You know, with his flying schedule and being away all the time. It was too demanding, and he doesn’t want to give up being a pilot. I wouldn’t want him to either,’ she said.

Britt nodded. ‘I get that. You know I had the same thing with my ex. Geir was travelling all the time and when he was here he was always complaining about how much he hated working on the oil platforms, and I was alone with all the responsibilities. I got fed up with the whole thing.’ She leaned forward and put her hand on Ninni’s. ‘So that’s why you seem so under the weather. I’m so sorry, sweetie. It must hurt terribly. If there’s anything I can do, anything, you let me know.’

Ninni nodded, afraid to speak in case she started crying. It was the sympathy thing, she thought. It was deadly. She took a deep breath and smiled.

‘I’m fine, truly, I am. The island is the perfect place to stay right now. In a few days, a few weeks, I’ll be even better.’

Britt frowned. ‘That sounds awful. But I understand. You’re not ready to talk about it. But don’t wait too long or you’ll end up old, miserable and dead, surrounded by fifteen dogs and a house filled with empty cake cartons.’

Ninni grinned. ‘Oh, thank you. That’s a future to look forward to.’

‘Tell you what, I’m going to town tomorrow. I’ll stock up on wine, and you and I’ll get sloshed. We haven’t done that in ages, have we?’

‘Excellent idea. I could do with a massive hangover.’

‘If that’s what you want, we should stay here and drink my beer.’

Britt looked at her, and Ninni couldn’t help laughing.

***

The mayonnaise didn’t turn out as expected. Jack frowned. Something wasn’t right with the flavour. Was it the eggs, perhaps? Or the oil wasn’t good. He sniffed it and put it down. No, not that. The sauce on the fish burger Ninni had made for him on the first day was different. He wasn’t quite sure why and that annoyed him.