‘You look beautiful,’ he said.

Ninni frowned. ‘No, I don’t.’

‘Yes, you do. You are beautiful.’

‘No need to flatter me. I won’t throw you overboard.’

She was teasing him and he enjoyed it. ‘Doesn’t change anything.’

‘Okay. We’re here.’ Ninni nodded towards a point behind him.

Jack turned again. The two boathouses were clearly visible now, and behind them he spotted the roof of his house. Agnar’s house, he corrected himself.

‘Good. I could do with a shower, right about now,’ he said.

Ninni grinned. ‘Yes, you could.’

‘You’re cheeky,’ he said.

And beautiful and funny, and so different from everyone he’d ever met.

***

Ninni made sure Frikk was comfortable in his bed before having a shower. When she came back into the kitchen she checked on him again. His tail wagged against the floor, but he stayed where he was.

She sat down next to him and gently pulled his ear. ‘You’re fine, aren’t you? Stupid dog. Will you ever hunt vipers again?’

Frikk licked her nose as if to say he promised to be good.

‘Good. I have work to do in the kitchen today. I’m almost as stupid as you are, volunteering to cook for an almost Michelin chef. He’s going to hate it, isn’t he?’

She talked while looking through the contents of the fridge and pulled out different items. She found a tub of sour cream and some herbs – that looked promising.

It took less than ten minutes to make a decent remoulade, then she mixed some whipped cream into it, adding dill and chives. She looked at Frikk. ‘What about garlic?’

Frikk sighed and rested his head on his paws. Ninni laughed. ‘Perhaps not.’

She took the paper bags from the bucket and put them in the fridge. The dessert didn’t need to be made until they were ready to eat it, so she left the rest of Britt’s eggs on the counter. Then she took a small bag of frozen redcurrants out of the fridge. They’d been picked from the garden the year before but they were still good. She poured them in a bowl and sprinkled some sugar on them.

‘Now, if this doesn’t impress him, I don’t know what will, Frikk.’

She kept talking and smiled every time the dog responded.

In her head she ran through everything she needed to do. Her hands were shaking. What am I doing? she thought. Her next thought was that the bed needed new sheets.

‘Here, sweetie.’ She gave Frikk a treat, then ran upstairs.

Changing her bed took about five minutes. She looked around. Perhaps not the most seductive room, she thought, glancing at the toy planes hanging from the ceiling and the Barbies on the shelves.

‘Bugger this,’ she muttered.

She headed back downstairs and opened the door to the lounge. Her father had bought a huge couch a few years ago, American style, so that he would have the perfect place to read and relax. That will do, she thought.