‘I’m coming back now,’ he replied, oblivious to her emotional state. ‘I’ll be in the cabin in five.’

Fifteen minutes later, she had done the quickest possible repair job on herself. She looked like shit, she thought, with the coconut oil clinging to her jet-black hair, making it appear greasy and unkempt. The aloe vera cream had done little to soothe her overheated skin, and the nails on her left hand were now a good few millimetres shorter than those on her right. She had chosen a floor-length maxi dress in baby blue, hoping that the subtle shade of the material might tone down her high colour. It didn’t. She just looked like somebody wearing a summer dress in the middle of winter.

Right on cue, the door clicked and Tommy sauntered inside, throwing his key card on the bed and lowering himself into the bucket chair by the window.

‘Did you have a nice afternoon?’ he asked as she emerged from the bathroom. He sounded as though he was over his sulk.

Paula bit her lip. ‘No, I had a really bad afternoon.’

‘I met a group of fishermen in the bar,’ he said, as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘They were really nice guys, had a good chat, they were telling me all about the Northern Lights—’

A sob emerged, tears rose, and she lowered her head.

‘Babe?’

She dabbed at her eyes with her fingers. ‘I had a really shitty afternoon. I got locked in the sauna.’ She pointed to her head. ‘Look at my hair, look at how red my skin is.’ Miserably, she inspected her arms and hands. ‘The woman next door rescued me, and I’ve invited her to join us for dinner tonight as a thank you. She’s travelling alone,’ she added as an afterthought.

‘’Kay,’ said Tommy. ‘Guess I’d better get ready then.’

He pushed himself out of the chair and walked somewhat unsteadily over to the wardrobe, flicking through the clothes that Paula had hung up earlier.

She knew her eyes were still watering. Mentally she pulled herself together. They had a guest with them for dinner. If Paula couldn’t get her emotions under control, Tommy would refuse to eat with her. He would probably go off with his new buddies, and the woman next door – Anna – would think Paula was even more of a loser than she did already.

She bit her lip and sat down in the chair that Tommy had vacated.

She would have to get through dinner, but all she really wanted to do was crawl under the covers and forget this day had ever happened.