“Yeah, thanks. But I’m absolutely freezing. My room’s so cold, and it’s freezing down here too.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Is everything all right, Ambra?” he asked, studying her more closely. She seemed down, not just cold and tired.
“It’s been a weird day. . . . It doesn’t matter. I’m glad you stopped by. It felt strange not to be able to get in touch.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. But the lobby really was drafty; the minute the doors opened, a cold wind came blowing in. Ambra pulled her sleeves down over her hands, rubbed her knuckles together. Her frozen appearance gave him an idea.
“The house where I’m staying has a sauna,” he said. “We’re going to get it going tonight.”
She gave him a pair of raised eyebrows in reply. He liked that gesture, he realized. Arrogant, questioning, expectant.
“Mattias is an Ålander,” he explained. “They are islanders and have an unhealthy relationship with saunas. It’s like a religion to them.”
“Yeah, so I’ve heard. I interviewed a fisherman from Åland once. Sea, fishing lines, and his sauna—that was all he was interested in.”
“Want to stop by? Warm up a little?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nah, it’s actually pretty nice. Have you done it before? Been to a sauna?”
Ambra shook her head.
“Not that, either?” There was so much Tom couldn’t understand about her. She was experienced, had seen things the majority of people never would, but there were also a number of everyday things that she hadn’t done during her time in Kiruna, like ride a snowmobile or watch the Northern Lights. In fact, she’d told him practically nothing about her time up here.
“You have to come. It’s nothing weird, really, more like a hobby or a sport.”
“Aside from the fact you’re naked?” she drily pointed out.
“We have towels. Bring your sister if you want.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is this just a way of getting to Jill?”
“No,” he said, surprised. “Why would I want that?” He thought for a moment. “Though now you mention it, Mattias would probably be happy if she came along.”
“I see.”
She looked anything but positive.
He wasn’t really the type to insist, but it suddenly felt like a great idea to invite her over. Mentioning her famous sister was mostly a way of making her feel more comfortable with the whole idea.
“Come on,” he said convincingly. “I can’t believe you’ve never tried it. And you’ll warm up in the sauna, really warm up, I can promise you that.”
“And everyone will be wearing a towel?”
“Definitely. We have some huge towels we can wrap ourselves in.”
“And there won’t be any rolling about in the snow? Or whipping one another with birch branches?” Her cheeks blushed slightly.
“I promise, on my honor, not to whip you with a birch branch or anything else,” he said solemnly.
The thought of seeing her again that evening, talking with her, hanging out with her, listening to her and bickering with her, was surprisingly pleasing. He would bring in the wood, light a fire, put on some music. They . . .
“No, Tom, I can’t.” Ambra interrupted his thoughts with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I can’t. And Jill’s not here anymore.”
Okay. He looked at Freja, who was whimpering on the floor. He was disappointed, he suddenly realized, and had been hoping she would say yes.
“Thanks for stopping by anyway, and thanks for the invite,” Ambra said.
He was about to say that they could do it another day, but they would probably never see each other again.
Freja was still whimpering. “I guess I need to take her outside,” he said, though he had absolutely no desire to leave just yet. It felt so strange that this might be the last time they ever spoke.
“Okay.” She looked at the dog and then up at him. Long, dark eyelashes, and those slanting eyes of hers. She raised her palm to him in some kind of good-bye.
At the very last minute, Tom remembered. He found a pencil stub and the receipt from the pet store, scrawled down his number, and handed it to her.
She took it. Looked at him. He stepped toward her and gave her a quick hug. She tensed in his arms, but then she wrapped hers around him. For a second, she hugged him back, awkwardly.
“Call me if you change your mind,” he said quietly.
She nodded. He turned around and urged on Freja, who was eagerly pulling toward the exit. When he turned back, Ambra was already gone.
* * *
Ambra hit her head against the elevator wall. Why did she say no? With a sigh, she opened the door to her room. She should have said yes to the sauna. Her cell phone started to buzz.
“You called?” she heard Jill chirp on the other end.
“Gaaaah.”
“What’s up?”
“I’m an idiot.”
“Oooh, wait a second, let me stop the music and you can fill me in. Ludvig! Turn off the music. Right. Go.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m just such a loser.”
“Before I get excited, it’s not work, is it? Please tell me it’s a man.”
“Tom Lexington stopped by.”
“And?”
“Nothing. That’s all.”
Silence.
“Jill?”
“Ambra, my dear, dear sister. You have to get yourself a life. Twelve-year-olds have more exciting love lives than you.”
“I don’t know what’s going on between us. He’s nice, we have fun together. But he has an ex he isn’t over yet.” And he has really hard eyes and sometimes has panic attacks he doesn’t want anyone to know about.
Jill made a disapproving sound. “Another woman? Don’t sleep with him. End it, immediately. You don’t need that kind of crap.”
“I can’t end it, because there’s nothing going on. But he is nice. And he asked me out, which no one else has in a long time, okay?”
Jill sighed deeply. “So damn tragic.”
“Yeah, I know. How’s Örebro? I saw on your Insta you went to some party,” she said, changing the subject. Jill’s glamorous existence was about the closest she would ever get to a life.
“Ludvig! Where are we?”
She heard some murmuring.
“We’re back in Norrland,” Jill chirped. “I was invited to a party at the Icehotel, so we came back up. We rented a huge car.”
That was Jill in a nutshell. Wild, impulsive, restless. “How was the Icehotel?”
“Cold. Lots of vodka. A really cute reindeer herder.”
Something suddenly clicked inside Ambra. “Hey, isn’t the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi? Are you still there? That’s only like half an hour away from here.”
“I guess so. Where are you again?”
Ambra clutched her cell phone tight and managed not to groan. “Jill. Stop messing around. Listen to me now. I want you to come over here, to Kiruna.”
“When?”
“Now.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to go to a sauna.”
“Ha ha, so funny.”
“I’m serious. You’re going to come over and give me moral support.”
Deep, deep sigh.
“Mattias will be there,” she tempted her.
I think. I hope. Maybe. Or would she rather go to the sauna alone with Tom? Those arms, those shoulders. In a sauna. Covered in sweat.
“Which Mattias?” Jill asked.
Ambra felt like slamming the phone against the table. She hated it when Jill was obstinate like this. “You know who I mean. We talked about him yesterday. I saw the way you were looking at him when you were here. If you come over here now, I swear I’ll owe you a favor.”
Long, calculated silence. Oh, she would pay for this. Ambra knew it in every inch of her being.
“I’ll come. On condition that I can take you shopping in Stockholm. Women’s clothes, including
underwear and shoes, and probably also accessories. Anything knitted, denim, or cotton is forbidden.”
“Fine, fine. But you have to be nice when you get here, not some fucking pop diva.”
“Let’s not ask for the impossible. Ludvig! We’re going out in the car. Kisses, Ambra.”
“I hate it when you say that,” Ambra shouted back. But Jill had already hung up. Ambra pulled the scrap of paper with Tom’s number from her pocket. Ha! She was going to take a sauna with Tom Lexington.
Chapter 19
Jill leaned between the front seats and stared out through the windshield. “According to the GPS, you should turn off here,” she said to Ludvig, pointing to the right, out into the forest.
Ludvig didn’t reply. He hadn’t said a word the entire drive. His body language made it perfectly clear what he thought about her forcing him to drive them there. Jill, on the other hand, couldn’t care less; he worked for her.
“You sure he’s all right?” Ambra whispered.
Jill fixed her hair and leaned back. “He’s pissed. He wanted to stay in Jukkasjärvi and drink blue cocktails out of ice glasses.”
“Are you going to bring him into the sauna?” asked Ambra.
“Nah, he can drive around or something, pick us up later. Will we get any food?” Jill was starving, wasn’t sure she could hold back today, even if she would be around others. God, she felt like letting loose. Not just uploading pictures of food and desserts she then didn’t eat, but actually eating.
“He said there would be dinner when I called,” Ambra replied.
“Do you think he’s a good cook? He looks more like the type who’d club a moose to death and then eat it raw in his cave.”
“He’s fully civilized. I’m sure we’ll get good food.” Ambra sounded touchy. Was she nervous?
The GPS said something, and Jill shouted: “Ludvig! Turn here!”
“I knoooow.”
Jill stared out through the window. The branches of the enormous trees were bowing under the weight of all the snow. “So much forest. And snow. Hope we’re not going for a walk.”
Ambra looked at her. “But you’re dressed so practically.”
“At least I don’t look like a Christian social worker,” Jill replied.
As ever, Ambra was wearing pants and a sweater. They weren’t exactly ugly, but nor were they cute or flattering. Jill shoved her hand beneath her clothes and straightened her bra. Jesus, everything felt tight. Today’s outfit was a little on the impractical side—she agreed with Ambra about that—but this wasn’t her usual gang, and she felt a sudden pang of uncertainty. She usually hung out with people who admired her, who wanted something from her. People she didn’t feel inferior to.
She remembered Mattias Ceder perfectly well. Remembered how smart he sounded. Mattias looked like the kind of person to take 40,000 credits worth of classes in college, while she barely made it through high school and hadn’t opened a book since. Singing was all she was good at, and usually that was more than enough, but whenever she was among educated people, she felt stupid. Then there was the intense, silent Tom. She didn’t understand him at all, and actually found him pretty scary. No, she needed these clothes tonight. She might not be smart or have a good education or an important job, but she was hot.
She was here for Ambra, she reminded herself. Ambra liked Tom, and Jill couldn’t remember when something like that last happened.
* * *
Mattias lifted the big, shiny char onto the chopping board and started to fillet the fish. He enjoyed cleaning fish, preparing it.
“Did you catch that yourself?” Tom asked. There were plenty of options for ice fishing around them, but Mattias shook his head. He hadn’t been fishing in a long time. “But I bought it from one of those vans selling fish, so it’s from the area.” He expertly cut out the fillets and placed them on the chopping board. After that, he quickly removed the bones, fins, and fat. “Could you drain the potatoes?” he asked, nodding toward the stove.
Tom took the pot and drained the water from the almond potatoes. Mattias took out shallots, wine, and cream and made a quick sauce; he chopped some dill and folded in a couple of egg yolks, seasoned with mustard. He had managed to get hold of good-quality ingredients, and he enjoyed cooking, but he was starting to feel like it would soon be time for him to leave Kiruna. He’d been planning to leave that evening, but that was before he heard Jill Lopez would be coming. One more day, he decided. Her sex appeal was probably overexaggerated in his mind. Just as well he got it out of his system now, so he could stop with the sexual fantasies every night.
Tom closed the refrigerator door, opened a beer, and handed it to him. Mattias drank straight from the bottle and studied Tom, who was staring into thin air with a frown. Mattias put down the beer and transferred the fish to the oven.
“So I guess you like her? The journalist?” Mattias asked.
Tom shrugged. “She’s okay.”
Tom had a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator and he also smelled good, so Ambra was probably more than that.
“They’re here,” Tom said. Mattias hadn’t heard a sound, but Tom always did have unnaturally acute hearing. A moment later, Freja started to bark. Mattias looked at the dog.
“The pooch, what’s the deal with her? Are you going to give her back?”
“Yeah.”
Mattias now heard the car pull up outside. Freja growled deeply and followed them to the front door.
Tom opened it, and the snow swirled inside. Ambra Vinter was on the porch, stamping her feet, wrapped up in a scarf and hat.
Jill Lopez was behind her.
With all of her sex appeal.
Jesus Christ, the woman looked like she could melt the North Pole.
“Hi,” Tom said.
“Welcome,” Mattias said. “Come in.”
Ambra floated inside in a cloud of snowflakes and subzero air, and then Jill swept by, wearing sky-high heels, a pale brown coat, jingling jewelry, and glossy lips. She looked fantastic. Vulgar, curvy, hair-raisingly hot.
After the two women took off their coats, unwound their scarves, pulled off their hats, and checked themselves in the mirror (Jill, not Ambra), they waited with Tom in the living room while Mattias fetched the champagne. Jill took the glass he handed her, her long fingers stroking the crystal. Ambra nodded in thanks.
Tom raised his glass. “Welcome,” he said.
The two women sipped their champagne—a really good bottle, Mattias thought approvingly, if expensive and flashy, but definitely nothing to be ashamed of. He liked his wine the way he liked his women: sophisticated, elegant, tasteful. He studied Jill. Who wore patent leather heels in weather like this? She was wearing a figure-fitting dress made of what Mattias was sure was expensive cashmere. It clung to her curves like a second skin and was belted tightly at the waist. Her jingling earrings grazed her neck, and a huge necklace drew his eyes down to her exceptional décolletage. Ambra glanced guardedly around the room while Jill stood in the center, her back straight and her jaw confident.
“This house isn’t half bad,” she said. “When Ambra told me we were going to a cottage in the forest, I thought it would be a hovel.”
“Cottage?” Tom said with a questioning look at Ambra.
She pulled an apologetic face. “I only saw the barn,” she said.
“Hmm,” he said, running his hand over his bearded chin. “Want to see the rest of it?”
The women nodded.
“While you show them around, I’ll finish the food,” Mattias said. His eyes happened to land on Jill again. It was hard not to, there was so much of her. Curves, high heels, body-skimming clothes. Jill flashed a slow smile.
“What?” he asked.
Her eyes darted across the apron he had forgotten to take off before they arrived. “Nothing. You are cute as a housewife,” she said, turning around.
* * *
Ambra stared out of the window in the living room. The house, which Tom was apparently bo
rrowing from an acquaintance, was built on a slope, and this side looked out onto forest and an open expanse of meadow. During the day, the views out of the enormous windows must be incredible. The entire house was oversized somehow, masculine. The ceiling height had to be approaching seven meters in the living room, and it was full of huge couches, thick reindeer skins, and an enormous open hearth where a fire was crackling away. Beams on the ceiling, and then those huge windows.
Tom appeared next to her. He smelled great. Freshly showered. He was wearing a black sweater again. No slogan, plain black, and tight across his chest and arms. If he was anyone else, she would have assumed he was showing off his muscles, but he seemed to completely lack that kind of vanity. Aside from the fact that he smelled so good. She sniffed gently.
“I’m glad you changed your mind and decided to come,” he said quietly. He didn’t smile, but his eyes were warm.
“I’m a little nervous about the sauna part,” she admitted, sipping her champagne.
“We’ll take care of you, I promise.” His voice was comforting, and she knew that if there was one thing she could rely on, it was Tom’s ability to take care of a person. “Are you hungry? Mattias has made enough food for an entire company.”
She swirled her glass a little. “How big is a company, exactly? I’ve always wondered.”
“Smaller than a brigade and bigger than a platoon.” His dark eyes glittered, and she felt herself being drawn to him. He was a mystery, this man. What did it mean that he’d invited her over? What did he want from her? Did he want anything?
“And yes, I’m hungry,” she said. The smells coming from the kitchen were fantastic, and the champagne had already gone to her head.
They sat down at the table in the living room, with the snow outside and a crackling fire not far away. Candles lit and lights dimmed. She cast a glance at Jill. Even she was impressed, Ambra could see it. Good. You never knew with Jill. She could be a real pain if something didn’t live up to her expectations.
Ambra was next to Tom, with Jill and Mattias opposite. As Mattias served the food, Tom poured white wine into huge glasses.
They toasted. Ambra and Tom looked at one another, and it felt utterly surreal that they were sitting there, in the middle of the woods, at what most resembled a couples’ dinner party. Ambra tried to remember whether she had ever been to one. The closest she could remember was a piece she wrote about a dinner party that ended in murder in Örebro. She sipped her wine, decided not to mention it. She met Jill’s amused eye over the table and prayed silently that her sister would behave.
High Risk Page 18
