Christmas With Her Daredevil Doc

‘At least let me pay for the petrol,’ she protested. ‘And buy you lunch.’

He really ought to shut up. But his mouth wasn’t working to the same script as his head. ‘As long as you’ll let me buy you dinner tonight,’ he found himself saying.

‘I’d like that. Thank you.’

‘It’s a deal.’ He reached across the table to shake her hand.

* * *

When Sam shook her hand, it sent goose-bumps over Hayley’s skin.

This felt more like a date than agreeing to share some travel plans. Yet in a way it was a kind of blind date, because she knew hardly anything about him—just that he’d had some kind of career crisis and a bad break-up, so he was taking time out to decide what to do next with his life.

But, if she pushed him to talk about it, that would give him the right to ask her the same: and she didn’t want to talk about Evan and how her life had sunk into a black hole after her fiancé’s death.

She was just going to focus on the fun stuff. That was the reason she was in Iceland, after all. To help her move on. And if this was some kind of date—well, it wasn’t serious, but maybe it was something that she needed. Something that perhaps they both needed.

After coffee, they went to see the church with its soaring ceilings and tall windows. Hayley loved the sheer simplicity of it, and the beauty of the simple crystal font. She enjoyed the tour of the city afterwards, with Sam pointing out the places of interest—the Town Hall, the Tjörnin lake behind it, which was a perfect mirror for the town hall and old buildings that lined it, the Parliament building and the striking black glass building of the Harpa concert hall. Sam knew lots of anecdotes and stories and entertained her thoroughly, though she wasn’t entirely sure whether he was teasing her when he told her about the locals throwing yogurt at the Parliament building as part of a protest.

Before they stopped for dinner, he asked, ‘Do you have any food allergies, or are you vegetarian?’

She smiled at him, liking the fact that he’d been thoughtful enough to ask. ‘No and no. I’m very happy for you to recommend somewhere.’

He took her to a little bistro by the Old Harbour. ‘They do some of the best fish in Iceland here,’ he said. ‘And I can guarantee it’s freshly caught.’

The place was tiny and candle-lit; the interior walls were all of polished wood, and Hayley noticed that there were vintage photographs of the area hanging on the walls. ‘Would I be right in thinking that this used to be a fishing shed?’ she asked.

‘A lot of the buildings in this area are,’ Sam explained. ‘They’ve been renovated and painted different colours. Some are shops, some are cafés and restaurants, and there’s an ice cream shop here that does an amazing array of flavours.’

The ambience was lovely—but the food was even better. On Sam’s recommendation, she chose ‘catch of the day’, which turned out to be a seafood risotto topped with fresh cod.

‘The food is amazing,’ she said.

And the dessert was spectacular: a chocolate dome that, when she poured hot caramel sauce onto it, melted into a rich chocolate pudding.

Even better than the food was the company. Hayley couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out to dinner with a man, and Sam was nice. He had an innate kindness that appealed to her; and he was easy on the eye, too, with short dark hair brushed back from his face, hazel eyes and a sensual mouth.

Not that she ought to be thinking about his mouth. Or kissing. Or wondering what his hands would feel like against her skin. It made her feel disloyal to Evan—even though she knew that Evan wouldn’t have wanted her to be alone for ever.

They lingered over coffee, took a last stroll round the Old Harbour area, and then Sam walked her back to her hotel.

‘I can hardly believe it’s half-past eleven at night and it’s still so light,’ she said, marvelling. ‘Back at home it would be dark by now.’

‘With your hotel being this side of the bay,’ he said, ‘you’re going to get amazing views of the sunset across the sea.’

Just what she’d hoped for.

Ahead of them was a steel sculpture of what looked like a Viking boat; it glowed gold in the light of the setting sun. And when Hayley looked back over her shoulder, the sky was ablaze with orange and gold and hot pink.

‘The midnight sun,’ she said softly. ‘I’ve always wanted to see it. And it’s as incredible as I thought it would be.’

When they reached her hotel he asked, ‘Shall I meet you on the dock outside the ship at nine?’

‘That sounds good. See you there,’ she said.

He didn’t attempt to kiss her, and Hayley was shocked to realise that she was faintly disappointed. And then she felt ashamed. They weren’t dating and they hadn’t even agreed to have a holiday fling. Sam Price was simply a kind stranger she’d met by chance, and he’d offered to keep her company in her travels. She really shouldn’t be throwing herself at him. And wasn’t he still getting over a bad break-up? The last thing he needed was someone mooning about over him. Maybe she should have made a polite excuse and stayed on her own after all. Tomorrow, after the whale-watching trip, she’d feign a headache.

‘Goodnight,’ she said, and headed for her room.

Her window overlooked the sea, so she took some last shots of the sunset and emailed them to Dani, along with an account of her day and the fact she was acting in accordance with their agreement about saying yes to opportunities. She woke in the middle of the night and was surprised to see it was still quite light; back in London at this time it would be dark. She woke again in time for the sunrise and was stunned to see how the sea turned into a shimmering mass of gold and silver.

After breakfast, she walked down to the old harbour to meet Sam for the whale-watching trip. This time, nobody on board needed a doctor’s help. They saw a school of porpoises, and then two minke whales together. When the whales leaped out of the water in a perfect arc and she gasped with pleasure, it felt natural for Sam to slide his arm around her shoulders—and for her to slide her own arm around his waist.

Though at the same time it felt wrong. This was exactly what she would’ve done with Evan. And Sam wasn’t Evan. ‘Sorry,’ she said, sliding her arm away from his waist. ‘I think I got a bit...well, carried away with the emotion of seeing the whales.’

‘Me, too,’ Sam agreed, removing his arm from her shoulders. He looked just as shocked as she felt.

They were careful not to even let their hands touch accidentally until they were back on land. She should make up some excuse, Hayley thought, say she had a headache or something—though it would be a shame to miss out on the trip they’d planned.

Sam looked slightly awkward. ‘Would you still like to come and see the waterfall and the geyser?’

He was clearly offering her a chance to back out, recognising that the moment he’d held her on the ship had been difficult for her. But she could see something in his eyes. Something that struck a chord with her. Loneliness maybe, even if it wasn’t something either of them would admit to. And it would be good to have some company. ‘If you’d still like to go,’ she said carefully. After all, it must’ve been awkward for him, too.

‘Let’s go, then.’ Sam drove her out to see the Gullfoss waterfall.

‘The water looks almost golden,’ she said in amazement when they’d made their way down the path to the double drop.

‘That’s how it gets its name—“gullfoss” means “golden falls”,’ he said. ‘Partly it’s because of the sediment in the water.’

As they drew nearer to the edge, Hayley slipped on a smooth piece of stone and Sam caught her arm, steadying her. His touch felt almost electric. And she could see in his expression that it was the same for him—instant attraction that neither of them had been expecting or looking for, and it seemed that neither of them quite knew what to do with it or how to react.

‘Sorry,’ she said.

‘Uh-huh.’ But he didn’t move his hand away. He just looked at her, as if he was as surprised by the feelings as she was. And then he cleared his throat. ‘They say if you don’t like the weather in Iceland, wait five minutes—and look, the sun’s just come out.’

She looked to where he gestured, and hanging over the waterfalls was a bright rainbow.

It was a natural phenomenon, she knew, caused by the sunlight and the spray from the waterfall. But in a weird kind of way it felt as if it was Evan telling her was it OK, that she was ready to move on and he approved.

She shook herself. ‘Photo opportunity,’ she said brightly, moving away just the tiniest bit so his arm fell naturally away from hers.

And how stupid that she missed it being there.

What was she, a recycled teenager?

She was just going to have to ignore it and be sensible. She smiled, and took a snap of the rainbow on her phone.

When she’d had her fill of the waterfall and the rainbow, Sam drove them out to the Geysìr area. ‘The old Geysìr is the one that all geysers are named after,’ he said. ‘Apparently it used to be even bigger than the one in Yellowstone, but it’s been dormant for years.’