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‘Sure,’ he said. ‘What I’d like you to do, Milton, is to sit up straight for me again, and count the number of blue things in the room.’
‘Blue things?’ Mr Adams looked nonplussed.
‘Blue things,’ Sam confirmed. ‘Count them, and keep breathing like we did upstairs. I’ll count while you breathe. In for four, out for six.’
As he’d hoped, the small task of looking round the room for blue things distracted the older man enough to help calm him further, and by the time Mr Adams had drunk the coffee and Sam and Hayley had arranged the bowl of hot water and towel as a temporary recovery tent so he could breathe in warm, moist air, he was looking in a much better condition.
When the boat arrived back at the dock, they were met by an ambulance. The guide came to join them as Sam and Hayley explained the situation to the paramedics.
‘Thank you both so much for all your help.’ Mrs Adams bit her lip. ‘And you missed most of the trip and the whales because of us. I feel so bad.’
‘We can arrange a replacement trip at no charge,’ the guide said. ‘And I’d like to thank you both, too. We have trained first aiders among the crew, of course, but we really needed a doctor to help us in this case.’
‘No problem,’ Hayley said.
‘Call into the office whenever suits you best,’ the guide said, ‘and we’ll rearrange your trip.’
‘I ought to give you something for helping us,’ Mrs Adams said.
‘There’s really no need,’ Sam said. ‘It’s what doctors are supposed to do—help people who need it.’
‘Agreed. Though if you really want to give us something,’ Hayley added, ‘then I’d like you to promise you’ll talk to your asthma specialist about what happened today, Milton, and that you’ll take your preventer inhaler regularly—even if you don’t think you need it, because taking it regularly is what helps to keep you well.’
Milton looked slightly shame-faced. ‘I will.’
‘Good.’ Hayley patted his shoulder. ‘Best of luck, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.’
‘You, too.’
When the ambulance doors closed and the Adamses were taken to hospital, Sam looked at Hayley. ‘Would you like to go for a coffee? Or do you need to get back to whoever you’re travelling with?’
‘I’m on my own,’ she said. ‘So a coffee would be lovely—unless you need to get back to your travelling companions?’
‘I’m on my own, too,’ he said. ‘Do you want to rebook your whale-watching trip first?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘I saw one come up out of the water and dive back in. Expecting anything more’s probably greedy. Though if you want to rebook yours...?’
He smiled. ‘I’m greedy enough as it is. I go every week.’
‘Every week?’ She looked surprised. ‘Do you work at a hospital here, then?’
‘No. I’m kind of on sabbatical,’ he said. ‘My brother has a tour company out here, specialising in extreme trips—taking people walking on a glacier and that sort of thing. I’ve been helping him. But I go whale-watching every Monday afternoon. It’s the most amazing experience.’
She nodded. ‘It’s something Dani and I always wanted to see.’
‘Danny?’ Well, of course someone as pretty as Hayley Clark would be spoken for.
‘Danielle. My best friend,’ she explained.
How ridiculous that he should feel pleased that Dani was her best friend, not a partner. He was in no position to even think about starting a relationship, not with his new job starting in a fortnight.
Yet something about Hayley Clark tempted him.
Which was weird, because he’d had tourists throwing themselves at him all summer and not one of them had interested him.
What was it about her?
‘She fractured her second and third metatarsal last week, so the orthopods said she couldn’t come,’ Hayley continued.
He’d come across those kinds of fractures before. ‘Your friend’s a runner, then?’
Hayley nodded. ‘She was training for a charity run. Obviously she can’t do that now, so we talked the organisers into letting me run in her place.’
‘You’re a runner, too?’
She grimaced. ‘No. Actually, I loathe running. But the only way to keep her sponsorship money is if I run for her.’
‘That’s good of you.’
‘She’s my best friend, and she’s been through a lot. And doing that for her helps me feel less guilty about coming here while she’s missing out.’ Hayley wrinkled her nose. ‘Though I’m pretty sure she could’ve done the whale-watching—and if we’d asked at the tourist place, they could’ve found us some wheelchair-accessible trips.’
‘But you would both have missed out on a lot. Not all the paths around the waterfalls and the geysers are wheelchair-friendly,’ he said, ‘and some of the slopes would make it seriously tricky going downhill.’
‘That’s what Dani said.’
He should shut up right now. What he ought to do was to suggest a couple of reliable tour operators and let her find her own way round the island. But the pull he felt towards her was too strong, and he found himself asking, ‘How long are you staying?’
‘Until Friday.’
Shut up, shut up, shut up.
But his mouth wasn’t listening to his common sense. ‘Then why don’t you rebook your whale trip for tomorrow morning?’ he suggested. ‘And if you like, I’ll take you on a personalised tour.’
She blinked. ‘But aren’t you helping your brother?’
It was the perfect get-out. He knew he ought to take it. But his mouth was on a roll. ‘He’s had a couple of cancellations,’ Sam said, ‘so I wasn’t doing much this week. I’m free if you’d like to come with me.’
* * *
Hayley could practically hear Dani yelling in her ear, ‘Say yes! It’s the Year of Saying Yes.’
But Sam Price was a total stranger.
Even if he was a doctor and they’d just worked together to help a patient.
And, with that dark hair brushed back from his face and soulful hazel eyes, he was also the most attractive man she’d met since Evan, the first who’d even made her look at him, which made her feel guilty. It was only just over a year since Evan had died. Was she rushing into this?
She ought to be cautious. She was in a country where she didn’t speak the language; even though everyone in Iceland spoke perfect English, this still wasn’t England. She was a three-and-a-half-hour flight away from home. The sensible thing to do would be to say no.
But this was the Year of Saying Yes.
And maybe putting caution aside was something she needed to do for once. To help her move on.
‘Yes,’ she said.
CHAPTER TWO
THEY REBOOKED THE whale-watching tour for the following morning, then headed to a café in the centre of the city.
‘I love the ambience here,’ Hayley said when they were settled at a table.
‘Reykjavik lives up to your expectations, then?’ Sam asked.
‘Very much,’ she said. ‘I had a walk round yesterday evening when I got here. I really want to explore that amazing-looking church—I’ve never seen a spire like that, kind of spreading out like wings.’
‘The Hallgrímskirkja,’ he said. ‘It’s meant to resemble the volcanic basalt flows—and actually there are a couple of caves by one of the beaches that have columns looking very much like that.’
‘That’s amazing.’
‘The inside of the church is actually very plain,’ he said, ‘as it’s a Lutheran church—the simplicity is lovely, though. And the views from the tower are amazing.’ He paused. ‘We could go and take a look after we’ve had coffee, if you like.’
‘I’d like that very much,’ she said, ‘if you have time.’ She looked him straight in the eye. ‘And if your partner won’t mind.’
‘No partner,’ he said. Lynda had broken their engagement the week after he’d been suspended, and he hadn’t been tempted to date anyone since. It was going to take him a while to trust again. And he wasn’t actually dating Hayley, even if he did feel a strong pull of attraction towards her.
Though he needed to be clear that she wasn’t involved with anyone, either. The lack of a ring on her left hand meant absolutely nothing, nowadays. ‘I take it that it’s the same for you?’
She nodded. ‘No partner.’
This felt like another step towards dating. But it wasn’t, he reminded himself. No commitments and no promises. They were just doing some sightseeing together, that was all.
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m not looking for pity or anything like that, but I should probably tell you that he died just over a year ago.’
So she was still grieving?
If so, that made her safe, because it meant she wouldn’t be looking for a proper relationship.
But to lose her partner... He judged her to be around his own age, early to mid thirties, so it must’ve been either an accident or a seriously aggressive form of cancer that had killed her partner; either way, she’d clearly been through a lot. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘That must’ve been hard for you.’
She nodded. ‘He was killed in an industrial accident. I’m just glad I’d kissed him goodbye that morning and my last words to him were “I love you”—I think if our last words had been something awful said in the middle of a row, it would’ve been harder to deal with.’
‘Yes.’ And Sam knew that one from experience. The morning when his career had imploded, he’d had a fight with his fiancée on the way to work. Lynda had wanted him to give up his mountain rescue work in favour of something that would boost his career at the hospital. Something on a dull committee. He’d refused.
But he should have taken notice of the way she’d been behaving towards him, that last year. Then he would’ve expected Lynda’s reaction to his suspension, a few days later, instead of being shocked to the core by it.
‘So how long have you been in Reykjavik?’ she asked.
‘Since the end of March,’ he said.
She raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s quite a career change, from working in emergency medicine to being a tour guide.’
‘Yeah.’ Sam knew he was lucky. His family had believed in him. His older brother Martin had dragged him out to Iceland, saying that the job was only temporary, but he really needed the help—and someone who had mountain rescue team experience was the perfect person to come and help with glacier walking tours.
Sam knew that Martin hadn’t needed the help at all—he just hadn’t wanted Sam to sit at home alone and brood about the situation. And Sam would be grateful for ever to his brother for giving him something else to concentrate on, without expecting him to talk about the situation or his feelings.
Hayley winced at his flat tone. ‘Sorry, that was really intrusive—you don’t owe me any explanations. Please forget I said anything.’
‘It’s OK. It was a mix of a rough patch at work and a messy break-up.’ Short and to the point. Hayley didn’t need to know his team had been suspended after a diabetic patient’s death from a silent heart attack. He’d been sure that they’d followed all the right procedures during his admission and treatment, but the patient’s family had needed someone to blame for a death that shouldn’t have happened and they’d made a complaint. The hospital trust had been duty-bound to take the complaint seriously and launch an investigation.
A week later, Lynda had broken off their engagement, worried that the stain on his career would transfer to hers because she was his fiancée—according to her, everyone would still think there was no smoke without fire. How it had hurt to discover that the one person he’d expected to bat his corner for him, the way he would’ve done if their positions had been reversed, didn’t actually believe in him. All Lynda had wanted was to buy him out of his share of their house and get his name off the mortgage.
‘I took a sabbatical because I needed a bit of space to help me decide what to do next. Iceland’s a good place to think.’ And he’d come to realise that Lynda hadn’t been right for him anyway. She’d wanted him to be something he wasn’t—the sort who’d serve on committees and boards, moving away from medicine to admin. Sam had wanted to make a difference where it really mattered, saving lives and making his patients better rather than talking budgets and politics. So her breaking up with him had done him a favour, really.
‘I think we all get rough patches at work,’ Hayley said. ‘Days when you lose people, or you know the system isn’t going to get your patient the right help and you can’t do anything about it.’
There was a hint of sadness in those blue, blue eyes, and he guessed she was thinking about her fiancé. But it was none of his business. He wasn’t going to push her to talk.
‘Though I’m sorry you had to deal with a break-up at the same time as a rough patch. That’s a bit of a double whammy,’ she said.
He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. ‘If I’m being honest, we’d been heading for the rocks for a while. I’d been kind of deluding myself.’ Knowing he was being a coward, but wanting to get back on safer ground and talk about something less emotionally daunting, he asked, ‘So why did you come to Iceland?’
‘I’ve always wanted to see the midnight sun,’ Hayley said. ‘And there were other things on my bucket list, like seeing the whales.’
‘What else is on your list?’
‘Seeing a geyser erupt,’ she said promptly, ‘and touching a glacier, and seeing the split between the continental plates. Oh, and I saw this video of people walking behind a waterfall—I’d really like to do that, too.’
‘I can take you to do all that, as well as that beach with the cave that’s a bit like the church columns.’
‘Thank you. But it’s your job, so obviously I’ll pay you the going rate for a guide,’ she said.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Apart from my weekly self-indulgence of going to see the whales, I haven’t really done anything just for fun. So if you don’t mind me muscling in on your bucket list, and maybe making some suggestions of places I think you might enjoy, it’d be a holiday for me.’
She frowned. ‘Surely you’ve already visited all those places with clients—I mean, aren’t they on every tourist’s wish list?’
‘True, but seeing something through someone else’s eyes keeps it fresh,’ he said. ‘Please don’t offer to pay me.’
‘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.’
‘So I won’t actually get to see a geyser going up?’ she asked.
‘Oh, you will.’ He smiled. ‘Strokkur erupts pretty much about every ten minutes. And if you have a slow-mo setting on your phone, I’d recommend that because then you’ll really see how it works. The water at the top of the pool is cooler and acts as a kind of lid to the hot water below, so the pressure builds up and then you can see it boil over and the geyser erupts. Then it leaves a sinkhole and the water drains back in, and the cycle starts all over again.’
She could see a circle of people standing round what she assumed was the geyser, and then suddenly a massive plume of water shot into the air. ‘Oh! That’s amazing.’
‘Let’s go and get a better view,’ he said, and walked with her to where everyone was standing.