Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Well, it has that new exhibition,” Ella explains. “With the boat inside the museum, all interactive.”
“Polar bears!” Bjorn roars, making claws with his hands.
Ella laughs. “And yes, polar bears. It looks amazing. We just haven’t gone yet.”
“First time for everyone, then,” I say, making my way over to the kettle to put it on for my instant coffee. I’ve wanted to see the new exhibition too. I heard you can explore all the parts of the old ship to see what a polar vessel was like back in the day. It will at least be a welcome distraction.
“Of course James will go with you,” Ella adds.
I freeze for a moment, then grab my coffee mug. “Does he know that?”
“He will,” she says, sounding pleased.
I force myself to play it cool. Since we’ve been back from Todalen, we haven’t quite been avoiding each other, but there’s this unspoken agreement—I think—that what happened there can’t happen here. I mean, it just can’t. We can’t do the Fairfaxes sneaking-around thing all over again.
It’s just damn hard.
When James eventually gets up, he looks surprised to hear his job for the day. Surprised and a little excited, if I’m being honest. I don’t blame him. Since he took on the role as Ella and the kids’ PPO, he’s been with Magnus most of the time, since neither Ella nor the kids go out very much. There was the trip to the kikut, of course, then our visit to the church in Oslo for the Christmas Eve procession (which was with the rest of the royal family as well, and I finally met the king, queen, and all his sisters, save for one who is in Spain; they’re all lovely, although the king seems quite frail). That went fine, and even Bjorn was on his best behavior.
But this would be the first outing with just James and me. I have no idea how the kids are going to be. Tor is calm now, but he might cry the whole time (let’s be honest, I might too), and Bjorn, well…no comment.
While James and I are in the hall putting on our coats and scarves, our eyes meet above Ella’s head as she’s crouching down and dressing the boys. He raises his brows as if to say, This is going to be interesting.
I give him the same look in return, hoping I don’t look like a lovesick sap since there are a few butterflies loose in my chest.
We go outside, Ottar tasked with driving us, and pile into the car. Ottar talks on and on about the museum’s history, better than any tour, I’m sure, and it only gets the kids more excited.
I have to admit, it feels like a family outing. As if James and I are the parents and Bjorn and Tor are our children, and our friend is dropping us off. It’s a nice feeling. Don’t get me wrong, not nice enough for me to suddenly want kids, but it’s comforting all the same.
The museum is just outside the city center, and by the time Ottar pulls up, the kids are raring to go. Ottar tells us he’ll be in the city and can come get us at any time, so we get out of the car and I take both of the kids’ hands while James effortlessly steps into bodyguard duty.
“How do we do this?” I whisper to James as Ottar drives off. To be honest, during the Christmas event, there were so many PPOs swarming around the church it was hard to keep track.
“I’ll stay behind you,” he says in a low voice, and damn if that isn’t a turn-on the way he says it. “That way I can spot any potential threats.”
My blood runs cold at that. I know it’s his job to protect the boys—and me, I guess—but it’s hard to imagine how anyone would want to hurt them.
“Don’t worry,” he adds. “We’re here to have fun. Right, boys?”
“Yeah!” Bjorn yelps, pulling away to run toward the building. My grip is strong, though, and I hold him back. This isn’t going to be easy.
We enter the museum, which is this gigantic A-frame building, and we’re automatically immersed in the experience, even while we’re at the cashier. I pay for our tickets, and the museum worker seems to recognize the boys, but she doesn’t say much. She also seems to recognize James and can’t stop giving him shy glances. She’s gotta be sixteen or something, so it’s pretty cute.
It’s a Saturday, so the place is packed with kids and tourists alike. With the weather being unseasonably cold lately, and with huge dumps of snow, wandering inside the museum seems like a nice, warm way to spend the day.
But also, chaotic as hell, and we’re only adding to the chaos.
“I hate crowds,” I grumble under my breath as we walk over to the ship.