“Oh, I can’t wait!” Elnaz replied with a smile. The launch of the Christmas special was something they all looked forward to. It was a big deal because it was the last big push before everyone disappeared for the holidays. “But I can’t wait to have some time off either,” Elnaz added.
“You deserve it. You’ve worked hard this season. God knows it hasn’t been easy, but I think we’ve ended up with something good. I’m very pleased with what I saw earlier.” He meant every word. The new season had remained true to the spirit ofLet’s Get Baking, but with a little more chemistry, more feeling, more of a spark—with that hint ofa flirtation between him and Nora in the background, in spite of their frequent bickering. He thought it was a fair portrayal; there was nothing that cast Nora in a dubious light. She came across as a serious and highly skilled baker who took great pride in her profession.
Elnaz nodded. “I agree. And we’ll have the gingerbread house competition to round things off, maybe with a kiss in front of the cameras in the square?” She winked at him. “I’ve always said that flirting was a better direction than the hysterical-female angle.”
Henrik smiled at her. Of course romance was preferable.
“This is taking forever,” Elnaz said. “I’ll just run to the bathroom.”
Henrik picked up a menu while he was waiting and read through the wine list, and then he looked around the room. Anything to distract himself from thoughts of Nora.
It didn’t work. He took out his phone.
What are you doing?He sent the message before he had time to change his mind.
“Hey.” Elnaz was back. “What do you think of her?” She nodded toward a girl farther along the bar, then smiled at her. The girl returned the smile.
“I think she looks about half your age,” Henrik said with a grin.
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Nothing. As long as she’s reached the age of consent.”
Elnaz glanced at the menu in his hand. “Are you ordering wine?”
“No, it’s just habit—I always check out the wine list. It got to be a habit when I was with Bente.”
“Are you still in touch?”
Henrik shook his head. “She cheated on me. Why would I keep in touch with a cheating ex who humiliated me in front of the entire population of Sweden?”
“Cheated on you? But ... Didn’t you know ...” Elnaz looked confused. “Didn’t Bente tell you what happened?”
“What are you talking about?”
“She never cheated on you.”
“I don’t know what you mean. Of course she said she didn’t cheat on me, but the pictures were very convincing. Why should I believe her?” The photographs were taken at an outdoor café at a castle in the South of France, Bente sitting opposite her ex-boyfriend Frederic on those rustic French cast iron chairs at a round marble table. In the distance there were rows of vines growing on undulating hills, and Bente was positively glowing with love.
“Because it was true.” Elnaz rolled her eyes. “Nothing happened with Frederic.”
“How can you know that for sure?” Henrik felt a twinge of doubt. Elnaz had been the producer on Bente’s show, so maybe she did know something he didn’t.
“I was with her all the time. They only saw each other that one time at the café. I was there, and they did absolutely nothing. There was no kiss. Okay, I saw the way she looked at him, but she didn’t betray your trust. I’m not saying you don’t have the right to be angry because she did look as if she was in love in those photos, but she didn’t cheat on you in the physical sense. Some idiot in production leaked the pictures, and they were taken completely out of context.” When Henrik didn’t respond, she went on. “They met briefly at the vineyard. I saw him arrive, they talked about what was going to be filmed, he presented his wine, and then they chatted for a few minutes after filming wrapped for the day. Then he left. And shortly afterward, so did we. Bente and I were sharing a hotel room, because the company always tries to cut costs as soon as there’s foreign travel involved. She had no opportunity to cheat on you.”
“But the photographs, they . . .”
“I know. They looked compromising. But she was never unfaithful. I’ve always thought that the press was really hard on her, they were very unfair, and you ...”
“Didn’t say a word.”
“Exactly, and I never understood why.”
So what Bente had told him was true? Once he’d seen the pictures, he’d never thought there was a reason to question the narrative. He also knew the history between Bente and Frederic. She had fallen in love with him when she was working as a sommelier in Paris, but it had never turned into anything serious—at least not on his side. Frederic was the love of Bente’s life, and when she told Henrik how much Frederic had hurt her, he had known that the relationship was unresolved; Bente still had feelings for her ex. As far as Henrik was concerned, the photographs were proof enough. He had never discussed the matter with anyone else—including Elnaz, precisely because she knew Bente, too, which put her in a difficult position. Plus he was a very private person, and didn’t want to share his emotions.
Now he felt like an idiot. The depth of his misunderstanding was hard to take in. Not because he believed that he and Bente would still have been a couple today—their relationship had been going downhill for a while at that point—but he cringed at the memory of everything that had happened afterward ... Bente had been trashed by the media, and Henrik had said nothing. He had never stood up for her; he was much too hurt. And maybe he had enjoyed her treatment by the press just a little, which wasn’t a very pleasant realization.
Nora leaned back in her chair; she couldn’t manage one more slice of truffle salami. She had invited the girls over for snacks and wine, and much to her surprise they had all shown up. As a thank-you for the dinner they had treated her to recently, she had bought good red wine, Pata Negra ham, bresaola, truffle salami, and a selection of cheeses. She took another sip of her wine.
