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‘Wine after the strawberry milkshakes, right?’ he said, watching from across the room as she settled onto the floor in front of the fire.

‘You take the armchair,’ she told him.

‘No way.’ He carried himself to her and sat cross-legged on the hearth rug, pushing the armchair a little farther away. ‘Nowthisis Christmas,’ he told her.

‘It’s a shame there’s no TV, we could’ve watched a Christmas movie,’ she said, handing him his plate.

‘There’s the shop’s laptop?’

‘No, it’s OK, let’s just sit. I can’t remember the last time I sat in front of a log fire and just did nothing.’

‘Jæja,já,já,’ he said on an inhale, nodding in agreement, wishing she’d say more.

‘What is that?’ she said, biting her sandwich and tipping her head.

‘What is what?’ Magnús froze.

‘You sort of breathe in while you’re listening to me; you sayya ya ya.’

‘You think it’s funny?’

‘No, not funny, just interesting.’

‘It’s theinnsog. Icelanders take a big breath while saying yes to encourage you to keep talking, or maybe to show you we really, really agree. Or maybe to show we justcan’t waitto agree with you so much we don’t even take time to breathe.’ He was laughing and bringing a knee up to sit more comfortably, shifting a little closer to her and not even realising he was doing it.

‘It’s nice,’ Alex said with a lift of her shoulders. ‘If I could, I would do it back. I like you talking.’

This was a step too far for both of them, and yet not nearly far enough at the same time. They both pretended to be absorbed in eating the triple-decker toasted sandwiches, so crisp and gooey, and watching the flames, feeling thankful for the Christmas music pouring from Magnús’s phone speaker.

Magnús handed Alex her milkshake and lifted his own. ‘So this is your mamma’s famous milkshake?’

‘It is. Go on, try it,’ she urged, before taking a long drink from her straw, her eyes falling to his lips as they pursed softly and he sucked up the pale pink drink. His eyes widened as he drank, not stopping for a comically long time. Half the glass was gone when his lips released the straw and he exclaimed, ‘Ljúffengur!’

‘Loo fenger?’ Alex echoed.

‘Delicious.’

‘Ah!’ Alex took another drink and they let the fire crackle between them and the music fill the room.

Yes, everything about this evening was delicious, and neither of them was going to let it end too soon.

When the crispy squares had been eaten and Magnús had winced at the sweetness before concluding it was something you got more accustomed to with every bite and he’d licked his sticky fingers clean and hoped there was more left for later, he poured the ruby wine into glasses and shoved the tray stacked with dishes away from them with his boot. The last thing he wanted was Alex springing up and offering to wash plates.

Alex stretched out her legs in front of her, leaning her back on the armchair, signalling to Magnús there was enough room for him to lean too.

There wasn’t. Both of them could see it, but he still plucked a book from one of the baskets below the staircase and settled himself beside Alex, his boots close to the fire.

Shifting awkwardly so their shoulders didn’t clash, Magnús soon gave up trying to fit and lifted his arm instead. ‘Can I?’ He reached out across her back.

‘You can,’ Alex told him, already leaning into the nook under his arm and slipping her hand around his back so her fingertips came to rest on his belt loop while her other hand clasped the stem of her glass in front of her.

‘You’re not worried about this storm coming in, are you?’ Alex asked after a while spent watching the flames dance and pretending being close like this wasn’t sending fireworks crackling throughout her nervous system.

‘Nei,Þetta reddast,’ Magnús said, feeling very much like his level-headed, pragmatic old man back in Iceland. ‘It’ll all be OK. You’ll see.’

Curling their bodies closer to one another like foxes deep in their winter den, Magnús opened the book and read. ‘T’was the night before Christmas and all through the house…’

Alex closed her eyes and enjoyed his voice rumbling in his chest against her ear. His body was soft on the surface and hard underneath and he easily supported her as she let her weight sink against him.

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