13

SIGGI LOOKED THRILLED to see Iris waiting outside with the rest of the tour party when he pulled up in the minibus. Even though it had only been an hour since they'd been together, she felt a buzz of anticipation at seeing him again. He had ten people on the tour, as well as her.

He greeted everyone, then checked them off his list. The last couple arrived just as everyone else had got onto the bus. Iris hung back until everyone else was settled.

‘Maybe sit in the back on the way?' he suggested. ‘I need to do a lot of talking to start with and you might be a distraction.'

Iris had no problem with that. She respected the fact that he was working, not here to be with her this time, and it might be more fun to be part of the crowd. ‘Okay,' she said, smiling and climbing into the minibus where there was one pair of seats spare.

Siggi slid the door closed and went around the other side to get into the driver's seat.

‘Okay, aurora hunters!' he said through the microphone that he'd tucked around his ear. ‘Let's go!'

Iris leant into the aisle and looked to the front of the bus. She could see a screen on the dashboard which showed what she thought was a weather radar.

‘We are heading to the south-east of Reykjavik tonight. The skies are clear but there is some cloud to the west, so we will try to get ahead of that. For anyone who has not been on a Northern Lights hunt before, we are looking for three things. The first thing, we need it to be dark.'

There was a rumble of laughter at Siggi stating the obvious.

‘Yes, it's sounds funny, but there are many weeks in the summer when it is hard to find a dark enough sky. Number two, we need to see stars. That is the best sign for us that the skies are clear, and number three is that we need a strong aurora forecast.'

He explained what made a good forecast and said that tonight the KP index, which is used to measure the strength of the lights, and how far south of the North Pole they might be seen, was a solid four. ‘The usual forecast is a two to three, and we would have a chance even at that level, so a four is very good news.'

Everyone cheered, and Iris laughed, loving the camaraderie that was building up on the bus.

‘You're on vacation alone?' an American man, probably in his sixties, asked her.

‘Ronald,' his wife said. ‘I'm sorry, honey. It was unusual in our day, that's all.'

‘Oh, it's fine,' Iris said, smiling at poor Ronald. ‘I'm here for work. I was lucky enough to get a spot on the trip tonight, but I'm not really on holiday.'

‘What do you do?'

‘I monitor volcanic activity.'

‘Well, you're in the right place, I guess,' Ronald said.

‘Is something going to happen?' Ronald's wife looked panic-stricken.

Iris didn't want to alarm the woman, but surely, being on holiday in Iceland, it was hard to ignore the fact that there was volcanic activity on some level, almost everywhere.

‘How do you think they get the Blue Lagoon hot, Barb?' Ronald said.

‘There is a lot of activity all the time,' Iris said, trying to reassure Barb. ‘That's why it's a great place for me to come. And you don't need to worry because they have some of the best data anywhere in the world for predicting really big events like volcanos erupting.'

‘You'd tell me if that's why you're here,' Barb said, staring Iris right in the eye.

‘Of course.'

Luckily, at that point, Siggi began talking again, which distracted Barb at just the right moment. This time, he was giving advice on how to take a great photo of the lights. ‘Sometimes the lights are not visible with the naked eye,' he said. ‘On your phones, set your camera to the longest exposure you can. If you have a camera, you probably know better than me what to do, but I am happy to help if you need it.'

Iris pulled her phone out and began fiddling with the camera settings until she thought she'd found what Siggi was talking about. She was getting pretty excited at the prospect of seeing the aurora. Everyone was looking out of the minibus windows, looking for stars or even a glimpse of the lights themselves.

After a few more minutes, Siggi turned off the main road and pulled up in a small clearing. There were a couple of other vehicles there, so perhaps they were not the only aurora hunters out that night. Maybe that was a good sign.

‘Okay guys. We will spend about twenty minutes here. That will give us time for our eyes to adjust to the darkness and have a good look for the aurora. If they are putting on a good show, we will stay.'

They all piled out of the minibus and ventured in their pairs a little way from the bus. Iris did the same, training her eyes on the sky, looking for stars. There were stars. The longer she looked, the more she could see.

‘Oh, look!' Someone was exclaiming at a photo they'd taken on their camera. Iris could see the colours on the screen from where she was, and pulled out her own phone.

Siggi came up behind her, and hooked his arm around her waist, then pointed up at the sky. ‘You see that? It looks like a wave of mist, maybe a cloud? Take a picture of it.'

Iris did as he suggested, her breath momentarily taken away by the surprise of his body enveloping hers.

‘Oh my god! Look!' The wisp of cloud was actually a wave of bright green. ‘But why can't we see it?'

‘It is not strong enough yet. The camera is building the light in the time your exposure is open.'

‘It's still amazing, even through the camera.'

‘I'll be back,' he whispered into her ear, squeezing her around her waist before he went to check on his guests.

Iris was mesmerised, taking photo after photo of the sky. Some images were better than others but there was something there in all of them. Then after another few minutes, she thought she could see colour in the darkness. She took a photo to see if there was anything there or if she was imagining it. Yes! The photo was the best yet, and the green waves were starting to be more visible. The others were pointing and telling each other where to look. It wasn't long before they were all treated to the most spectacular show. What had begun as green lights, gradually morphed into purple shades, reaching almost as bright as a neon red.

‘This is a very interesting colour,' Siggi said to the group as they gathered together again, all the cameras forgotten in favour of watching the lights live in front of them. ‘The red colours are because there is very high altitude oxygen mixing with the solar particles. The green is the normal oxygen in the atmosphere which is why the green lights are more common. The red is wonderful.'

Iris watched Siggi watching the lights, thinking how amazing it was that he could find the wonder in it as much as the rest of the group even though he must have seen them countless times before.

‘Is the red unusual?' One of the men asked.

‘Very,' said Siggi. ‘Green and purple are the most common. I have never seen the red as strong as this before.'

It was as if the lights had put on a special show just for them. The guy with the tripod, Pieter, on holiday with his wife, from Germany, took photos of all the couples under the lights, promising to email them to the tour office for Siggi to distribute to everyone. Everyone, without exception had huge grins on their faces.

‘And you?' he asked Iris.

‘Oh, yes, please, that'd be great.' She'd seen some of the photos he'd taken and the colours were more vibrant and the waves more defined in his pictures than anyone else's. ‘And one with Siggi?'

Siggi grinned and put his arm around her shoulders.

‘You make a cute couple,' said Barb, presumably unaware that they were just that.

‘Would you like to stay for a while?' Siggi asked them all. Everyone agreed that they'd like to, to make the most of the experience for as long as no one was freezing cold. He opened the back of the minibus and revealed two huge flasks. ‘Hot chocolate for everyone?'

By the red light on his head torch, to preserve everyone's night vision, Siggi poured cups of hot chocolate for everyone and offered butter cookies. He and Iris stood close to the bus, poised to collect in the empty cups or provide anyone who wanted one with a refill.

‘This was a good night for aurora hunting,' she said. ‘How often do you go out and not see them?'

‘Not that often. Usually, if the forecast is bad, the trip does not run, and everyone gets bumped to the next night.'

‘So they could end up going home without seeing them?'

‘It does happen.'

‘I feel so lucky. My first time of looking for them and I see this.' The lights were still dancing across the sky, the energy of them almost palpable as they moved, growing alternately brighter before fading a little and then coming back.

‘It is incredible luck,' Siggi agreed. He tucked his arm around her waist. ‘You could come again tomorrow night, if you would like to.'

Iris wanted nothing more than to replicate the day she'd had with Siggi today. To laze around in bed, getting to know each other in every sense. But the report was weighing on her mind and she knew she had to make a start on it.

‘I'd love to, but I should work tomorrow.'

‘All day?' His expression was so forlorn that Iris imagined for a moment that the best thing to do was to quit her job, tell Jay to stuff his report and spend tomorrow and every day forever more with Siggi.

‘Maybe not all day,' she relented. ‘I'm going in to meet Bjarkey again on Monday and hopefully we can run my data alongside theirs so I can get some analysis for my report. But I suppose I could get some work done, enough to prepare for Monday, and then we could hang out?'

‘That sounds good to me,' he said. ‘And we have tonight.'

‘We do,' Iris said, grinning. And when she'd left the hotel, Embla hadn't been on the desk, so Iris knew they were safe to be there tonight without fear of a look that could kill on the way in.

He kissed her, no longer caring that anyone might see. It didn't matter. Now that everyone had seen the Northern Lights, they were too happy to care about the tour guide canoodling with one of the guests. And anyway, their eyes were still trained on the sky.

‘I think it is time to go,' he said. ‘I am starting to feel a little bit cold.'

He rounded everyone up, and they all climbed aboard the minibus again. Iris sat up at the front with Siggi this time.

‘See? I told you they were a couple,' she heard Barb say to her husband.

Siggi turned and looked at Iris, his eyes shining. Iris could see he liked what Barb had said, and Iris loved that. They were a couple.

The lights were visible almost all the way back to Reykjavik. Everyone in the back was sitting in a peaceful silence, the darkness and the late hour lulling a couple of them to sleep. Iris kept stealing looks at Siggi and occasionally, he glanced across at her and gave her the most wonderful look that told her he couldn't wait for them to be alone again.

It was after eleven o'clock by the time they got back to Reykjavik. This time, Siggi dropped everyone directly at their various hotels. Barb and Ronald were the last, since their hotel was closest to the place where Siggi had to park the minibus.

‘Thank you, Siggi. We had the best time,' Barb said, giving him a hug once she'd climbed out of the bus. ‘That was on my bucket list and it's well and truly ticked off now.'

‘You're welcome,' Siggi said, shaking Ronald's hand once Barb had turned her hugs over to Iris instead, who had also climbed out to say goodbye.

‘And you'll send the photos from Pieter?' Barb asked.

‘Of course,' Siggi said. ‘We have your email address from the booking.'

‘And you look after this one,' she said, patting Iris on the arm. ‘She's a keeper.'

‘Thank you, that is good advice,' Siggi said sincerely.

‘It was lovely to meet you both,' Iris said.

‘You too, honey,' said Barb.

Once Ronald and Barb had gone inside their hotel, Siggi drove them to the car park on the edge of the oldest part of town, where they left the minibus.

‘We'll leave everything for tonight,' said Siggi when Iris asked whether they should take the cups and flasks with them. ‘I'll pick it up tomorrow in the jeep.'

They walked through the quiet streets together, hand in hand.

‘Would you like to stay in my room tonight?'

Siggi beamed at her. ‘I would love to.'

Iris was glad she'd decided not to work all day Saturday after all. She could hardly bear to contemplate spending an entire day without him. It was ridiculous, she knew that, but also such an overwhelming feeling. She'd never had that feeling of missing someone when you're still with them. If she felt like this at the prospect of a day apart, what would it be like when she finally went home?

‘Have you explored the rooftop yet?' Siggi asked once they were in Iris's room and had taken off most of their layers.

‘No.' Until he'd said, she'd forgotten the rooftop spa that had been mentioned when she checked in.

‘There's a sauna and hot tub.'

‘That sounds tempting after an evening out in the cold. Should I ask if we can go up there?'

Siggi shook his head. ‘I know the code for the door and Anders won't mind.'

Iris's heart beat a little faster at the thought of doing something that might be against the rules. She wasn't sure why, but she thought Siggi had probably been a bit of a bad boy in his younger days. Maybe because he didn't seem to have grown up and taken on the usual responsibilities that his friends had, and instead seemed to live the life of an eternal twenty-year-old. It gave him that air of rebellion that Iris found deeply attractive, because she was nothing like that herself.

‘Okay, let's do it,' she said, feeling excited. She began digging around for her swimsuit in the holdall that she hadn't unpacked. ‘Oh, you don't have any swimming trunks.'

Siggi took a step towards her and put a hand on hers. The one that was now holding her swimming costume.

‘You won't need this,' he said.

Relief swept over her because it was the worst example of a swimming costume to wear if you wanted to look sexy in front of your boyfriend. But that was quickly overtaken by embarrassment once she realised he meant they should go naked.

‘I don't think that's a good idea. What if there are other people up there?'

‘There won't be,' he said with an easy shrug.

‘You don't know that.'

‘I do. Anders doesn't let guests up there at this time of year after ten in the evening.'

‘Oh.'

‘So we will leave this behind.' He took the costume from her and tucked it back into the bag, then took her hand and led her out of the room and upstairs. On the landing, there were two doors. He keyed a code into the pin pad by the one in front of them. It opened and they stepped out onto the roof.

Siggi opened a small cupboard and flicked a switch inside. The strings of fairy lights that criss-crossed the rooftop burst into light.

‘It's so pretty,' she said.

‘Not as pretty as you.'

Somehow, Iris felt it easy to suppress the urge to laugh. It was there for a second, but then she accepted the compliment, however cheesy, because the way Siggi was looking at her made her think he might actually mean it.

They kissed for a minute until Iris shivered.

‘Come on, let's go next door and get undressed. The idea is to warm up, not freeze to death,' said Siggi.

‘Thank you.' Iris threw her arms around his neck. ‘This is the perfect way to end the perfect day.'

He took her hand and led her inside to a warm and pristine changing room with baskets of fluffy white towels and robes hanging on hooks waiting for them.

‘Iris, I don't know what is happening, but every minute of today has been a surprise to me. I didn't know I could feel like this about anyone, and all I want is to be with you. You make me feel like a different person.'

‘Is that a good thing?'

He sat on the wooden bench that ran around the room and pulled her to him, his arms looped around her waist. ‘I feel like myself for the first time in a long time.'