I inhale deeply while Pippa pays the cabbie, wondering how in the world to break this to her. As gently as possible, I suppose.
‘Right, I’m out of the cab,’ she says. ‘Now, what’s going on?’
‘So, funny story – I’m not actually in Iceland. I’m on Capri – in Italy.’ So much forgently, but it’s not as if I had much time to prepare.
‘You’re what?’ she says with a dry laugh. ‘Are you having me on?’
‘I’m not having you on, Pip. There’s been some sort of mix-up. And there’s every chance you’re about to meet another bloke called Nicholas James.’
She laughs freely now. ‘Youarehaving me on. Not nice, darling. I’ve been up since five to get to Heathrow on time.’
‘I promise you, I’m in Italy – that’s where True North sent me. They’ve fucked up, but don’t worry, we’ll sort it, all right?’
There’s silence on the other end, then the distinct sound of a choking sob.
‘Oh, Pip…’ I sigh. ‘How about you go inside, check in, and we’ll speak in a bit, hey?’
More silence.
‘Are you nodding?’ I ask softly.
‘How did you know?’ she replies with a sniff.
‘Call it a hunch,’ I tease. ‘I’ll chat to Delaney – that’s the other person caught up in this mess – and I promise we’ll get this sorted.’
‘All right.’
With assurances to talk soon, we end the call. I lean on the railing, expelling a long breath, my eyes fixed on the view. It’s nice, but I shouldn’t get used to it. Delaney checked in first, so it’s only fair that I’m the one who has to find somewhere else to stay till we get this figured out.
I head inside to talk to the concierge but Delaney’s alone, plonked on the sofa and staring at her phone, seemingly lost in thought.
‘Hey,’ I say, startling her. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to…’ I add hurriedly, but she waves me off. ‘So, no luck?’
She shakes her head. ‘Not yet. You?’
‘Ah, yeah – I spoke to Pippa.’
Delaney grimaces, drawing in a breath through her teeth. ‘Okay, hit me with it – where did they send her?’
‘Reykjavik.’
‘Reykjavik?’ She starts laughing, but it’s devoid of joy. ‘Reykjavik…’ she repeats to herself. ‘Man, this is one hell of a snafu.’
She bites her bottom lip, her eyes unfocused as if she’s thinking.
‘That’s putting it mildly. Er… where’s the concierge gone?’ I ask.
‘Vittorio? He went to call around – try and find you a room at another hotel.’
‘Oh, that’s nice of him – it wasn’t even the hotel’s error.’
‘Yeah, he seems like a cool guy,’ she replies with a shrug.
She really does appear to be taking this well – though I suppose it’s not confirmed that her Nicholas is in Iceland. It seems likely, but after today, I’d say anything’s possible.
‘And what about True North?’ I ask. ‘We should get in touch with them, ask what they can do to fix this.’
She holds up her phone. ‘I tried calling them. Their hotline is only available during office hours.’