Secret Double Life

Chapter 8

  The restaurant was comfortable for Gemma as they sat in the corner of the room where they could see everything. Gemma had her back towards the wall to feel more comfortable.

"What are your recommendations for something to eat here?" she asked, flipping through the menu.

"The lamb cutlets are pretty delicious," he said, pointing to the english translation on the menu.

Gemma glanced at the menu and nodded. "Sounds good. I think I'll have that."

He nodded and waved the waiter down so he could order. Once the order was in, silence fell between them, Magnús smiled at her from across the table as she stared out the window.

"So, what work do you do?" she asked abruptly.

"I work in a film studio," he replied, still staring at her. "You can come with me tomorrow and check it out if you want."

Her eyes lit up. She wasn't expecting him to invite her to the filming studio. "I would love to! I've never been in a filming studio before. What's your role there?"

"Director and screenwriter writer," he smiled humbly. "I couldn't do it all without my crew and friend, Stefan. You will get to meet him."

"Sounds like fun," Gemma said, her eyes dancing with wonder.

"What work do you do?" he asked, throwing her off guard.

She knew that question was coming eventually and she prepared for it. But now that it happened she doesnt know if she should be honest or lie.

"I'm a... um... fashion designer," she told the partial truth. "I design clothing trends and such. It's boring."

His eyes smiled. "That isn't boring. I could be wearing one of your designs and never even knew about it! that's exciting."

With a mental sigh of relief she grinned while their food was being brought to the table. She wasn't going to tell him that she was also writing an article on him. That would mess things up big time. Unfortunately, reality hit. After she got her story she would be returning home and would have to forget about him. He would probably be mad at her for coming into his life like this to just disappear.

Her facial expression changed to a grim sad look and he noticed immediately.

"What's wrong, Gemma?" Him saying her name for the first time made every regret she was having now almost surface through tears building up.

"I just," she took an unsteady sigh. "I'm going to miss this place when I leave. Even though I've been here for two days, I've fallen in love with Iceland."

Magnús smiled warmly and placed his hand on top of hers. "You can always stay."

Gemma met his blue eyes, a tear building up but not for what he thought.

"I heard the paperwork was too much," she joked with a giggle. "But I don't really have anything to keep me here."

She watched his reaction closely. He just smiled dryly and shrugged without a word. Did that mean he was hoping he would be a good enough reason to stay? Was he falling for her? There was no way.

"At least not yet," she added seeing his eyes light up a little after saying this.

They grew quiet so they could eat. Each talking a little about themselves to get to know each other more after a few bites.

"Pardon me for asking," Magnús spoke up. "Who saved you from the ice?"

Gemma nearly choked on her food and glanced up at him. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me" he smiled.

Gemma chuckled nervously and took another bite of her food.

"Sportacus," she mumbled.

He tilted his head not hearing her clearly.

"Sportacus saved me..." she repeated loud enough for him to hear. "I know what you're thinking 'I thought you didn't believe in superheroes'. Well I don't... and I'm still having a hard time believing it now even though he was right there in front of me. I even saw his airship."

Magnús just stared at her with a smirk. "Was he nice?"

Blinking confused, Gemma nodded slowly. "Very nice actually."

She shot him a cheeky smile. "Good looking too."

Magnús looked at her from his fork full of food and didn't say a word. She wondered if she hit a nerve of jealousy at all. Just as quick as it came her cheeky smile vanished. She was doing it again, seeing if he was interested in her. Gemma was starting to feel as though she was getting into deep with her feelings.

She wasn't going to admit to herself that she really liked Magnús. But she also fancied Sportacus it would seem from their first meet.

Her mind wouldn't stop going 100 miles per hour with all of this thinking about love, superheroes, and aliases. Gemma looked up at Magnús who seemed to have been staring at her but he quickly looked away and sat back in his chair.

"Are you finished eating?" he asked, pointing at her plate.

"Yes. That was delicious, thank you," she smiled.

He waved down the waiter so he could pay for their meal. They changed a few words in Icelandic and the waiter looked at Gemma and grinned from ear to ear.

"Keep this man, right here," he said leaning close to her with a wink. "He's a good man."

"What? Oh we're not..." he walked off before she gotta finish what she was saying. "What did you say to him?"

Magnús laughed and rose from his seat. "Just how beautiful you are."

A blush crept up on her face as she stood up. She tripped over her chair leg and Magnús quickly grasped her by the arm to support her. This caused her face to flush more at his touch.

"I am so clumsy," she nervously chuckled and composed herself.

Magnús just stood there smiling, still grasping her arms and his blue eyes staring into her eyes.

"Why is he staring at me like that?" she thought to herself. "It's making me have those butterflies again."

"We should get going," he finally said releasing her arms and moving the chair out of her way.

She nodded and stared at the floor so he couldn't see how red her face was and followed him out the door. Gemma glanced up at the man who had waited on them and he was smiling brightly with a wink. She pursed her lips and shook her head.

Gemma denied it once again that Magnús was interested in someone he just met.