Page 29 of Snowed In with You

‘It’s fine, I’ll sleep on the floor down here or something,’ said Nate mildly. ‘Lucy can have the room.’

Lucy felt several pairs of judgemental eyes glaring at the demanding British woman who seemed to be insisting on having a room of her own. The only exception was Chantal, who was looking at Nate like she’d happily vacate her sofa in favour of his hard floor. ‘No,’ said Lucy quickly, feeling her neck get hot. ‘Nate and I can share. Are there two beds?’

‘Of course,’ said Gunther. ‘They are the kind you inflate, we use them for our grandchildren. If these two gentlemen don’t mind sharing the sofa bed in our family room?’

‘We are actually a couple,’ said Alex, tilting his chin defiantly. ‘I hope nobody has a problem with this.’

Gunther gave them a beaming smile and held his hands wide. ‘You are in Switzerland, my friend. We have sex with anyone who is respectful enough to take a shower first.’ He glanced at Lucy while he said this, and gave her the tiniest wink. Maybe it was better to share her room after all, even if it was with Nate.

‘Hopefully it is only for one night,’ added Monica, shooting another laser glare at Gunther. ‘And they will clear the piste tomorrow.’

Lucy nodded and tried to look amenable, deciding not to mention the update from Jonno about the incoming weather and closing the road out of the village. They all had phones and would find out soon enough.

‘There are some things we need to do,’ said Monica. ‘Ladies, maybe you could join me in the kitchen to prepare some cold food for everyone? We should save the gas for hot water. Then the men can help Gunther bring in some firewood.’

Lucy started to voice a complaint about gendered division of labour, then realised it would mean she didn’t have to go outside in a snowstorm and decided not to die on that frozen hill.

‘When we are done, we can relax,’ said Gunther happily. ‘We have plenty of food and drink and music. We are all safe, and nobody is hurt or missing in the avalanche, so we should celebrate.’

Lucy sighed heavily, wondering whether anyone would mind if she went up to her frozen attic and read a book. It had been a long and stressful day, and the idea of partying with a bunch of strangers suddenly felt exhausting. Apparently her hangover was definitely kicking in.

‘My grandmother is Dutch,’ said Nate as the group started talking and moving around again.

Lucy shook her head, wondering if this was some kind of spy code. ‘I’m sorry?’

‘You asked earlier how I knew that Willem-Alexander is the king of the Netherlands. It’s because my grandmother is Dutch and a huge fan of the royal family.’

‘Really? Ours? Or theirs?’

‘Both, actually. She came to the UK and joined that big queue when the Queen died.’

Lucy raised her eyebrows. ‘Did you queue with her?’

‘Yes,’ said Nate, the set of his mouth daring Lucy to take the piss. ‘For ten hours. I’m a good grandson.’

‘I’m sure you are, Nate,’ said Lucy with a wry smile, wondering how on earth she’d ended up trapped on a mountain in Switzerland with Nate Lambert and this random bunch of strangers. She picked up her phone and checked for messages, but there was nothing new. Who would message? she thought sadly. Jonno and her parents knew where she was, Anthony and Marco only tapped her up for sex, and there wasn’t anyone else. There hadn’t been anyone else for a really long time.

Lucy shook her head and put her phone in her pocket, noting that Alex had unearthed a charger from his bag and already plugged his in at the next table. She’d ask to borrow that as soon as he was finished, thinking that she might even make her own video later. She wouldn’t post it anywhere, obviously, but it might be nice to have a memory of this adventure before everything went back to normal.

She glanced at Nate, who was pulling on his coat ready to help Gunther and the others bring in wood for the fire, and wondered what normal would be like for them when they were back in Bristol on Sunday. Would he be keen for things to revert to how they were before, with them barely acknowledging each other? Or would they have a new connection, forged over wine and confidences in the Swiss mountains, that would lay the foundations for some kind of friendship? Something had definitely shifted between her and Nate today, and even though Lucy didn’t know what that meant, it wasn’t something she could un-shift. And, she realised with a jolt of surprise, I don’t think I’d want to, even if I could.

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘What’s the longest you’ve ever been cut off up here?’ asked Lucy as she sliced tomatoes for a salad. It felt strange to be behind the scenes in the kitchen; she hadn’t ventured into the murky area behind a bar since she’d worked in various pubs and bars as a student in Liverpool. All of those had been absolute hovels that ran the gauntlet of the Food Standards Agency daily, so she was gratified to see that this one was spotlessly clean and there were no signs of mouse droppings or rusty meat cleavers.

‘A week,’ said Monica, peeling the lid off a tub of what looked like chopped sausages. The buffet menu this evening seemed to be heavily based around processed meat, cheese, mayonnaise and cold potatoes; on top of the pizza she’d eaten at lunchtime, it was reasonable to assume that Lucy’s natural tendency to stay slim was about to be tested. Although maybe at some point they’d be able to roll her down the mountain, like a human snowball.

‘But that was just very bad weather,’ continued Monica. ‘Rather than an avalanche. We have enough supplies for a long time, we are prepared for things like this. But we would prefer customers.’ Chantal sighed dramatically behind them as she unloaded the industrial dishwasher, and Lucy wondered what it must be like for a woman in her twenties to live up here with her parents. Presumably she had time off to ski, and spent her free time hanging out with friends in the village. Lucy watched her tuck a curly tendril of hair behind her ear as she chewed the corner of her lip, and wondered whether Nate had noticed her. He’d have to be blind not to, she was gorgeous.

‘We had a week of gigs booked for hotels in the village from tomorrow,’ said Andrea gravely, as she whisked some kind of creamy vinaigrette dressing. ‘This is very bad for us.’

Lucy looked up at Andrea and Monica, feeling guilty that she hadn’t considered the impact of their lost income. She’d been so caught up in her own drama, it hadn’t even crossed her mind that it might cause all kinds of problems for everyone else.

‘Does it happen a lot? Closing the village and asking everyone to leave?’ That news had filtered through via various phone calls after their meeting, and caused a further frisson of worry in the Guntherhütte.

Monica shook her head. ‘I’ve been here for fifteen years,’ she said. ‘Only twice before.’

‘Do you ever have times when there isn’t any snow?’ asked Lucy.