Page 38 of Snowed In with You

‘How could I know you hadn’t told him?’ said Chantal, her face the picture of wide-eyed innocence. ‘You told us in the kitchen, and we’re complete strangers. And you said you weren’t his girlfriend.’ They spoke in strained whispers, so the rest of the group couldn’t hear.

‘I’m not his girlfriend,’ said Lucy. ‘We work together. Which makes my private life none of his business.’ Willem and Alex glanced back and forth between the two of them, like they were watching a very intense tennis match.

‘Oh,’ said Chantal with a look of wide-eyed surprise. ‘I’m sorry.’ She tilted her head to one side, and Lucy realised she had totally underestimated Chantal. ‘Are you angry because you actually like him?’

‘Whoa, girl,’ hissed Alex, recoiling dramatically. ‘Shit got real.’

Lucy gave her a hard look, weighing up how much of her fury was because she was drunk and Chantal was a devious cow, and how much was because Chantal was one hundred per cent correct. ‘Good night, Chantal,’ she said, opting not to spoil what had actually been quite a fun evening. Alex was hovering with his phone, poised to start videoing their catfight, and some things were probably best left unsaid.

‘Are you asleep?’ whispered Lucy, stepping over Nate and plonking herself down on her airbed. It was already significantly less inflated than earlier, which didn’t bode well for a good night’s sleep. She stood her torch on the floor so it reflected off the ceiling, casting a warm glow around the room.

‘Not any more,’ said Nate, turning over and sitting up, being careful not to bash his head on the roof beams. ‘What’s happening downstairs?’ He looked adorably ruffled in a white T-shirt that showed off nice arms. Nothing like Anthony’s, obviously, but Nate was clearly no stranger to the gym.

‘Nothing much,’ said Lucy. ‘I helped Monica, Gunther and Willem clear up. Washing up in a head torch felt like when you go camping as a kid.’

‘Sorry, I should have stayed to help with that.’ He fiddled with the duvet, not able to look her in the eye.

‘It’s fine, although you could have translated the argument Andrea and Felix were having. The only words I understood were “Adele” and “Bee Gees”.’

‘Well, I think we can fill in the gaps for ourselves there,’ yawned Nate, ruffling his hair. ‘Where did Alex and Chantal go?’

‘They both made themselves scarce,’ said Lucy. ‘I think Chantal thought I might punch her, and I don’t think Baron Alexander Jansen does washing-up.’

‘He probably has minions for that kind of thing,’ said Nate with a sleepy smile.

‘Or possibly Willem, who is lovely. He’s already invited us to visit him in Amsterdam, so I think we’ve made a friend for life.’

They were both quiet for a minute, and the silence felt deafening.

‘Why did you lie?’ asked Nate.

‘About what?’ said Lucy, even though she knew.

‘I asked you earlier if you had a boyfriend, and you said no.’

‘I didn’t lie,’ replied Lucy, having prepared her defence on the way up the stairs. ‘I do have a couple of . . . arrangements, but neither of them are my boyfriend.’

‘Why not?’

Lucy shrugged. ‘Because that isn’t the arrangement.’

‘OK, but it’s not “I’m single”, either.’

‘I can see how it might not seem that way, but I definitely still think of myself as single. It’s just quite a big thing to tell somebody you don’t know very well. I didn’t want you to judge.’

Nate gave a barking laugh. ‘You told Monica and Andrea and Chantal. You don’t know them at all.’

‘OK, but I’m never going to see them again, which is totally different from telling somebody I work with.’

‘Mmm,’ said Nate, clearly still not convinced.

‘Look, it was kitchen girl-chat, I was a bit drunk. The regret has now kicked in.’

Nate smiled and shook his head, and Lucy hoped she might be forgiven. It surely couldn’t have escaped him that he wasn’t exactly being transparent about his love life either, so presumably he wasn’t going to push it.

‘These beds are really shit, by the way,’ he said.

‘I know. I tried sleeping earlier. That pile of deckchairs is probably more comfortable.’