Page 68 of Snowed In with You

‘Yeah, might give that a miss,’ said Nate. ‘You look great, by the way.’ He glanced over her shoulder, and Lucy turned to see Anthony heading their way.

‘Thanks,’ said Lucy, wishing they were back in the mountains, just the two of them. ‘So do you.’

‘See you around,’ said Nate, giving her a half-smile before hurrying off through the car park. Within seconds he’d ducked round the side of the building and disappeared.

I’m not sure I will see you around, thought Lucy, and the cold, hollow void in her chest was a kind of pain deeper than any she’d felt in eleven years.

‘You OK?’ asked Anthony, appearing by her shoulder. He was carrying her coat, and the simple kindness of the gesture made her want to cry.

‘Yeah,’ she said, sliding her arms in and leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. ‘Can you give me a minute?’

‘Sure,’ said Anthony softly, resting his hands on her shoulders for a moment. ‘See you back in there in a bit.’

Lucy wrapped her arms around herself and took deep breaths, the vapour making white plumes in the frigid air. What am I doing? she asked herself. She was at a beautiful wedding with a man she knew intimately, and yet didn’t know at all. In a city that used to feel like a refuge, and now was beginning to feel like a prison. Shutting down any opportunity to seize the day or spread her wings or open her heart, other than to a man whose heart was already taken.

You are self-sabotaging, she told herself. You’ve been doing it for years. Not the way Leo did – he’d lost himself in drugs and booze and party people, whereas Lucy had chosen expensive sheets and organic surface cleaners and the safety of familiar, well-trodden paths that rarely led to anywhere outside her comfort zone.

This needs to stop, she told herself. Nate isn’t the one, but he can be the spark that becomes a flame and changes everything. She swallowed hard, feeling the resolve warm her blood and quell the sick feeling in her stomach. She turned on her heel and headed back inside, wondering idly if Anthony could dance.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

‘Hola,’ said Marco, taking off his coat and sliding into the booth opposite Lucy. He looked nervous, which was no great surprise considering a) Lucy had been turning down his offers to hook up for several weeks, and b) they had never eaten a meal together beyond occasional re-fuelling snacks in bed. Early on in their relationship Lucy had declared she was starving and he’d unearthed a mini Soreen bar from a pouch on the back of his bike. She’d devoured it in two bites, and since then he’d invariably bring her one every time he came over. Post-sex Soreen, thought Lucy. The ad campaign they never knew they needed.

‘You OK?’ he asked, looking around the restaurant. It was Japanese, one of her favourite places that served great food and good wine with lots of quiet corners with overstuffed chairs in green and mustard and red.

‘Yeah,’ said Lucy. ‘I’m fine. Sorry for all the intrigue; we’re just waiting for someone else, and then I’ll tell you what this is all about.’

‘Who?’ asked Marco, with a playful smile. He probably thought this was a precursor to a threesome, which they’d done once before. A female yoga teacher friend of his, who was undeniably hot and bendy and extremely open to getting naked in Lucy’s flat. It had been fun as a change of scenery, and not the first time Lucy had been with a woman, but the whole experience had felt a bit like rearranging furniture into different configurations. To his credit, Marco had never suggested they do it again, but presumably Lucy wasn’t his only sexual partner so maybe he didn’t need to.

‘A friend,’ said Lucy enigmatically, as the door opened to admit Anthony in a gust of cold air. He handed his coat to the waitress and smiled broadly at Lucy, clocking Marco and raising his eyebrows. He and Lucy had never had a threesome, but if they did, this scenario would be very much his bisexual jam.

‘Hey,’ he said, sliding into the booth next to Marco. He turned and shamelessly checked out Marco, clearly liking what he saw.

‘Thanks for coming,’ said Lucy to both of them.

‘Is this a proposition, or something?’ asked Marco. ‘Because I really—’

‘No,’ said Lucy. ‘It definitely isn’t. Let’s get some food, and I’ll tell you both everything.’

‘Fair enough,’ said Anthony. They all perused the menu, Lucy making her usual choice of sushi rolls with a side order of edamame beans and a glass of Picpoul. It was only a few minutes’ walk from the LUNA office, but since it was Saturday she didn’t expect to see any of her colleagues here. Clifton village was a great part of Bristol to work in, but nobody on a LUNA salary could afford to live there.

‘Are you going to tell us what this is about?’ asked Anthony, once the waiter had taken their orders and topped up their water glasses.

‘Sure,’ said Lucy, clearing her throat. ‘I’ve been seeing both of you for the past eighteen months or so,’ she said, folding her arms on the table. ‘You knew about each other, but obviously you’ve never met.’

‘Ah, OK,’ said Marco, the penny dropping. ‘You never told me what he looked like.’

‘Same,’ said Anthony, holding out his hand. ‘I’m Anthony. Nice to meet you, mate.’

‘Marco.’ They shook hands like they’d just met in a bar, presumably feeling an instant bond over screwing the same woman on different nights of the week. Lucy had been worried that this would turn out to be some kind of alpha-male stand-off, but perhaps she was flattering herself. They both looked pretty relaxed in each other’s company right now.

‘Spanish, right?’ asked Anthony, and Marco nodded. ‘Which part?’

‘Pamplona,’ said Marco. ‘But I lived in Barcelona for a long time. And I have been in Bristol now for—’

‘Sorry, can we do this later?’ Lucy interrupted.

‘Yeah, sorry,’ said Anthony. ‘Are you after a threesome?’ He looked Marco up and down and grinned. ‘Because I would be totally up for that, just to be clear.’