Page 73 of Snowed In with You

‘It’s been quite a year for both of us,’ said Lucy casually. ‘We should definitely try to watch his set.’ She knew Nate was playing the Woodsies stage at six, and was hoping that Kristoff and Jonno would be pissed enough that she could sneak off and watch from a distance. Even though she and Nate hadn’t spoken since their freezing encounter at Lee and Zoe’s wedding in January, it was nice to think that they were going to be in the same field, for a little while at least. The past few months had been a journey of self-rediscovery, and she felt ready for it.

‘Is today the last of your birthday presents from Ken, or are there more to come?’ asked Jonno, taking a swig of his pint.

‘One more to come,’ said Lucy. ‘He’s got Centre Court tickets for Wimbledon in a couple of weeks.’

‘Fucksake,’ hissed Jonno. ‘A dirty weekend in Lake Como, VIP Glasto tickets, and then Wimbledon. Thirty-three isn’t even a milestone birthday. What’s he going to do when you hit forty?’

‘Steady on,’ said Lucy quickly. ‘It’s not like I’m going to marry him.’

It was a throwaway comment, but Jonno paused, giving her an intense look that made her realise how well they knew each other. ‘Interesting,’ he said. ‘I thought this whole dating thing was about finding the one?’

‘It was,’ said Lucy, suddenly feeling a bit warm.

‘But that’s not Kristoff?’ Lucy noted that the references to Ken were gone, because now this was a serious conversation and Jonno’s fun was over.

‘No,’ said Lucy, a nervous, jittery feeling in her stomach. ‘I’m not sure it is.’

‘Shit,’ said Jonno, sucking through his teeth. ‘What’s he done?’

‘Nothing,’ said Lucy. ‘I’m just not sure it’s, you know, a forever thing.’

‘OK . . . Does Kristoff know that?’

Lucy shook her head, trying to look breezy. ‘We haven’t discussed it. We’re still in the “living in the moment” stage of our relationship.’ She used her fingers to form quotes around the words, hoping she didn’t sound too ungrateful.

‘Right. And that’s not what you want for the long term.’ It was a statement, not a question. Isn’t that what it all comes down to, in the end? thought Lucy. Whether Kristoff is what I want, for the long term?

The door to the pub opened with a blast of street noise and warm air. Kristoff appeared, looking entirely delicious in a linen shirt, cargo shorts and white trainers – the perfect casual millionaire festival outfit. The forecast for today was warm and sunny, so she’d gone for a miniskirt/vest combo that showed off her hastily fake-tanned legs, paired with white leather trainers and various beads and bangles. Kristoff had suggested her leopard print all-in-one playsuit, which clearly demonstrated his lack of knowledge about toilets at festivals.

‘Hey, beautiful,’ he said, dropping a kiss on Lucy’s lips. He smelled musky and expensive, like someone had just lit a Diptyque candle in the Brunel Arms.

‘Hi, gorgeous,’ smirked Jonno. ‘I thought we agreed not to call each other the bedroom names while Lucy is around?’

‘You’re cute,’ said Kristoff, resting his hands on Lucy’s shoulders and clearly not planning to sit down anytime soon.

‘You want a drink?’ said Jonno. ‘The Limping Bishop is nice.’

‘We need to go,’ said Kristoff. ‘Andy is on double yellows, and Sasha’s waiting in the car.’

‘Sasha’s coming?’ asked Lucy, alarm bells ringing furiously.

‘Yeah,’ said Kristoff. ‘She asked if she could join us, so I got her a ticket.’

‘And you can magic up an extra ticket to Glastonbury, just like that?’ asked Jonno, clearly impressed. Presumably if Kristoff hadn’t been able to deliver, Nate would have. By any standards, Sasha was pretty well connected.

‘Titan’s a sponsor,’ shrugged Kristoff. ‘We’re handing out a hundred thousand free condoms this weekend, probably saving the UK from a wave of chlamydia and unwanted pregnancies. I have a number of VIP wristbands I can give to my guests.’

‘We are honoured to make the list,’ said Jonno, grabbing his jacket. ‘Let’s go.’ Kristoff turned to open the door, as Jonno gave Lucy a significant look that clearly communicated we’re not done with this conversation. Lucy found Kristoff’s black Range Rover parked right outside, the rear door being held open by Andy, his driver. She climbed into the back, where Sasha was waiting with a nervous smile. They saw more of each other than they used to, now that Lucy was spending more time in the London office. But whilst Sasha was always available to give advice or support with any issues Lucy was encountering on Shine, there was a wary distance between them that was presumably about Nate. Lucy had been too busy to worry about it, but the knowledge that Sasha was coming today definitely took the edge off her excitement.

‘Hey,’ said Sasha stiffly.

‘Hi,’ said Lucy. Sasha shuffled into the middle so Jonno could climb into the other side, which at least meant Lucy wasn’t trapped between them.

‘Are we ready?’ said Kristoff, climbing into the front. ‘I’ve got a couple of calls to take on the way, but Andy will have us there in no time. Let’s go.’

They pulled into traffic, Lucy relaxing into the buttery leather seats as they navigated through Bristol. Within minutes, Kristoff had plugged in his AirPods to take a call from his New York team, which mostly involved him listening and making occasional ‘mmm’ noises so they knew he was still there. Jonno and Sasha both kept their voices low, discussing a meeting Sasha had had with a potential new client yesterday morning.

How did I end up here? thought Lucy, looking out the window as the south Bristol suburbs flew by. By coincidence and happenstance, as it turned out – Kristoff had been signed up to the same dating site as Lucy, and had spotted her profile and sent a friendly message to say hello and What are the chances? Nothing more than that, but it had instigated a friendship where occasionally he’d send a photo of whatever glamorous setting he was currently enjoying a glass of wine in. Then Lucy had responded by messaging him reports on her dates, which were largely disastrous and seemed to make him laugh. After a few weeks of increasingly depressing encounters with men whose egos far outweighed their ability to communicate with a woman, the post-match WhatsApp exchange with Kristoff became the thing she looked forward to more than the date.