“Damned straight, and don’t you forget it.”
“How could I? Especially with you to constantly remind me.” She scrunched her nose at him and they grinned. “There is just one more thing.” She looked at him curiously. “How can I ever make this up to you, all this palaver. Please tell me there’s something I can do, something special.”
Chloe’s eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a smile. “Actually, there is something. It’s kind of a big ask though.”
“Anything,” he replied, and she knew he meant it.
“Well, I have an idea. It’s about New Year’s …”
Chapter 33
“Will! Will! A car’s pulled up.”
Lucy ran down the staircase to the foyer and, not stopping to put on her coat, shot out the front door, down the steps, and onto the driveway of the Colorado cabin.
She bounced on her toes as the large, black four-wheel-drive pulled to a stop. Will appeared beside her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Car doors opened and within moments, there were squeals of delight, hugs, and handshakes.
Lucy wrapped her arms around her best friends, and they enveloped her in a three-way hug. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she said, her voice muffled against Jules’s shoulder. When they broke from their hug, Chloe stepped away to talk to Will and Jules stood rooted to the spot, staring at her intently.
“Are we good, Luce? I mean, really?”
Lucy grabbed Jules’s hand and squeezed tightly. “We’re good, Jules, I promise.”
Jules hugged her tightly and Lucy heard a sigh, then a whispered, “I’m so glad, Luce. I’ve missed you,” against her ear.
“Hey, I’m Will.” Lucy looked over Jules’s shoulder to see Will shaking hands with Matt, then Alan. Archer, she reminded herself. As she and Jules stepped back from their hug, Archer strode over and scooped her up into another one. “Hello, Lucy. Wonderful to see you.” It was the greeting of a dear friend, even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, and Lucy was both surprised and touched that he regarded her that way.
“Hello, Al—Archer, sorry.” She shook her head at herself and he waved off her apology.
“Honestly, it’s fine. They’re both me. Besides, Chloe tells me that we English apologise far too much.”
“Oh, she does, does she?” Lucy asked, smiling. She glanced at Chloe who was chatting to Will, then caught Matt’s eye. He was unloading the car and seemed to be hanging back, perhaps a little shier than the others. “Excuse me for a moment? I want to meet Matt.” From everything Jules and Chloe had told her about him, Lucy just knew she’d adore him.
“Absolutely. I should help him with the cases, too. And we should get you inside. You forgot your coat.” Lucy suddenly realised how cold she was.
“Oh, yes, quite right.” She wrapped her arms around herself as she bustled past Jules, Will, and Chloe, who were chatting animatedly.
“Hello, you’re Matt.”
“I am, and you’re Lucy.” He smiled warmly as he placed a case on the ground, then pecked her on the cheek. “Great to meet you.” Oh, he’s lovely.
“Do you need a hand? I can take one of the smaller cases.”
“How about you go inside before you freeze to death, and I’ll help with the bags?” Will said from behind her.
“Yes, Lucy, come inside!” said Jules, wrapping an arm around Lucy’s waist.
“Oh, thank god,” said Chloe, who was stamping her feet and rubbing her hands together. “I didn’t think there could be any place colder on the planet than Penham, England.”
“Come on, you two.” Jules shepherded her friends into the cabin and before Lucy knew it, she, Jules, and Chloe were standing in front of the fireplace defrosting.
Lucy looked from one of her best friends to the other. “I still can’t believe you’re here, even though you’re right here.”
“It’s totally surreal, but that pretty much sums up my entire Christmas,” said Chloe. She held her hands out in front of her and Lucy could see that the tips of her fingers had a blueish tinge.
“Chloe, here.” Lucy took Chloe’s hands in hers and rubbed the fingertips gently.
“Guys, I know I said I wanted a traditional Christmas, and it’s been ah-mazing—well, most of it, anyway—but seriously, how the hell do you live in such cold weather year in, year out?”
Jules laughed. “By sucking it up, or booking vacations to somewhere sunny so you have something to look forward to, or—”
“Moving to Australia?” Chloe said, looking past Lucy at Jules. Lucy dropped Chloe’s hands and spun on her heels to catch Jules giving Chloe a pointed look.
“You’re moving? To Australia?” Lucy asked incredulously.
*
“Shhh, Will,” Jules whispered, looking behind them. She could hear the others in the foyer and Will’s voice telling Matt and Archer to follow him upstairs. Hopefully, he hadn’t heard. She looked back at Lucy. “I’ve decided I’m moving to Australia,” she said, her voice low.
“For Matt.” Lucy posed it as a fact, rather than a question, and Jules thought it was an odd assumption.
“For me, Lucy.”
“I don’t …” Lucy looked perplexed.
“This is about me shaking things up. You know that I’ve been stuck in place for some time now, and … I sorta fell in love with the place.”
“And Matt?” Wow, Lucy was really attached to the “Matt” thing.
“He factors into all this, for sure, but this is something I’m doing for me. And it won’t be right away. I’ve got to get a job and my work visa. They’ve got these skilled migrant visas in Australia and programmers are in demand, so that shouldn’t be a problem. There’s a lot to do, a lot to think about.”
“But Matt knows, right?”
“Yeah, for sure. We’ve talked it through. And when I move there, we’ll date, like normal people,” she smiled. “Look, the guys will be back down soon, and—”
“I know.” Lucy nodded. “You need to be the one to tell Will.”
“Thanks, Luce. That part is gonna suck. Will, my dad, my mom … telling them and leaving them.” She blew out a breath.
