“Is this about Will?” Chloe asked.
Lucy nodded, taking in gulps of air to help her calm down, her hand pressed to her chest.
“You have to talk to him, Luce,” Jules said in a gentle but firm voice.
“I know,” Lucy wailed, swinging back towards misery.
“Hey, I know my brother and he’s super into you, I can tell. Just talk to him, okay?”
“I will, I promise.”
“And don’t you dare move to Colorado and leave me in London by myself. I need you, Lucy, and don’t forget, it’s all about me now, ’cause my boyfriend’s super famous, and I’m very likely to turn into a diva.”
“Turn? Turn into a diva?” Jules teased.
“Oh, ha ha!”
Jules threw up her hands. “Hey, if the Louboutins fit!”
Lucy had lost count of the times she’d sat between her two friends as they bantered, but she loved them more in that moment for making her smile through her tears than she ever had.
Chapter 34
The May Ladies
“Did I tell you that you look gorgeous tonight?” Will asked, one hand grazing the small of Lucy’s back. “Extra gorgeous, I mean. You’re always gorgeous,” he added quickly.
Lucy giggled and shook her head. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”
“Do what? Admire you?” She felt a hand lift her hair then the brush of his lips against her neck. She revelled in the feeling, abandoning the task of rinsing dishes and leaning into him.
“No,” she said softly. “I mean reassure me. I am aware that you fancy me, you know.”
“Oh, I more than fancy you, Lucy.” He nuzzled her neck and Lucy seriously considered leaving the washing up and slipping upstairs before the countdown to the New Year. She still couldn’t believe that she, Lucy Browning, had turned into quite the lusty nymph.
And all it had taken was half a lifetime of dating boring, practically asexual men, then meeting a vibrant, scrummy man, who emboldened her and made her laugh. The last time, she’d laughed so hard that she’d snorted, which had set them both off again. Her stomach muscles had ached for hours.
But she had volunteered them for the washing up for a reason, and it was far more important than disappearing for a quickie. “Will …”
“Mmm?”
She turned her head. “Come on, let’s get this done.”
He groaned, then started loading plates and cutlery into the dishwasher while she filled the sink with hot water and dish soap. She donned rubber gloves and, elbows deep in suds, she finally broached the subject she had been putting off since the day the others arrived.
“Uh, Will?” He joined her at the sink, taking a clean pot from her and drying it. Lucy took a steeling breath—at least they were side by side and she didn’t have to look him in the eye. This was already hard enough. “I just wanted to talk to you about …” Breathe, she told herself. “What will happen now.”
She felt him tense beside her for a moment, then take the next clean pot from her. “You mean, with us.”
It wasn’t a question and Lucy tried to read the tone of his voice. Focusing on the scrubbing of some particularly stubborn baked-on grease, she swallowed the lump in her throat and proceeded. “Yes, exactly. I mean, I’m off to England the day after tomorrow, as you know, and I wondered if … well, I’d like to continue with us … That is, if you want to.”
He stopped drying the pot, his hands coming to rest on the countertop.
“Do, you … want to?” she asked. This was even more difficult than sending those emails to Angela. She stared into the sudsy water with bated breath.
“Lucy. Hey, Luce, look at me.” This is it—be brave. She lifted her gaze to his, hopeful, terrified.
“Look, neither of us could ever have known how this Christmas would turn out. I mean, Jules came back from Australia early—with a boyfriend. Archer Tate just cooked me dinner, and now he’s sitting in my living room.” He grinned down at her and, without thinking, she reciprocated. “But the biggest surprise—the best surprise—is you, Lucy. And, yes, I think we should continue with us. I’ve never done long distance before, but we’ve gotta see, right?”
It was the perfect response, and it left her speechless. “Lucy?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely right. We have to see. So, long distance it is!”
“Awesome,” he said, leaning in to seal their plan with a kiss. “So, is this why we’re cleaning up the kitchen, just the two of us?”
She blew out a sigh, then resumed the washing up. “Yes, sorry about that. It’s just been hard to get you alone since the others arrived, and I’ve been putting it off …” She tilted her head and shrugged.
“Hey, it’s all good. And you weren’t the only one putting it off, you know. So, thank you.”
She looked up. “For what?”
“For being brave enough to ask me about it.” He leant over and kissed her forehead.
Brave. Until recently, she would never have called herself that. But perhaps the Lucy that other people knew—that Will knew—was closer to the real Lucy.
Lucy Browning—brave, formidable, beautiful, and a lusty nymph to boot.
She giggled to herself and handed the last of the clean pots to Will.
*
Chloe leant back against the soft leather of the couch, her feet tucked under her and Archer’s hand resting on her thigh. Would she even make it to midnight, she wondered. She’d hit a wall and it could have been anything from jet lag to the highs and lows of the week’s events catching up with her. Maybe it was a mix. Still, she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.
She’d spoken to Ash earlier, just after the clock struck midnight in Melbourne, eager to see her friend’s face and to wish her a happy New Year. Ash and her team were running an event for the City of Melbourne—live music, food trucks, fireworks, the lot—but she’d been able to sneak away
