Page 69 of Last Christmas in London

‘Yeah, I know,’ he whispered, shifting to sit properly on the sofa instead of curling into it. ‘I was being a dick. I shouldn’t have ignored you. And I shouldn’t have let my own shit make things worse.’

‘Thank you,’ I said, quieter now. Sincere and relieved that it wasn’t in my head.

Josh sighed again, rubbing his temples. ‘I do stand by the fact that Megan overreacted—’

‘Josh.’

‘No, hear me out. I get why she was upset. And I get that my timing was abysmal.’

‘Apocalyptic,’ I corrected.

‘But she went nuclear on me. She chucked wine on me, chucked me out, and then cut both of us off. That’s not exactly fair, Evie.’

I chewed my lip, knowing he had a point. Megan had always been quick to react, especially when emotions were running high.

‘I think she’s spiralling,’ I theorised aloud. ‘She’s hurting, and you were an easy target. But, Josh, you have to admit that what you are doing isn’t right.’

He hesitated, then nodded. ‘I know. I just—’ He exhaled. ‘I think I was so caught up in being pissed at her for throwing the drink and you not defending me that I didn’t want to admit that maybe she had a point.’

‘She did?’ I was surprised he’d admit it.

‘It was my timing that pissed her off more than the subject matter.’

‘I think you sleeping with a married man still annoyed her. You know how paranoid she’s been, thinking that Alex is cheating.’

‘But that’s just it, it’s paranoia!’ Josh’s voice rose in volume. ‘And it’s not like you or I can do anything about it. She needs to sort herself and her house out.’

‘And you need to talk to her,’ I insisted. He pulled a face of disgust, but I was deadly serious. I reached over and nudged his knee. ‘It’s not too late to fix things, you know. You don’t have to be best friends again overnight, but you should at least try before this stain sets in.’

He pulled another face. ‘I threw away that shirt.’

‘I’ll buy you a new one.’

He laughed and immediately acquiesced. ‘Fine, I’ll try. Eventually.’

‘Soon.’

He squinted at me. ‘Define soon.’

‘Before I leave for Canada.’

Josh rolled his eyes, but I caught the small twitch of a smile. ‘Fine. But if I get another drink thrown at me, you’re paying for my dry-cleaning.’

‘Deal.’

It wasn’t a perfect resolution, but it was a start.

Josh looked at his mug, then quietly said, ‘Truth is, Evie, I don’t really see Megan unless you’re around. You’re the glue. Without you, we just… drift.’

That made sense. In fact, I had long suspected that that was the truth. Megan was my sister and Josh was my friend from university. The fact was we had become a trio was because I connected the two of them. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t a good friendship, or that it didn’t deserve a little TLC to maintain.

Softly, because he needed to hear it, I said, ‘You know when I go… she’s going to be the only one here who really knows you like I do.’

He glanced at me, something shifting in his eyes.

‘Don’t throw that away too, okay?’

He didn’t say anything for a moment, then casually, ‘It’s Canada, not the moon. You’ll visit. Or I’ll visit. Or we’ll both learn how to text.’