Page 95 of Snowed In with You

‘I’m sure he’s thrilled you’re here.’ There was a genuine note of kindness in Sasha’s voice, like she had resigned herself to the inevitable, so Lucy softened a little.

‘So, we’re not mortal enemies, then,’ said Lucy.

‘Of course not,’ replied Sasha. ‘I’m his mother, I just want what’s best for him. Doesn’t every mother feel that way about her son?’

Lucy thought about her own mother, and how she and her dad never had the chance to see Leo find happiness. She’d spoken to them a lot over the past few weeks, explaining her decision to leave LUNA and scheduling their first family therapy session for the following week. They’d even agreed to come to Bristol and see Lucy’s therapist, rather than finding a different one. It felt like a small step towards some kind of healing, and in that moment she knew that, the situation with Nate aside, a job in New York wasn’t her future. She’d focus on London, rent out her place in Bristol, and find somewhere south of the river, not too far away from Croydon, that she could make feel like home.

‘I’m not here for a day trip, Sasha,’ said Lucy. ‘I really want to make things work.’

‘I know,’ said Sasha, putting her arm around her as Cara Louise left the stage and the crowd roared for Nate’s return. They leaned on the balcony railing together as the music started and Nate opened the second half with a George Michael song. ‘I think you’re amazing,’ he sang, and Lucy wondered if she’d ever stop smiling.

‘I’ve got two songs now that are for someone really special,’ said Nate, as the applause died down. ‘She’s in the house tonight, actually, so I’m going to try not to mess it up.’ He launched into a ballad called ‘Things Snowballed’, and Lucy wondered if her heart might burst.

‘Things snowballed, they snowballed,’ sang Nate, smiling up at the balcony as he got to the chorus, ‘and the further we both roll . . . the more I know I love you and the more you make me whole.’

‘Look at your face,’ said Jonno, elbowing in beside her as the song came to a close. ‘He actually wrote a song about you.’

‘Yeah,’ said Lucy. ‘He actually did.’

‘I mean, how is any other man supposed to compete with that?’

Lucy turned and looked at him. ‘When did you last tell Marcia you loved her, Jonno?’

Jonno thought about it. ‘I don’t know. About an hour ago? I messaged to tell her I’d been sucked into your stupid scheme for a bit longer, and she told me to stop whining and focus on being the best friend I could be. So I told her I loved her.’

‘You don’t ever need to compete,’ said Lucy. ‘Honestly, Jonno. You’ve already won the biggest jackpot there is.’

‘So, you’ll know this song,’ said Nate. ‘I hope you’ll sing along. And because I’m absolutely not worthy of singing Adele, I’ve got some help from my friend Andrea.’ The crowd cheered politely as Andrea emerged from the wings with her guitar, waving nervously.

‘Oh my God,’ said Lucy, realising what was about to happen.

‘Who the hell is that?’ asked Jonno.

‘It’s Andrea. She’s a singer who was in the bar in Switzerland with us.’ She looked around for Willem, who was on the other side of Sasha with Alex. ‘Where’s Felix?’

‘Who’s Felix?’ asked Jonno.

‘He’s down in the crowd,’ said Alex happily. ‘He wanted to be somewhere where he could tell everyone that Andrea was his wife.’

‘He’s got over her not singing the Bee Gees, then?’ laughed Lucy.

Alex shook his head. ‘He begged Nate to sing “How Deep Is Your Love” instead, but he wasn’t having any of it.’

‘Nate should have invited Gunther, Monica and Chantal too,’ said Lucy as Jonno looked even more confused.

‘He did,’ said Willem, clapping furiously as the music started. ‘But it’s peak summer hiking season in Zermatt. He’s doing a show in Zurich in a few weeks, they’re coming to that.’

Lucy had a second to wonder what Adele song they were going to sing, before she realised that this was another song for her. Andrea and Nate performed ‘When We Were Young’ as a haunting duet, with stunning harmonies that told Lucy how hard they’d rehearsed. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks – for Leo, for the years not lived, for everyone in this room who was as helplessly in love with Nate as she was, and for a future she couldn’t even imagine right now, but couldn’t wait to begin.

‘Here,’ said Jonno, handing her a tissue.

‘Thanks,’ said Lucy, dabbing her blotchy face. The five of them stood in a row – Jonno, Lucy, Sasha, Willem and Alex – entirely absorbed in Nate’s show until the encore was over and the lights in the hall finally came up.

‘That was amazing,’ said Lucy, blowing her nose. ‘Best night of my life.’

‘Yeah,’ said Jonno. ‘That was pretty special.’ In the stark lights of the hall she could see how shattered he looked, and felt a wave of guilt for how much she’d asked of him this evening.

‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Let’s get home.’