Page 90 of Snowed In with You

‘What you doing?’ asked Jonno.

‘Taking a video. Are you buckled in?’

‘Yeah, of course,’ he said, pinging his seatbelt. ‘What’s this about?’

‘It’s about Nate,’ said Lucy with a grin. ‘And Sasha.’

‘The fuck?’ said Jonno, almost driving into the back of a minibus.

‘Please tell me why we have to watch this gig,’ grumbled Jonno, nursing an alcohol-free beer at the bar as people flooded through the doors. The London venue for Nate’s UK tour was a live event space in a basement on Tottenham Court Road; it could take about fifteen hundred people, and by the looks of this crowd, it was going to be packed. Annoyingly he’d played a venue in Bristol the previous week, which she’d been to watch to help her formulate the plan. But she’d made no attempt to let him know she was there, because she’d promised Sasha to wait until the end of the tour. And now it was the final night, and the time had come.

‘Why wouldn’t we watch the gig?’ asked Lucy.

‘Because this place is full of fourteen-year-old girls and their mums, and I look like a pervert. And also because I sat through a Nate Lambert gig at Glastonbury a few weeks ago. If I go to any more, I’m going to have to register at the police station as a fan.’

‘I believe we stood at the side of the stage at Glasto, technically,’ laughed Lucy. ‘And you were buzzing on free champagne and a helicopter ride.’

‘Shit, I miss Kristoff,’ muttered Jonno wistfully. ‘Why can’t you get back with him?’

‘Because I wasn’t in love with him,’ said Lucy. ‘And even if I was, he’s now dating a twenty-five-year-old Swiss chocolate heiress called Sophia.’

‘Can I keep calling her Lindt Linda?’ grinned Jonno.

‘Depends if you want to keep your job,’ said Lucy. She’d forced herself to look at Kristoff’s social posts over the past few weeks, mostly featuring him and Sophia looking blissfully happy and beautiful. She took the absence of any pain as a sign that she definitely hadn’t loved him, and genuinely hoped things worked out for him. Sophia looked like the kind of woman who was no stranger to a helicopter and a Manhattan capsule wardrobe, so that felt like a good start.

‘But just so I’m clear,’ asked Jonno, looking serious for a moment. ‘You ARE in love with actual Nate Lambert?’

‘Yes,’ said Lucy patiently. ‘That’s why we’re here, and also why I’ve shit myself empty over the past three weeks from stress.’

‘And you’re not bothered that pretty much every other woman in this room would also say they’re in love with Nate Lambert, plus about half the men?’

‘No,’ said Lucy, trying to calm the nervous twitch in her hands. ‘Because I think he loves me too.’

‘Based on what?’

‘I’m not sure,’ said Lucy. ‘Just . . . vibes, I guess.’

‘Right,’ said Jonno, nodding thoughtfully. ‘We’re here to make total twats of ourselves based on “just vibes”.’

‘Why are you being such a bitch?’ asked Lucy, pulling a face. ‘You offered to help.’

‘I’m having a crisis of confidence. Why can’t you just get his number from Sasha, who is also his fucking MUM, and call him tomorrow?’

‘Because I want him to know how I feel, and I thought that warranted a grand gesture.’

‘OK,’ shrugged Jonno. ‘But I beg you, please don’t make me sit through this whole gig. Let’s go out for dinner, and then you can storm the stage naked during the encore or something.’

‘Can’t be done,’ said Lucy. ‘I have a plan, and I can’t do it without you. We only need to be here for the first half, and we can stand right at the back.’

‘Well, that’s something,’ said Jonno. ‘At least I don’t have to get in the mosh pit with a load of teenagers. What if I accidentally touched one of them?’

‘Keep your hands in your pockets,’ said Lucy. ‘Actually, that looks weirder.’

‘If I have my hands in my pockets, I can’t hold up the other end of your stupid banner,’ he said, nodding to the bundle of poles and fabric in Lucy’s hands. She’d snuck it into the venue wrapped in a coat, but the security staff had been more interested in inspecting the contents of her bag, and even that had been a token gesture.

‘He’s on stage in five minutes,’ said Lucy, checking her watch. ‘We should go in.’

‘You sure you don’t want a drink?’ said Jonno.