Page 13 of Always, in December

‘Bye!’ Josie called behind her, as Max steered her away, linking his arm through hers and dragging her determinedly the other way, which may or may not have been the way to the Ice Bar – she had no idea.

‘Did you really live in New York?’ Josie whispered the question, though that was probably unnecessary given how loud this place was.

‘Nah. Like I said, my parents do now so I’ve been to visit a few times, but thought it would be difficult to explain why he’s never met me unless I was abroad somewhere.’

Josie was quiet for a moment, then, unable to contain it any longer, she burst out laughing. Max stopped, looking down at her, and she slipped her arm from his to clutch her side, not sure why exactly she found the whole thing so funny. Max’s lips twitched slightly. ‘Thought you might need an out,’ he said.

‘Yes,’ Josie agreed, still laughing. ‘Yes, thank you, that was . . .’ – she straightened up and beamed at him, Oliver’s incredulous expression imprinted on her mind – ‘brilliant.’ She sighed, and downed the rest of her gin. ‘He cheated on me,’ she explained with a wave, glancing over her shoulder to check they weren’t following.

‘I gathered.’

‘At the work Christmas party.’

‘Ouch.’

‘With a mutual colleague. Cara.’

He shook his head. ‘What a bitch.’

She let out another little laugh. ‘Well, it was more his fault than hers, but still.’ She sighed. ‘So thanks, again.’

‘You’re welcome.’ He glanced behind them. ‘I know what it’s like – the whole ex thing.’ She looked up at him. It was the first real bit of information he’d offered voluntarily. ‘My girlfriend . . . She broke up with me earlier this year.’

Josie nodded slowly. ‘When?’

‘May.’

She nodded again. Maybe he was still getting over her, if he’d really loved her. Maybe that partly explained why he’d been so short with her at first. Well, that and the whole knocking him over thing. She wanted to ask more, but Max squared his shoulders.

‘So, Ice Bar?’

Josie shrugged. ‘We can try. I doubt we’ll get in, I’m pretty sure Bia said you have to book.’

‘Nah, I’ll sweet talk them.’ Max linked an arm through hers again, and when she looked up questioningly said, ‘They might still be watching.’

Somehow Max did manage to talk them into the Ice Bar, though she had no idea what he said, because he made her wait behind him. So after a few more drinks, which they drank huddled in Inuit-style overcoats, the two of them meandered back towards the exit, in much easier company than when they’d first set foot inside. It was dark now, and Josie had to admit the whole thing was rather festive, the lights of the stalls glowing, the smell of chestnuts, spices and candyfloss washing over them, people laughing as they passed makeshift bars.

It might just be because she was feeling pleasantly buzzed, but she really could, in that moment, see why people got all excited about it. She smiled up at Max, who grinned down at her and took her hand, swinging it as they walked. He’d been like that since they’d bumped into Oliver, like he’d decided they had something in common, both having to get over someone in their past. She smiled to herself a little at the thought that Oliver had inadvertently made her not-quite-date so much more fun.

‘So,’ Max said, ‘are you heading out of London soon for Christmas?’

She tried and failed to keep a smile on her face. ‘Nope. Staying at my flat this year.’ No matter what she might have told Memo, her stomach dropped a little as she imagined the day, at home next to Bia’s Christmas tree, eating Deliveroo for one, which was even worse than those people working at Deliveroo, because at least they got paid. She tried to think of something else, and deliberately made her voice bright as she said, ‘I’ve still got to go Christmas shopping before that though. Such a nightmare.’

He glanced down at her. ‘Not a fan?’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘Well, I usually have it all done in September, and order everything online but this year I . . . didn’t.’ No need to say the reason – that Oliver had kept telling her they’d do all theirs together, had insisted that she had to be more creative, that she couldn’t just order everything online because it was impersonal. And now she was stuck having to cram it all into one day before her aunt Helen came to visit her and collect the presents for herself and her grandparents, as she did every year. She sighed as they walked back under the archway, leaving the lights twinkling behind them.

Max let go of her hand, and even through her gloves her fingers registered the loss of warmth. He turned to face her, studying her. ‘Well, in a twist of fate, turns out that I’m an excellent Christmas shopper.’

She cocked her head. ‘Are you now?’

‘Mmm-hmm,’ he nodded sagely. ‘So how about I take you tomorrow? We’ll make a day of it, and I’ll help you.’

She frowned up at him. ‘What, really?’

‘Sure, why not?’

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘It’s just . . . isn’t there something else you’d rather be doing? Not that I don’t want you there,’ she said quickly, concerned then that it sounded as if she was trying to ditch him. ‘Only . . . Well, I’m not exactly known for my enthusiasm when it comes to any kind of shopping, let alone Christmas shopping.’