Page 33 of All I Want for Christmas

Darcy looked up to finally greet her hitherto-faceless foe, the man responsible for stealing away her best friend and leaving her alone in an empty flat.

‘No pressure at all, then.’ Tristan grinned, his face pleating into easy folds as if it was his default setting as they shook hands. ‘Hi.’

‘...Hi.’ Darcy was taken aback. He was not what she had expected at all. Freja’s usual type was unemployed artist/musician/writer, bouncer or barista. This guy was more barrister. He seemed to be Freja’s opposite in every way: neatto her scruffy; formal to her relaxed; large, open features to her doll looks; an athletic, muscular frame to her long, skinny limbs. He was dressed simply in a black suit and open-necked shirt but had a stealth-wealth vibe that Erik the Property Developer could have learned a lot from.

But that wasn’t what surprised her most. Freja had somehow failed to mention at any point that Tristan was a good ten, if not twenty, years older than them. Of course he had chosen this fancy restaurant, would order the wine, pay for dinner – all of which Freja had forewarned her about. He could be her dad!

‘...Thanks for arranging this.’

‘I take any excuse I can. The food’s very good here. Have you been before?’ he asked.

Darcy suppressed a shocked laugh. ‘No. Never.’ Funnily enough, her student budget didn’t stretch to Michelin-starred restaurants. ‘But it all looks so good.’ She cast an envious glance at the diners already eating. ‘I’m ravenous.’

‘Whysohungry?’ Freja asked.

‘I’ve not eaten since breakfast.’

‘What? Nothing at all?’ Freja asked, looking appalled. She ate hourly and was still somehow stick thin.

‘Yeah.’

‘But there’s leftover curry in the fridge.’

‘I know, but I wasn’t at home. I had to stay where I was to work. Turned out I couldn’t leave the premises with any of the material.’

Freja looked scandalized. ‘But surely Viggo could have made you a sandwich?’

Darcy bit her lip, wondering whether to tell her friend the full story. After the way Freja had reacted to Max last time,she didn’t relish bringing up his name again – especially not in front of Tristan.

‘It was fine,’ she demurred, deciding to change the subject. ‘I wasn’t hungry while I was working. It was only afterwards that it caught up with me.’

‘Tch.’ Freja looked unimpressed. ‘You need fuel, especially after we went harder on the run today.’

‘We did?’ Darcy asked in surprise.

‘Didn’t you notice? We knocked six minutes off our PB.’

‘That’s impressive,’ Tristan said, looking at Darcy.

‘It was nothing to do with me. I had no idea, I just try to keep up,’ she shrugged.

‘You were stressed. It was like a jet engine propelling you along.’

‘Huh.’ Darcy wondered how quickly she would go if she were to run tomorrow, with today’s encounter with Max running through her head. Supersonic?

‘This is precisely why we run, I keep telling you. Stress management. You need it even when you think you don’t.’

Darcy rolled her eyes. ‘See what I have to live with? She never gives me any peace. My Saturday mornings are gruelling.’

A waitress came over with the menus. She automatically handed Tristan the wine list. ‘Well, she’s trying to talkmeinto doing a Tough Mudder competition with her,’ he said, taking it mindlessly. He looked perfectly at home here.

‘It’d be so fun!’ Freja exclaimed, reaching for his hand.

‘Tristan, escape now while you still can,’ Darcy quipped, reaching for her almost empty water glass instead. ‘The next thing you know, she’ll have you signed up to Iron Man and ultramarathons.’

‘Yeah, that’s what my head’s saying too,’ he grinned. ‘Onthe other hand, I do like how she pushes me.’ He looked back at Freja and they shared a look so private, Darcy had to look away. She stared down at the menu but the words swam in front of her eyes. Having been alone all day, she’d been looking forward to meeting up with them tonight; she hadn’t expected to feel lonely in their company.

As if reading her mind, Tristan pulled his hand back and cleared his throat. ‘Apologies, we’re still at the “disgusting to be around” stage.’

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