“You have no idea. Anyway, enough about all that. Chloe, what is going on with you—other than being madly in love and already surviving your first scandal.”

“Are we calling it a scandal?” Chloe asked. “I don’t know if that’s the right word.”

“Yeah, more like a shitstorm,” offered Jules. Chloe nodded her agreement, but Lucy threw Jules a look. “What? What would you call having your name dragged through the mud on social media?”

There was a moment of silence. “A scandal,” Jules and Chloe said in unison. They laughed and Lucy tutted.

“Sorry, Luce, you were right,” Jules conceded.

“Yes, I know. Now can we please get back to Chloe’s news?”

“Right, my news. So, just before we got the call about Madison and the Twitter scandal, Archer and I were talking about the film—you know, the Capels’s story—and he asked if I’d ever thought about producing, and of course, I’m like, ‘Uh, no, it has never even crossed my mind.’ Anyway, he told me he has this producer friend, Fi, who I should talk to, so he set up a call for us. Actually, I ended up speaking to her in the departure lounge at Heathrow.

“And oh, my god, she is ah-mazing. We talked about my professional experience, and she had all these questions about my skillset and my goals and then she told me all about what she does. And she said that if Archer’s film does get the go ahead, she’ll be producing it and she’ll take me on, sort of like an apprenticeship.”

Lucy pressed her hands together and clapped them lightly. “Oh, Chloe! That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you.”

Chloe beamed. “I know! It’s … I have no words. It’s beyond my wildest imagination, and if I think about how I met Archer … I mean, seriously, this is all like something out of a movie.”

“Especially the part with the scandal,” offered Lucy.

“Uh, yeah, right.”

Lucy scrutinised Chloe’s face. Was she just pretending to be fine with everything? “Chloe, are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah. Why, what do you mean?”

“Well, it’s just that only a couple of days ago, your face and your name were splattered all over the internet.”

“Well, yeah, that was awful—still is in some ways. I mean, the dust has barely settled. And, sure, if I think about it too much, then it can be a little overwhelming. But I love him, so …” She shrugged.

“I just wish we’d been there for you,” said Lucy.

“I know you do. And that’s exactly why we’re all here. I needed my girls. I need my girls.”

“Me too,” said Jules. “I still can’t decide if us swapping Christmases was the best idea we’ve ever had or the worst.”

“How so?” asked Lucy.

“Well, it’s just that so much happened—for each of us—but we weren’t there to share it. And that thing with you and me, Luce … Maybe that wouldn’t have happened if we’d all been together.”