“Oh, I knew you’d love that.”

“So, you’ve been conspiring?”

“Maybe. I just wanted you to have a good Christmas.”

“Hey, Chlo, I know. You’ve done so much. And Ash; she’s a doll. You’ve both made my first summertime Christmas amazing.” First. Jules wondered if there would be more.

Chloe shrugged half-heartedly. It felt good to know that her plans for Jules were working out, despite Jules’s best efforts to mess them up.

“Just keep an eye on Matt, though. He’s never ridden a horse before. We don’t want a repeat of Cabo.”

“Yeah, yeah. I will,” Jules replied, but Chloe doubted her warning had sunk in.

“It was a little weird waking up to hot weather and eating salads and cold shrimp on Christmas Day,” continued Jules, “but it was a fun day. We played Celebrity Heads after lunch and, of course, there were all these Australian celebs who I had no idea about. Anyway, I can’t remember the last time I laughed like that—probably when the three of us were together in New York.”

At any other time, it was just the sort of comment that would have sent a warm shot of nostalgia through Lucy, but even though she was glad the playful bickering had died down, she was still stinging from Jules’s callous disapproval of her and Will, and she sat in silence.

“And the wine! Matt the winemaker really knows his stuff!” Jules giggled. “His pinot is one of the best I’ve ever had.”

And watching Jules get all gooey eyed over this Matt fellow when she’d just scolded her about Will was making Lucy cross. She wanted to change the subject. “So, what about you, Chloe?” she asked, deliberately redirecting the conversation. “How are Mum and Dad?”

“Honestly, Lucy, your parents are the best. They’ve been so nice to me. And your mum is the most amazing cook. I can’t even tell you how good it smells in here.” She didn’t need to; Lucy knew exactly how it would smell in her parents’ kitchen. “They even got me a Christmas stocking!” added Chloe.

Lucy couldn’t help but laugh at Chloe’s childlike delight. “Mum said she would. Was it filled with all sorts of silly nonsense? That’s what she usually does.”

“Oh, yeah, like, stickers and coloured pens and I even got a rubber duck—you know, like for the bath—and this gorgeous little fluffy sheep. Oh, and so much chocolate. I feel like I’ve been eating nonstop since I got here.”

Lucy imagined her mum fussing over Chloe and wished she could switch places—just for a moment, only long enough to hug her and wish her a happy Christmas. Then she’d want to pop straight back to Colorado. To Will. Honestly, how was she going to get Jules onside? Or perhaps it was Jules who needed to make things right between them.

“I’ll pass you over when we’re done,” said Chloe.

“Sorry?” Lucy hadn’t quite caught that.

“When we’re done talking, I’ll pass my phone over to your mum and dad.”