“They look like something out of a bloody Coca-Cola advert,” Max muttered, watching them too, and Josie laughed, causing Max to smile, a little reluctantly she thought, again. “Come on, then,” he said, holding out his hand.
She batted it away playfully. “I’m not holding on to you, you’ll just pull me over.” Exactly like her mum had, she thought to herself, though the memory made her smile now.
They attempted another circle before Max declared that they had to have a break from all the hard work. They were both still smiling when they stepped out of the locker room, a full forty-five minutes ahead of the end of their allotted hour, and Josie felt something shift, like they’d managed to fumble their way through the initial awkwardness a bit. The fact that he was proving he was actually able to have fun helped a little, she admitted.
“So, mulled wine next?” Max asked. “That’s Christmassy, right?”
“Right,” Josie agreed with a nod. They glanced around at the various stalls, both of them seemingly lost as to where to start.
“One of everything,” Max declared, and set off in the direction of the nearest wooden hut, the smells of cinnamon and orange peel getting stronger as they neared it. He handed her a branded Winter Wonderland cup, and they sipped the mulled wine as they walked, now clearly in the market section. Even Josie, who had practically made it her mission not to enjoy this kind of thing in the past, couldn’t resist eyeing up the trinkets—beautiful earrings and handcrafted woodwork.
When Max headed off to the next available drinks stall to get them a top-up, Josie checked her phone and saw a message from Bia.
Are you having fun? Did he like my outfit???
All good. He loved the outfit, hasn’t stopped complimenting it.
I knew it!!! Send a pic. Want to see him.
Josie snorted, but as Max walked over to her she managed to surreptitiously take a photo of him, which she sent to Bia. She got a set of three heart-eyed emojis back.
“They have mulled gin, Josie,” Max said, wearing a look of clearly exaggerated amazement. “Something about cherry and cinnamon, and I sort of lost track after that, but I figured we had to try it.”
Josie smiled a little as she remembered Bia’s mulled water comment but she took her cup and sniffed before taking a tentative sip. It wasn’t bad, though it was a good deal stronger than the mulled wine. They passed a flower stall next, and Max doubled back, then reappeared with a single rose. He snapped off the end of it, then tucked it behind her ear, fastening the stem in place with her hat.
“As a thank you, for bringing me,” he said. He shrugged like it was no big deal, but Josie couldn’t help reaching up to run her fingers over the rose’s petals, then tracing the place where he’d touched her ear.
“So, umm, what do you want to do next?” she asked, partly to cover up the flush that she was sure was creeping into her face. “We could—”
“Josie!” A squeal to her right cut her off and she spun to see none other than Claire bloody Burton rushing toward them, arms outstretched, her dyed-red hair bouncing around her shoulders. “I thought it was you!” She practically leaped on Josie, pinning her arms as she hugged her. “Oh, it’s been too long, I can’t believe we bumped into you like this.”
“We?” Josie asked weakly.
“Oh, Oliver’s just over there, getting us a drink,” Claire said, gesturing behind her without looking. Well great, Josie thought. That was just fantastic, wasn’t it? Of course she’d have the bad luck to bump into her ex at Winter bloody Wonderland. Claire glanced at Max, but then steamrolled on without waiting for an introduction. “Yes, I dragged him along, you know, to cheer him up after…” She broke off on a cough, her pale cheeks turning a little pink. It didn’t deter her though—from Josie’s experience, very little could deter Oliver’s big sister. “He was just devastated when you ended things, Josie.” Claire glanced over her shoulder, then dropped her voice. “He’s been moping around for days without you, can’t seem to break him out of it whatever I do. I wish you two could make it up, you were so good for him, kept him on the right track, you know?”
“He slept with someone else, Claire,” Josie said shortly. Josie saw, out of the corner of her eye, Max raise his eyebrows at that, but he said nothing.
Claire grimaced, and reached up her hand to toy with the frayed ends of her hair. “Of course,” she said quickly. “Of course, it’s not that I think you should forgive him right away, or ever,” she added quickly at the look on Josie’s face. “I just, well…” She trailed off and Josie’s stomach squirmed. She shouldn’t have been so short with her—it wasn’t Claire’s fault that her brother had decided to throw away their relationship for a pair of knockout heels and a tight red dress.