‘He didn’t mean to. Well, he kind of did. But he apologised, and I’ve forgiven him.’Mostly.
‘What did Bailey think about it?’
‘He was more upset that I’d been carrying on with Lewis in his hotel room, which I hadn’t been.’
‘He must really like you,’ she says softly.
I feel bad for Andrea, but she took a big risk coming here based on nothing but an invite. Unless ... I need to be brave and ask.
‘Um, while I was with Lewis, did something happen with you and Bailey at the party?’
I hold my breath. This is where I find out he’s been lying to me.
‘Not really. Not like that. I guess I just got my hopes up. We were having fun, and when he was talking about Lewis coming here, he invited me too. I jumped at the chance to get to know him better.’
‘And then I got in first.’
‘It’s OK. I don’t hold it against you. He’s a lovely guy. I just didn’t think you liked him.’
‘Neither did I. It’s been a trial by fire, especially as he’s so into Christmas.’ I pull a face, and she laughs.
‘I’m glad that awful TikTok got sorted out. What a nightmare for you, bloody Moira.’
‘Do you think Valerie saw it?’
‘Hopefully not. I’ll let you know if Melanie says anything to me.’
There’s a silence as we both look at our respective laps.
‘So are you and Bailey officially a couple then?’ Andrea asks eventually.
I shrug. ‘I’m definitely his elf girlfriend. Beyond that, I don’t know. It hasn’t been discussed. It’s all moving quite fast.’
‘His “elfgirlfriend”? Don’t tell me he got you to dress up?’
I nod sheepishly.
‘And you enjoyed yourself?’
I nod again, my face burning.
Andrea’s mouth forms an O. ‘Holly Driver, this is monumental.’
I cover my eyes with my hands. ‘I know, I know.’
Sarah and Mirabelle are setting up the board when we come down. The other Pictionary players are Moira, Lewis, and Kirk. We’re playing in teams of two, and Kirk seems happy about teaming up with Andrea, but I can tell she isn’t. I don’t blame her. It’s taken me a while to get the hang of him, but I’ve concluded he’s not a bad guy—just damaged goods like me.
‘How does this work?’ I ask, realising I don’t actually know the rules.
‘You’ve never played Pictionary?’ Moira is astounded.
I shake my head.
Bailey explains, ‘Basically, the aim is to guess the word the other person draws within one minute. The first team to reach the finish square wins. There are other minor rules, but I’ll tell you as we go along.’
‘Just warning you: I can only draw stick figures,’ I say worriedly, hoping Bailey doesn’t expect me to be Leonardo da Vinci or anything.
‘That’s OK. That’s what makes it fun ...’ He lowers his voice and whispers, ‘You’re on the winning team. I’m an excellent drawer.’
