‘No, it’s okay, I’m fine.’
‘It’s lasagne . . .’ she coaxes.
‘Go on, then.’ I detach myself from Richard so I can follow Lucy into the kitchen. I’ve been stuffing my face full of canapés, but no way can I turn down Lucy’s lasagne.
‘Here you go,’ she says a short while later, handing over a plate full of scrummy, warming, comfort food. I follow her back to the living room, kicking off my heels in the hall as I go. Lucy perches on the arm of Nathan’s chair, and I take a seat on the sofa next to Richard. I balance the plate on my lap and tuck in, feeling totally at ease doing so in front of all these people who have already eaten.
‘Richard said you’ve been asked to cover for someone on a magazine?’ Molly says, impressed.
‘That’s right,’ I mumble through a mouthful.
‘Which magazine is it?’ Sam jerks a thumb at Richard and tuts. ‘Your man here couldn’t remember.’
‘Marbles.’ I load up my fork. ‘It’s a glossy monthly men’s magazine.’
‘I know the one,’ Sam says. ‘That’s so cool!’
Once again I’m filled with warmth.
‘How did you end up doing that?’ Lucy wants to know, so I quickly fill them in on the story.
‘Well done,’ Molly says in awe. ‘You must have really made an impression on the Editor.’
‘He’s married,’ I blurt out, and they all laugh.
‘I bet that thought didn’t cross any of our minds,’ Nathan says, as Sam shakes his head in amusement. I smile, a little embarrassed.
‘Where’s Mikey tonight?’
‘He’s asleep in the spare room,’ Molly tells me.
‘You’re so lucky he can do that,’ Lucy says.
‘He’s a good little guy,’ Sam says affectionately.
‘So when are you two . . .’ I start, as Nathan and Lucy look across at me and grin. ‘What?’ I ask at their reaction.
‘When are we having kids?’ Lucy checks.
‘Yeah.’
‘That seems to be the million-dollar question.’ She beams. ‘We’re just happy being the two of us for now. No rush.’
Nathan pats his knee and she slides down from the armrest and into his lap. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her cheek as she leans back into him. It’s hard not to smile at their obvious adoration of each other.
‘So tell us about your engagement,’ Lucy cries. ‘Richard hasn’t filled me in on any of the details.’ She glances at my boyfriend mock accusingly, then grins at me. ‘How did he propose?’
‘Er, it was at your wedding, actually,’ I reply. ‘On the ferry.’
‘No way!’ Lucy says. ‘And you kept it quiet?’
‘She didn’t want to take anything away from your big day,’ Richard tells them.
‘Are you kidding me? It would have added to the excitement.’
I can’t help but laugh at Lucy’s enthusiasm.
‘Have you set a date yet?’ Molly wants to know.
