Page 80 of Someone Like You

GABY

It’s amazing how fast a week can go by.

The days – and nights – between CiCi and Devin’s party and the flight to Seattle are jam-packed with end-of-year meetings, client parties, last-minute Christmas shopping, packing, and trying to ignore the mounting panic about taking Raff home with me for the holidays.

I’ve also done my best to be a supportive friend every time Raff has gushed to me about Julia, nodding and smiling and saying things like, ‘You don’t say.’ What’s been going on inside my head is a whole other story.

‘Julia said the funniest thing at dinner the other night.’

Move over, Taylor Tomlinson. Julia should take that act on the road.

‘Did you know that Julia has a painting hanging in the Tate Modern?’

I did know that because my new favourite hobby is googling your new girlfriend, then stress eating a packet of cookies.

‘Julia and her family are off to St Moritz for Christmas. Can youimagine? Maybe next Christmas, I’ll be joining them.’

Please, kill me now.

I feel like I’ve perfected the that’s-amazing-and-this-isn’t-making-me-die-inside-at-all smile. I can’t evenbearthe idea of them sleeping together. Which means it’s torture that I’ve been thinking about it non-stop, right down to the nausea-inducing details. The only saving grace is reminding myself that Raff may dive headfirst into relationships, but he typically holds off on sleeping with someone until he’s been dating them for at least a few weeks.

Although Raff isalsocapable of packing a month’s worth of dates into just one week.

And now we’re an hour into our flight to Seattle and he’s already mentioned her three times. Only nine hours to go!

‘Hey,’ I say, when there’s a brief pause after his description of Julia’s next collection – something about shades of blue. ‘How about I brief you on the family? So you’re extra prepared.’

‘Oh, er… sure.’

He probably wasn’t finished telling me how incredibly talented Julia is, but I’ve heard about as much as I can tolerate for today. And I’ve never really had low self-esteem – I was raised with a healthy ego, a balance of valuing myself and being thankful for good fortune and the opportunities that have come my way. But a week of ‘Julia this’ and ‘Julia that’ has started to make a dent. Even Zendaya would be having doubts about how she measured up against the gorgeous, talented, hilarious Julia if she were in my shoes.

I also spentwaytoo much time imagining what their couple name would be. I went through Rulia, Jaffia, and Rajul before landing on Raffia, which made me laugh out loud at my desk like an idiot. When Lorrie peeked around the wall of her cubical with a quizzical look, I tried (and failed) to pass it off as a cough. She gave me a you’re-being-weird frown, then went back to work.

‘Okay,’ I say, angling my body towards him, ‘all my dad’s family are in Texas, so you’ll only be meeting Mom’s side – the Johnsons.’

‘Well, your mother is an absolute darling, so if they’re anything like her…’

‘Umm…’ I give him a cheesy, apologetic smile. ‘Some of them are. Others, not so much.’

‘And is there a reason you waited until we were in the air to tell me this?’

‘Absolutely – I’m not stupid. If I’d revealed some of what I’m about to say ahead of time, you’d be in Sweden right now, sleeping head-to-toe with Freya in a doll’s bed.’

This makes him laugh again, and we’re instantly back to being Gabs and Raff, cracking each other up like this is any other day and not the end of ‘Raffia’s Intense Week of Dating’.

‘You know those families where everyone talks at once and no one’s really listening and it’s constant mayhem, but you can also feel the love in the air?’

He narrows his eyes. ‘I’m not sure.’

‘You know. It’s sounds like everyone’s fighting but, really, they love each other?’ I ask.

‘Not firsthand. I grew up in England, remember. As rowdy as it ever got at CiCi and Devin’s was a heated discussion about which to put on a scone first – jam or cream.’

‘Wow, soundsheavy,’ I say with a smirk.

‘Actually,clotted.’

‘Sorry?’

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