Page 112 of Someone Like You

‘Holding a table a bit like running the gauntlet?’ he asks.

‘You have no idea.’

Just then, he’s jostled by a large man in an expensive suit who’s boisterously telling a story to a group of similarly suited men. The man doesn’t even acknowledge that he’s knocked into Tristan, let alone apologise.

‘I might havesomeidea,’ Tris says to me drily. ‘Who chose this place again?’

‘Ah, that would be you, babe.’

‘Right,’ he says with a twinkle in his eye. He checks his watch. ‘So, Rav and Jass are due at half-five. Question is, do I wait for them to get here and help you hold the table or head to the bar now?’

I’m about to tell him to go to the bar when I hear, ‘We’re here, we’re here.’

I look to my left, catching sight of Jacinda attempting to push her way between the large man and one of his cronies. ‘Excuse me, I’m a pregnant woman and I need to get through.’

The man steps aside instantly. ‘My apologies, madam.’ Oh, so hedoeshave manners.

Or maybe Jacinda just uttered the magic words – she certainly doesn’t appear to be pregnant this early on. I file that nugget away for next time I need to save a seat in a bar. ‘My pregnant friend is sitting there’ obviously carries more weight – so to speak.

‘Hi!’ she exclaims, kissing me on the cheek, then Tristan. He helps Jass climb onto the stool, as it’s high and she’s tiny.

‘Where’s Rav?’ he asks.

‘Checking our coats – although, in hindsight, probably a stupid idea. It will be New Year’s before we get out of here. This place is teeming.’

‘I’ll head to the bar, then. Wine?’ he asks me.

I nod.

‘And a mocktail for Mum,’ he says to Jass, dipping his head in a pretend bow.

The way the word ‘Mum’ rolls off his tongue turns my insides to mush. Thoughts of becoming one myself have become almost all-consuming, especially this time of year when we’ve wound down at work and my sole professional responsibility is waiting on a (likely panicked) call from Gaby.

‘So sorry we had to do Christmas drinks out,’ says Jass. ‘And thanks for coming all the way into Central London.’

‘No worries,’ I reply with a smile. ‘It sounds like your parents achieved the impossible, getting last-minute accommodation like that.’

‘Can you believe it? Seventeen of us in one house – though, it’s supposed to beenormous.’

‘Wait,seventeen?’

‘Yep. Three brothers, three sisters-in-law, seven nephews, Mum and Dad,andme and Rav.’

‘That’s… I mean, I’m the only child in my family – so is Tris – I can’t even imagine.’

‘It’ll be mad but brilliant!’ she says with a grin. ‘Though, it’s so last-minute, I haven’t even packed yet, which you know I hate.’

Like me, Jacinda prefers weeks of careful planning and packing in the lead up to a trip.

‘The holidays can be really stressful,’ I say, grateful for our plan to have a quiet Christmas, just me, Tris, and Saffron. Although, missing my parents is its own kind of stress.

‘They are! I feel like I’ve spent the past month running about, Christmas list in hand, making sure I get the correct LEGO sets. My nephews are so spoilt – one wrong present can cause a tantrum the size of France.’

I chuckle, knowing how much I plan on spoiling Baby Sharma.

‘Hiya,’ says Ravi, looking harried. ‘Total mare at coat check,’ he says, kissing my cheek. ‘Tris at the bar?’ he asks me.

‘Yep.’

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