Page 57 of I Knew You Were Trouble

I straighten, the base of my neck growing warmer. I never expected him to actually address what happened. ‘Oh,’ I say. ‘No, it’s fine. I didn’t get the wrong idea at all. Of course. Taylor was sat there right with you and she’s gorgeous, so I can understand how… something like that might happen to a man in your situation.’

I only realise when I’ve finished speaking that he’s gazing down at me, a small smile on his face.

‘See, that’s exactly what I thought you might think. But…’ He exhales slowly, looking me over. ‘You in those jeans…’

I stare at him. Words fail me.

I look down. He’s brushing his fingers against mine, sending little electrical pulses into my veins. ‘I wanted you to know that I took Taylor back to her room. Nothing happened between us. I wanted to come and find you, but—’

I light up from the inside. Yet I’m still shocked into silence. The professional side of me says that would have been a really bad idea. He’s still five years my junior. And yet I wish hehadcome and knocked on my door.

‘Look,’ he says. ‘By way of an apology, if I made you uncomfortable at all, I’m happy if you want to interview me next. When we get to Malaysia.’

I bite back a smile. So does he.

‘Thank you, I’d like that,’ I murmur. There is a lapse of slightly awkward silence. I feel the need to fill it quickly, so he doesn’t ponder on his apology any longer. ‘It’s my birthday today,’ I blurt out.

His eyes flash, his lips broadening into a grin. ‘It is?’

A door clatters and we can hear the others re-entering the house. Aidan takes a quick step back.

I look to the parquet flooring and nod. ‘It’s my thirtieth.’

‘Happy birthday,’ he whispers.

‘Thank you, but I hate birthdays.’

‘Why?’

‘Mate, we’re hitting the road,’ Cal announces, interrupting us and sticking his head into the kitchen. ‘Go say g’bye.’

My ears are still ringing after the concert that night when I make it back to the hotel with Duncan and Meredith, the screaming I experienced only confirming that the level of adoration given to this group of young men is, in my eyes, nothing short of worship.

Watching him perform tonight, I realise that whichever girl Aidan ends up with will have to share him with the fandom. Whoever she is will have to be strong enough to cope with that pressure.

I don’t have his phone number. I don’t expect to hear from him.

It seems ridiculous to me to go down this road. This is a man who tricked me in Japan, who made it more than clear that he didn’t want me on the tour. So why do I feel this way?

Something’s changed. His initial hostility has disappeared. A few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have trusted him. And yet…You in those jeans, he’d said, and the memory of his words gives me shivers.

When I’m alone in my room, there’s a knock at my door. I open it and Bodhi is stood there holding an enormous bouquet of yellow roses.

‘For you, Lexi,’ he says, handing them over.

I bring them inside, thanking him and wishing him a goodnight. A pulse thrums through me, the memory of Aidan holding a similar bouquet this morning. I smile as I check the note. It reads,To Lexi, Wishing you the Happiest of Birthdays, from Aidan x. Also on it, handwritten, is what I presume to be his phone number.

My phone vibrates. I don’t know if Aidan has my number yet, but a part of me hopes that he’s at least tried to get it.

I unlock the screen and my heart sinks.

The message isn’t from Aidan at all. It’s from my father.Happy Birthday, Pumpkin, it reads.

A knot rises in my throat. I leave the phone on my desk. My father has a habit of ruining the better moments in my life.

I don’t plan on sending him a reply.

Chapter Seventeen

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