Page 67 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Number one,’ Meredith says, holding up her index finger, ‘I’ve been invited to Miller’s party over at the Dubai Marina tonight. I hear some of the band are gonna be there. Do you want me to… you know… like, film anything?’

I cock my head to one side. ‘You mean…’

Meredith lowers her voice. ‘You know, likehush-hush.’

I straighten, checking there are no other members of the tour crew close by. ‘Uh, no, Mer. I don’t think that would be fair to ask you to do that. I’m trying to abide by this moratorium, anyway. But thank you for the offer.’

Duncan raises his eyebrows, as though taken aback by my decision.

‘Well, I’m happy to if you want. It’s in some penthouse somewhere.’

My mind is ticking, wondering if I can get away with it. Meredith has never worn a covert camera before. The sensible part of my brain tells me to disregard the proposal immediately. The filmmaker in me says wire Meredith up.

‘Can I think about it?’

Meredith nods. ‘Sure,’ she replies in a cheerful tone, reaching into her bag for some sun block and spraying up her arms. ‘I won’t be leaving until about eight.’

‘So, number two,’ Meredith then continues, as she perches her rear on the edge of Duncan’s sunbed, on the side nearest me, her voice sobering a little. I glance behind her. ‘Duncan, can you spray my back, please?’ she asks.

‘Errrrr,’ Duncan mumbles, looking panicked. I conceal a grin as he sits up and takes the sunblock from her. ‘Okay.’

‘Thanks,’ Meredith says, lifting her ponytail away from her neck.

Duncan gets to work, spraying the lotion and massaging it into her skin. Moments later, I conceal a second smile as he reaches for a T-shirt and drops it into his lap.

‘Seems the latest gossip is that that Aidan issoover Taylor Wetherill. Some article just appeared online and he’s been photographed kissing Samara Al-Noori again.’

I stiffen, my pulse quickening. Meredith doesn’t know that I’ve been spending time with Aidan. But Duncan does – albeit in scant detail. His eyes shoot to mine, concerned.

Meredith thanks Duncan and gets to her feet, going back to her sun bed. She rummages in her bag. ‘Dammit, I forgot my book,’ she sighs. She picks up her cover-up and slings it back on. ‘I’ll be back in a bit.’

I watch her skip off again. I blink, stunned.

‘You gonna look?’ Duncan asks me.

I swallow the lump in my throat. I’m not sure I can face it.

‘You want me to?’ he asks.

My hand covers my mouth, as I question whether I’ve just been taken for a ride.

‘Are y’alright?’

He reaches down, pulling his phone from his backpack, which is underneath the sunbed.

‘Duncan—’ I begin.

‘He can’t treat you like that, Lex.’

‘It might… it could just be a misunderstanding.’

I watch Duncan as he unlocks his phone. Panic brews in my chest. What if it’s true? What if he’s changed his mind about me? Am I stupid for thinking that it meant something?

As he reads the article, I watch as Duncan’s expression collapses into a scowl.

‘You wanna see it?’ he deadpans, when he’s finished.

I feel sick. ‘What does it say?’ I whisper.

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