Page 111 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Itwouldbe brilliant,’ I say, ‘but only until he chooses which one of us to let down. Then he’ll expect to see the other one.’

‘Oh, right,’ says Lucia.

‘Of course,’ mutters Adriana, spinning her phone in her hands.

‘Wait a minute,’ I say. ‘If we both turn him down, he’ll reach out to Poppy next.’

‘Oh yeah,’ says Margot. ‘If he can’t see one of you, he’ll move on to his Australian girlfriend.’

‘We’d need to warn her though,’ says Adriana.

‘This is the matchmaker?’ Lucia interjects.

‘That’s right,’ I reply.

‘But does she work on weekends?’

‘From what I can tell, she works any time she’s needed.’

Lucia blinks at me, clearly impressed. ‘Wow.’

‘I know, right? I’ll call her now.’

Like Lucia did before, I set my phone on the table and dial Poppy’s number, then put it on speakerphone. She answers after the third ring.

‘Hi, Kate,’ she says cheerfully.

‘Hi, Poppy. I’m here with Adriana, Lucia, and my cousin, Margot.’

‘Ooh, the whole gang,’ she says with laughter in her voice. ‘How’s it going? Is Dunn aware that his proposal isn’t happening?’

‘Yep!’ Lucia proclaims. ‘I told him my grandmother is sick, even though she’s fitter than a fiddle, and I had to rush back to the UK unexpectedly. Oh, this is Lucia, by the way.’

‘Hi, Lucia. You soundliberated.’

‘I feel it,’ she replies with unfettered laughter.

It occurs to me that in the short time since she arrived, Lucia’s bright spirit has made a considerable dent in the day’s gloomy mood. Maybe she and I will become friends as well.

‘Poppy,’ I say, getting to the purpose of the call. ‘Adriana and I have already heard from Jon – he’s asked to see us tonight.’

‘Both of you?’ she asks, surprised. ‘Oh, of course – he’s hedging his bets. So, you’ve both said no?’

‘Not yet, but we will,’ I reply.

‘Then he’ll probably ping Penny next,’ she says, catching on straight away.

‘That’s what we were thinking.’

She audibly sighs.

‘Sorry, Poppy. No doubt this will derail your evening.’

‘Ahh, it’s no worries,’ she says, even though it’s clearly an imposition.

‘Poppy, this is Margot. You know,youcould put him off as well,’ she suggests.

‘Icould… but if he can’t propose and neither of his fiancées are available, it might make him ripe for taking the next step.’

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