Page 2 of I Knew You Were Trouble

He extends his enormous hand for me to shake, and I do, mine instantly swallowed by his.

‘Hi,’ I say, so distracted by his eyes, all my other words have dried up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that exact shade of blue before.

I will myself to break eye contact and scout for a table. There aren’t any free inside, so I signal towards the door. ‘Shall we look for a table outside?’ I ask and, not waiting for an answer, I head out.

I snag the end of a picnic table where we can sit opposite each other and Willem slides onto the bench, then rests his muscular forearms on the table.

‘Sorry,’ he says, ‘I should have asked if you wanted something to drink.’

‘That’s okay. As soon as you tell me whatever it is, I’m going back to my flat.’

A frown mars his perfect features, and his lips disappear between his teeth. A few moments pass with him studying me intensely, which is beyond disconcerting.

Whatever he has to tell me – and I’ve been wracking my brain since he buzzed my flat – I can tell it’s not good. It’s obvious I haven’t inherited a cupcake shop by the sea from a long-lost aunt. Or a bookshop.

‘Just tell me,’ I say, impatient for him to spit it out.

He nods, releasing his lips from between his teeth. ‘You’re engaged to Jon Dunn, yes?’

Oh god, I’ve been so thrown by a strange man showing up out of nowhere, I never imagined this might be about Jon. What a rubbish fiancée I am!

‘Is he all right?’ I ask, suddenly panicked. ‘And how do you know Jon?’

Willem takes a deep breath as if he’s steeling himself, which is even more unsettling – if that’s possible. Unease lands heavily in my chest and my breath catches.

‘Willem, is Jon okay?’

‘As far as I’m aware, yes.’

I breathe out a sigh of relief, but I’m still confused. ‘So, how are you connected to Jon? Do you work together?’ It’s plausible. There must be commercial pilots who look like Hollywood actors. Right?

‘No. We don’t work together. I know of Dunn through my sister.’

‘Oh-kay.’

God, I wish he’d get to the point – he’s really dragging this out. And why is he referring to Jon by his last name?

‘Dunn is her fiancé.’

The words seem to float in the air between us.

But they don’t make any sense. They can’t make sense, because Jon is engaged to me. He has been for three months. He proposed to me on the observation deck of The Shard, and after I said yes, he took me to dinner at Oblix.

Dunn is her fiancé.

I stare down at the enormous solitaire affixed to the platinum band encircling my ring finger. Jon chose it – I would have chosen something smaller, less ostentatious, but he said he wanted everyone in the world to know that I was engaged.

Engaged tohim.

‘I don’t understand,’ I say eventually, my voice strangled. I look up from the ring, meeting Willem’s eyes. Then something occurs to me. ‘Wait, do you mean hewasengaged to your sister – as in, past tense?’

‘No. Dunn is engaged to both of you.Presenttense,’ he adds to drive the point home.

‘But he can’t be…’ I say with a dry laugh. ‘You’re having me on, right? Wait, did Margot put you up to this? Because if she did, I will throttle h?—’

He places one of his enormous hands on my forearm, silencing me instantly. When I’m quiet, he takes it away.

‘I don’t know anyone named Margot,’ he says steadily. I fix my eyes on his, drawing strength from his calm demeanour. Because despite wishful thinking that this is a sick prank perpetrated by Margot, my cousin and closest friend, deep down, I believe he’s telling the truth.

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