Page 52 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Just one more question,’ he says.

‘Mmm?’

‘Any chance this will be wrapped up before your parents arrive?’

‘Oh, right.’ Mum and Dad land in less than a month. How likely is it that the honeypot scheme will be behind me by then?

‘Judging by your expression, I take it that’s a no then?’

‘Not necessarily – maybe it will play out quickly.’ As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I realise how unlikely that is. ‘Ugh,’ I groan, feeling the full weight of this assignment. ‘Honestly, of all the things I’ve had to do as a matchmaker, this may be the hardest.’

‘Well, a good thing you have a toffee-nosed, not-so-lazy git on your side,’ he teases.

Knowing I have Tristan’s support downgrades my dread to mild trepidation – even though it’s a lot to ask of my husband, supporting me while I ostensibly seduce another man.

13

KATE

I nibble on my lower lip as I place the call to Willem. He’s not expecting to hear from me, and I have no idea if he’ll answer. And the longer it rings, the more I wish I’d sent a text message instead.

‘Hallo, Kate,’ he answers eventually, his face filling the screen. From the shaky image he’s obviously on the move.

‘Is this a bad time?’ I ask. ‘I can call back later.’

I catch sight of myself in the thumbnail and lift my phone, instantly erasing the slight double chin. I’ve refreshed my makeup for this call, giving myself the dewy, natural look that actresses in romcoms ‘wake up’ with. I haven’t spent any time examiningwhyI’ve ensured I look my best; I already know the answer and I’m not exactly comfortable with the reason.

‘This is fine,’ he replies. The motion of his camera starts making me queasy and I look away. ‘I’m just about to board the train. One moment while I find my seat.’

I should have messaged him instead. This is the same fluttery anxiousness I’d get when I called a boy I liked and his mum would shout for him to come to the phone.

‘Hallo,’ Willem says again and when I look at the screen, the image has stabilised. He’s smiling, making the tummy flutters intensify.

‘Hello,’ I reply, also with a smile. ‘Sorry to bother you – you’re obviously in transit – but I have some news.’

‘Is it about Lucia Rossi?’ he asks.

‘Itis, and how do you already know that?’

‘Marie Maillot called an hour ago. She told me about your meeting.’

‘Wowser, she’sfast.’

‘And direct. It was a very short call,’ he says, clearly amused.

‘I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s not much of a conversationalist. Had you heard of her – before she called?’ I ask. ‘She mentioned she knew whoyouwere.’

‘She did?’

I nod.

‘Well, that’s unexpected,’ he says, his brows lifted in surprise. ‘And I had heard of her, yes. Everyone in cyber security has.’

‘Really?’

‘Mm-hmm. In the early 2000s, she wrote a malware detection program that we still use today.’

‘Ahh, that explains a lot – her being techy. It barely took her two minutes to uncover Jon’s whereabouts later this week.’

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