Page 76 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Yeah, as in who does he remind you of? Someone famous.’

‘Uh, he’s kinda Tom Hiddleston-ish.’

‘Tom Hiddleston’sproperfit,’ says Jacinda. ‘So sexy.’

‘Okay, granted, but that’s because he’s Tom Hiddleston,’ I retort. ‘He’s talented, he plays all these suave characters – and he’s hilarious in interviews… But if he wasn’t an actor, if he was some random guy you saw on the street, would you fancy him?’

Jacinda nods slowly. ‘Oh, absolutely. It’s that impishness.’ She makes a growling sound in the back of her throat.

‘That’s what makes David Tennant hot,’ says Shaz. ‘That lopsided grin, that swagger.’

‘Right,’ I say, wanting to talk about something other than work, ‘have we fully exhausted the topic of the lecherous lothario?’

Shaz sniggers. ‘Good one.’ She raises her half-drunk glass of wine in my direction.

‘Hardly!’ Lauren declares. This may be the most animated I’ve ever seen her – usually, she’s the calm one and Shaz is the one bouncing off the walls. ‘What’s the latest?’ she asks. ‘Has he been in contact?’

‘Oh, yeah. I’m getting two or three messages a day, sometimes more.’

‘Can I see?’

‘Actually, I wouldn’t mind taking a peek either,’ says Jacinda, typically the most level-headed amongst us.

‘Okay,’ I say, relenting. I grab my phone off the coffee table and navigate to the messages from Dunn. ‘Here,’ I say, handing the phone to Lauren. ‘Scroll up.’

‘I’m coming over,’ says Jacinda, getting up from the sofa opposite us. ‘Oof,’ she groans as she lands between me and Lauren. ‘I swear if this baby gets any bigger…’ She lays a hand on her considerable bump.

Lauren catches my eye and we share a smile. Jass is always going on about how huge she is and she looks exactly the same as she always has, but with a baby bump.

‘Pretty sure that’s gonna happen, Jass,’ quips Shaz. She pops a chunk of cheese into her mouth. ‘Still three months to go yet,’ she says through her mouthful.

‘Don’t remind me –andover the summer! I’m already waddling about like a whale.’

‘Whales don’t waddle,’ says Shaz, reaching for more cheese.

‘You’re not waddling,’ I add. ‘You’re beautiful.’

‘If you tell me I’m glowing, I may have to murder you,’ Jacinda says dryly. ‘I’ve promised myself I won’t be one of those mothers who lays guilt trips on my child for what I went through during my pregnancy, but I’m reconsidering.’

I rest my hand on top of hers. ‘I can’t wait to meet Baby Sharma,’ I say wistfully, and Jacinda smiles at me, her expression softening.

‘Me neither,’ she replies.

‘Oh mygod,’ says Lauren, startling us both. ‘Listen to this: “I can recall the exact colour of your eyes. Like a moody London sky on winter’s day”.’

‘Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha.’ Shaz’s laughter rings out across the flat. I can’t blame her. I had the same reaction when that message came through. So did Tristan.

‘Are you reading messages from Poppy’s new boyfriend?’ Tristan asks from the kitchen.

‘Oi!’ I scold, pointing at him. ‘We talked about that. I’d rather my husbandnotrefer to Jon Dunn as my boyfriend, thank you.’

‘But, darling, if I have to share you with someone else, then shouldn’t I at least get a good laugh out of it?’

‘Well, I’ve been sharing you with Saffron for over a year – I’ve yet to get a laugh out ofthat.’

At the sound of her name, Saffron struts into the lounge, blinking at us sleepily.

‘Oh hello, little minx,’ I say.

---