Page 83 of I Knew You Were Trouble

It’s baffling that I forgot about this until now and unsurprisingly, Willem seems to be caught off-guard.

He leans back, fishing his phone out of his pocket. ‘One moment,’ he says, the vertical lines between his brows deepening. ‘I should have heard something from Marie Mai— Oh, she just emailed.’

His eyes scan the screen, then his cheeks puff out and he expels a loud breath before lifting his gaze to meet mine. ‘So, back to Verona then?’

‘Yes. I was going to fly there on Friday afternoon, then try and track down Lucia before Jon arrives.’ I hedge before asking the next question. ‘Did you still want to?—’

‘I’m coming with you, Kate. I told you that before and I meant it.’

‘Oh good,’ I say, relieved to have Willem as backup.

Not onlyrelieved, Kate. You’re excited about spending the weekend with him – especially now he’s made it clear he hasn’t got a girlfriend.

‘And I’ll book us a hotel this time,’ he adds. ‘Two rooms, of course.’

‘Of course,’ I reply, nodding numbly.

But what I really want to say is, ‘Forget the hotel! Let’s book that IKEA-filled flat and this time, you don’t have to sleep on the sofa!’

Thankfully, I’m able to restrain myself and we spend the rest of lunch making small talk while I bat away romantic thoughts of Willem like flies at a picnic on a summer’s day.

* * *

‘Pleasetell me you’re going to seduce Thor when you’re in Verona this weekend.’ Margot bustles into my flat, a carry bag slung over each shoulder.

‘Hello, Kate, how are you?’ I say. ‘Fine, Margot, and you?’

Calling out Margot on her lack of manners is simply an evasion tactic. I do not want to discuss Willem with Margot, especially as she’ll harp on about using him for a shag. And he means more to me than that now I’ve got to know him.

Though, of course Idowant to shag him eventually. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on.

‘Yes, yes, yes. Hello and other niceties,’ says Margot, deftly dodging my reprimand. She kisses me on the cheek, then pushes past me and heads into the kitchen. I follow.

‘What did youbring?’ I ask, rummaging through the carry bags. I start decanting items onto the benchtop, trying to make sense of such an eclectic array of ingredients. What is she planning on cooking? ‘And you know there are only two of us, right?’

‘I couldn’t decide between spag bol or lamb kofta, so I bought ingredients for both. And look!’ She holds up two bottles of wine: a red and a rosé. ‘But the rosé needs to go in the freezer,’ she says, handing it to me.

‘Margot,’ I say, going to the fridge and swinging it open. I wave my free hand in front of the middle shelf with a flourish worthy of a gameshow host. ‘I have three bottles of wine already chilled, including a rosé.’

She stops what she’s doing and faces me. ‘Ofcourseyou do – forgot where I was. You’re the only person I know who has a fully stocked pantry and fridge – atalltimes.’

‘I’ve told you, buy staples in bulk when they’re discounted and always?—’

‘And always add something to the shopping list before it runs out. Iknow.’

‘Well, then why don’t you do it?’ I take out the cold rosé and replace it with the one Margot brought.

‘Because Ienjoyrunning to Tesco Express for tampons in the middle of the night, Kate –obvs!’

We crack up laughing and while Margot regards the pile of ingredients on the benchtop, I pour two generous glasses of wine. ‘Here,’ I say, handing her a glass.

She raises hers high above her head. ‘To Kate, who isfinallygoing to sleep with the Norse god.’

I should have known she wouldn’t let this go. And it will take more energy to keep steering the conversation away from Willem than to admit my true feelings.

I take a deep breath. ‘All right, I want him, Margot. And not just because he’s… well…’

‘The word you’re looking for is “fit”, Kate. The man is straight-up fit – on any scale, by any measure. He is one hundred per cent, empirically hot.’

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