Page 86 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Althoughwhat?’ George prods.

‘It could be that Willem de Vries is actually Kate’s perfect match. Every time she mentions him, her cheeks flush, but underneath the outward display, there’s this calm contentedness about her. It’s a vast contrast to when we’re discussing Jon Dunn.’

Freya grins, clapping her hands softly beneath her chin. She’s a die-hard romantic and even in a case that’s ostensibly ‘a revenge case’ (no matter how unpleasant it is to admit that), she’ll want an HEA for our client. And if anyone deserves a happily ever after, it’s Kate Whitaker.

‘So, how are you going to help make that happen?’ George asks – a timely reminder of myactualrole at Ever After.

‘That’s a good question,’ I reply. ‘Hmm.’

‘Well, you said they’re going to Verona together…’ says George. ‘What if there was an issue with their accommodation and they had to – I don’t know – share a hotel room?’

I give him a sceptical, oh-come-on look. ‘The one-bed thing? That only works in romcoms, George.’

‘That’s not true,’ he retorts. ‘My friends, Luca and Alistair, got together because of a room mix-up. A group of us rented a chateau in the south of France and we thought it had enough bedrooms for each of us to have our own. It didn’t and guess who volunteered to share? They’ve been together two years now.’

‘Could Marie help?’ Freya asks. ‘With the hotel reservations?’

‘Probably,’ I reply, looking at them in turn. ‘Do you really think this could work?’

‘If they’re not into it – or each other – they’ll go somewhere else, make other arrangements,’ says George. ‘And if they are… they’ll make it work – even if they pretend to be put out by the inconvenience.’

‘Hmm.’ Am I really considering playing matchmaker in the middle of this complicated case?

Freya, who seems to understand my hesitation, places a hand on my shoulder. ‘I suppose you just need to decide, Poppy. Do you think it’s too soon for Kate to be pursuing romance with someone else, or is this exactly what she needs to move on with her life?’

This is one of the most difficult aspects of matchmaking – having to make a call on behalf of the client, particularly a call they might disagree with.

‘Look,’ says George, ‘if you do nothing, it could eventuate anyway. They could get together on their own.’

‘Yes, but what you said just now, Frey… about Kate moving on with her life. Maybe I’ve been looking at this all wrong. Maybe Kate spending time with Willem de Vries is exactly what she needs – especially as he’s such a vast contrast to Dunn.’

‘Most people are,’ says George, and I nod in agreement.

‘So, where are you landing?’ asks Freya. ‘See how things go on their own, or give them a little nudge so they fall madly in love?’

I snigger. ‘That’s quite the binary view, Frey.’

She shrugs unapologetically.

‘I suppose it can’t hurt to meddle,’ I say, making them both wince. Fair – because in our line of work, the word ‘meddle’ has particularly negative connotations. We prefer ‘intervening’.

‘Sorry, it can’t hurt to create a situation in which my client might fall madly in love,’ I say, and they both smile. ‘As you said, George, if I’ve misread the situation – or if one of them isn’t into the other – they’ll simply make other arrangements.’

‘Oh, they won’t do that,’ says Freya, and I let it slide, even though she clearly considers it a sure thing. We canhopefor an outcome but expecting it can lead to disappointment.

‘I’ll give Marie a call,’ I say, trusting that for Marie, this latest request will be a piece of cake. ‘And thanks – both of you. It’s been really helpful talking it through.’

‘You’re welcome,’ they reply together.

‘And, Poppy,’ says Freya, ‘good luck tonight. Freddie and I are having a night in, so if you need to debrief afterwards, give me a call.’

‘Thanks, Frey,’ I reply, my stomach clenching with nerves.

Now that we’ve got a course of action for progressing Kate towards an HEA, the focus is back on me and Penny.

Ugh, how did I ever agree to this?

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