Page 118 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘And after this realisation, the one you had that day in Verona, was there any indication he reciprocated?’

I flush, my flaming cheeks betraying me yet again, and I reach for my drink and take a gulp, hardly noticing how good it tastes.

‘I take it that’s a yes, then,’ she says.

I nod. ‘We slept together. In Verona. On Friday night,’ I blurt.

‘You don’t seem particularly happy about it,’ she says, a bewildered expression on her face.

The waiter arrives and we’re quiet as he places our dishes in front of us. Now too worked up to eat, I pick up my fork and start moving food around my plate, stalling. Finally, I look up.

‘It’s because I’m supposed to be in Amsterdam with him right now, but he’s upset and possibly angry and it’s likely he never wants to see me again. I’ve completely fucked things up and I have no idea how to fix it.’

‘Geez, Kate, I’m really sorry to hear that. What happened?’

While continuing to push my food around my plate, only taking the occasional tiny bite, I tell Poppy about yesterday afternoon.

‘And you haven’t heard from him?’ she asks, setting her knife and fork next to each other on her now-empty plate.

I look down at my own and give up, my appetite having abandoned me completely.

‘No,’ I say gloomily. I suck my lips between my teeth and exhale noisily though my nose.

‘Hey…’

I look up.

‘There’s every chance this is fixable.’

‘I doubt it. You didn’t see how he looked at me before I left his house.’

‘No, but that doesn’t mean it’s over before it even began. People mess up –wemess up. We say stupid, hurtful things that we don’t mean and, yes, they can do damage, but never underestimate the power of a heartfelt apology.’

‘But I shouted to a roomful of people that I used him for sex.’

‘Yeah, but how many of them actually believed it?Margotwould know better, and from what you’ve told me about Adriana, I doubt she would have come around if she thought you were only after her brother for sex. It’s likely evenWillemknows you didn’t mean it.’

‘Really? That means there’s hope, right?’

‘In my experience, there’s almost always hope when two people care about each other and want to be together – even if one of them makes a massive misstep along the way.’

‘Okay,’ I mutter. I should probably be rejoicing about the hope part, but Poppy’s characterisation of my behaviour as a ‘massive misstep’ stings. Rather than dwelling on that, however, I ask my other burning question.

‘Poppy, let’s suppose I can make things right with Willem,’ I say. ‘Is it stupid of me to embark on a relationship so soon after Jon? You said something along those lines, and I can’t seem to get it out of my head.’

‘I did say that, yes, but even I get things wrong sometimes,’ she says with a self-deprecating smile.

‘So, I should try and fix things? Apologise to Willem?’ I ask. I’m not exactly seeking Poppy’spermission– more like her endorsement.

‘An apology’s the bare minimum, yes. Of course, it will be up to him whether he wants to pursue a relationship.’

‘Right,’ I say, nerves wrenching my stomach, because what if he doesn’t?

‘But I will say this: when I was reviewing your case file a few weeks ago, in preparation for our meeting, something struck me about your response to the first question – why you wanted to engage the Ever After Agency. You said – and I’m paraphrasing here – “because I’m ready to find my special someone, a man who shares my values and loves me for who I truly am, a man who will become my best friend.” Again, I’m paraphrasing, but it was something along those lines.’

‘I remember,’ I say softly. ‘And I’m almost certain I told Perfect Pairings the same thing. How they matched me with Jon…’ I say with a disbelieving shake of my head.

‘Well, trust me, we’re going to ensure they get theirs. But that aside, youdidfall for Dunn’s charms.’

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