Page 25 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Can I offer you something to drink?’ Willem asks, tilting his head towards the kitchen.

‘No thanks,’ I say, right as Margot replies, ‘Well, I see you have one of those fancy-pants coffee makers, and I could murder a latte.’

I could murder you, I think. This isn’t a social call. But as Margot pointedly avoids eye contact – she knows I’d scold her for being cheeky – Willem gets started on making her a coffee.

‘This is a beautiful house,’ I say, mostly to make conversation – although Willem’s house truly is something to behold.

‘Thank you,’ he replies, deftly handling the coffee machine. ‘This half belonged to my parents for many years – Adriana and I grew up here – and when they retired, they wanted to downsize, so I bought their houseandthe one next door and renovated both buildings. This level is now one home – the bedrooms and bathrooms are through there’ – he points to a large, wooden sliding door – ‘and I turned the upstairs of both buildings into apartments, which I rent out. And there’s a studio apartment at the back,’ he adds, nodding towards the structure at the end of the garden.

It’s an impressive undertaking and ordinarily, I’d like to learn more, but more pressing is Adriana’s whereabouts. Before I can ask, he starts heating the milk, filling the room with a screechy gurgle.

‘Uh, just wondering…’ I say when he turns off the milk steamer.

He glances over his shoulder, his brows lifted inquisitively.

‘Is Adriana here?’ I ask in a whisper.

He shakes his head. ‘She’s at yoga.’ He glances at the clock on the oven. ‘She’ll be home soon.’

The relief at being given a momentary reprieve is overshadowed by yet another revelation: Adriana and Willem live together, something I hadn’t expected.

Willem hands Margot her coffee. ‘Please, sit,’ he says, signalling for us to take a seat on the sofa.

I sit, but Margot doesn’t.

‘Actually,’ she says, pointing outside. ‘Would you mind if I had my coffee in your garden? I could use a moment to myself.’

‘Margot,’ I say through gritted teeth. For our entire lives, Margot has never once asked for a moment to herself – she’s the ultimate extravert. What is she up to?

‘Of course,’ Willem replies. ‘Just watch out for the money spiders. Ady hates them – she’s always walking through their webs in the morning – but I leave them alone because they’re supposed to bring good luck.’

Margot, the sceptic, grins up at him as if she believes in that sort of thing. ‘I’ll be careful.’

Still patently ignoring me, she excuses herself and heads out into the sunshine-filled garden, closing the glass door behind her. She’d better come back inside the moment Adriana gets home. That’s the whole point of her being here – to support me when I come face to face with Jon’s other fiancée.

And it’s obvious why she’s left me alone with Willem – she’s playing matchmaker, even though she’s well aware that romance is the last thing on my mind.

‘Are you sure I can’t make you a coffee?’ Willem asks, now back at the machine. ‘I’m having one.’

Our eyes meet for a second, sending a lightning bolt straight through me. Inconvenient timing for internal thunderstorms – not to mention inappropriate.

‘Oh, go on then,’ I say, ignoring the heat pooling between my legs. ‘I’ll have a latte. Same as Margot.’

I get up and go into the kitchen, sliding out a stool and sitting at the kitchen bench. While Willem grinds the beans for our coffees, I cast my eyes around the vast room, taking in more of the décor.

‘I like that,’ I say, pointing to a large rectangular artwork hanging on the exposed-brick wall.

Willem glances at it, then smiles. ‘I do too,’ he says, and I chuckle. ‘It’s actually a photograph.’

‘No,’ I say, peering at it more closely.

‘Ja. It’s a close-up of that painting.’ He jerks his chin towards a painting on the opposite wall and I look between the two. ‘The bottom left corner – see?’

‘Hmm.’ I slip off the stool and walk over to the painting, my eyes roving its abstract details, then I cross to the photograph, scrutinising it.

‘Wowser,’ I say, mostly to myself. I straighten and return to my spot at the kitchen bench. ‘That’s quite the duo.’

‘I would like to have them side by side, but…’ He doesn’t finish the sentence, but he doesn’t need to. There isn’t a wall that’s big enough to hang them both.

---