Page 75 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Start with when you approached him,’ says Lauren. ‘What was that like? Was it strange?’ she asks, her eyes narrowed with curiosity.

‘Well, yeah. I mean, I’ve been undercover for cases before, but that was me pretending to be a journalist. This was hitting on a stranger.’

‘Adodgystranger,’ Shaz interjects.

‘Sododgy,’ I agree.

‘And?’ Lauren’s twirling hand signals for me to expound.

‘AndI arrived at the hotel, I saw him in the bar – which is where we expected him to be – and I climbed onto the stool next to his. After that, he did most of the heavy lifting.’

‘Meaning?’ asks Jacinda. Jacinda loves a clarifying question – must be the barrister in her.

‘Meaning, he looked over as soon as I sat down, then started talking to me. He even bought me a drink. All I had to do was answer his questions as Penny – oh, and pretend to enjoy a Negroni.’ I make the ‘blech’ face.

‘And did you ask about him?’ Lauren probes.

‘Well, yes, it was aconversation, not him interrogating me,’ I tease. ‘But he was elusive – I didn’t get much out of him. Just that he lives at the Langham when he’s not travelling for work.’

‘As a geologist,’ Shaz scoffs with a snort.

‘And what’s he like?’ Lauren asks, not acknowledging Shaz’s interjection.

‘He’s…’ I stop talking as I ponder the best way to answer – because what Lauren’sactuallyasking is: how does he get all these women to fall in love with him?

‘He’s attentive and charming – obviously intelligent. And he asked all the right questions – ones designed to make me believe he was genuinely interested. Although, according to Kate, that wanes as soon as he’s sure the woman is invested.’

‘Arsehole,’ mutters Shaz.

‘And is he attractive?’ Lauren asks.

I tilt my head from side to side. ‘He’s notunattractive. But he’s not?—’

‘Not like Tristan?’ Lauren whispers, and I chuckle.

‘No, nothing like Tristan.’

My husband is the sort of handsome that must have landed Brad Pitt his first role. And his second, possibly even his third.

‘So more like Ravi then,’ says Jacinda, and my head pivots sharply in her direction.

‘Jacinda Sharma!’ I chide. ‘Your husband is very handsome, and you know it.’

She glances towards the kitchen, breaking into a wide grin. ‘He is, isn’t he?’

‘Yes!’ the three of us chorus.

‘What’s that?’ Tristan calls from the kitchen.

It’s unlikely he can make out what we’re saying over the range hood but in case he can, I bust out a big grin.

‘Nothing, babe,’ I reply loudly.

With a slight smile, he turns back to Ravi. Hmm. Maybe hecanhear us.

‘So, who’s this bloke’s celebrity comp then?’ asks Lauren.

‘Celebrity comp?’ I ask.

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