I stepped out into the hotel corridor and looked both ways, catching sight of Jake heading for a side exit so I hurried after him. I went through the door, finding myself on the street. It was a hot day, I hadn’t realised in the air-conditioned hotel, and the sun beat down on me as I walked over to where Jake stood on the corner, his hands in his pockets, pacing back and forth. Ahead of him, the city was in full flow and I could see yellow taxis and people in their work outfits walking with pace, but just a few feet away from it all, we stood in a quiet pocket together.

Jake glanced at me as I approached. He shook his head. ‘I know I fucked up today.’

I paused two feet away from him. ‘You got too angry in the interview earlier and made a rash comment.’

‘You think?’ he groaned.

‘Then you let Mulberry goad you.’

‘He was the reason I said all that about my books in the first place! He’s always goading me. Always trying to find out shit about me, winding me up, making me feel less than because he writes crime and I write romance. He’s been the same since we were at Cambridge together…’

‘Why did you let him make you admit the article was true?’ I was confused. Jake had been so adamant about sticking to the ‘it was all a lie’ line, and then in one second, he’d confessed all.

‘Because I feel so crap about it, and he knows it. He was thrilled when we realised a journalist had overheard us. He has wanted to bring me down for years. Hated the fact I’ve sold more books than him. Well, he got his wish, right? I’ll never have one published again now!’

My phone buzzed urgently in my bag. Reluctantly, I pulled my phone out. ‘Hayley is calling me.’

We looked at one another.

‘Put it on speakerphone,’ he replied with a heavy sigh, as if realising there was no point in avoiding her. I nodded. I knew he was right.

‘Hi, Hayley,’ I answered.

‘Social media is going crazy. Why the fuck did Jake just tell the world that journalist was right about what she overheard in his panel? And Eva posted online to say Jake acted like he doesn’t care about readers during her interview. She’s going to share the podcast episode soon. What did Jake say to her?’ she ranted down the phone, making us both flinch. ‘How could you let this happen, Freya? You think you could ever be an agent yourself now, after this? Jake will never be able to get another book deal. I knew I shouldn’t have come to my sister’s wedding instead of New York!’