‘Oh.’ Sage yawns. ‘Sure.’

‘So … are you going to the premiere? Can I dress you?’

I’m crossing my fingers tightly. Please say yes, please say yes …

‘I guess so.’

‘Great!’ I exhale in relief. ‘Fantastic! Well, I’ll put some looks together. I’ll call you later.’

As I head into the house, my spirits are higher. So what if the interview today wasn’t brilliant? I’ve taken charge. I’m styling Sage Seymour. I’m doing the red carpet. Everything’s coming together!

I can hear Luke in the kitchen, and my stomach gives a twinge of apprehension. I haven’t spoken properly to Luke since yesterday. He came to bed after I’d fallen asleep, and I left him dozing when I got up for the TV show. So we haven’t seen each other since our row.

No, not row. Discussion.

‘Why don’t you sit there for now,’ I say to Jeff, and point to one of the big chairs in the hall. ‘I guess Mitchell’s patrolling the garden.’

‘You got it,’ says Jeff, in that expressionless way he has, and settles his huge frame down on the chair. I take a deep breath, then saunter into the kitchen, humming, like someone who’s totally OK with everything, and didn’t have a tense moment with their husband last night.

‘Hi!’ My voice is a little too high-pitched.

‘Hi.’ Luke looks up from some document in a plastic binder. ‘How was the interview?’

‘It was … good. How’s things with you?’

‘How’s things?’ Luke gives a short, humourless laugh. ‘To be honest, things have been better.’

‘Really?’ I look at him in alarm. ‘What’s up?’

‘I thought that wretched Sage was up to something and now, sure enough, I discover that she is.’

‘Oh really?’ I say, my heart pumping a little faster. ‘Um, what?’

‘Both of them. Sage and Lois.’ He glances at the door. ‘Shut that, will you? I don’t want your goons hearing.’

I do as he says, my mind working quickly. What’s he found out? How did he find out?

‘They staged the whole thing. The whole feud, the stealing, the row at the awards … Fake. The whole lot of it.’

‘No!’ I exclaim, trying my best to sound shocked. ‘You’re joking!’

‘Aran discovered it last night. We’re meeting later on. Obviously this goes no further—’ He breaks off and his dark eyes suddenly narrow. ‘Wait a minute. Becky?’

‘Er … yes?’ I falter. He comes right up near and eyes me closely. I can feel my cheekbones quivering under his scrutiny. And my lips. I think my hair is shaking, too.

‘Becky?’ he says again, and I feel a horrible sense of foreboding.

Oh God. The thing about Luke is, he knows me really, really well. How am I ever supposed to keep anything from him?

‘You knew?’ he says at last. ‘You knew about this?’ He seems so scandalized that I gulp inwardly.

‘Kind of. I mean, I only found out yesterday afternoon.’

‘And you didn’t tell me? Even when I asked you directly?’