Anger and confusion bolted through me. I raised my eyes to look across at Flynn. My heart twisted. What a mess. Oh God. If this came out… No, scrub that. When this comes out, Flynn will think I betrayed him. He will think I went behind his back, all for an exclusive.

My heart galloped into overdrive.

“So, see you Monday morning and we can get all this sorted out. Ciao!”

The phone was still hot and pressed to my ear, even though Athena had ended the call.

I slowly lowered the phone, my heart lodged in my throat.

“You ok? Leonie?”

I jerked my head up. Flynn was towering over me, his brow knitted.

Queasiness swirled like a typhoon in my stomach. How the hell had Kerry found out? I hadn’t told her anything. I knew I had been so careful. Had someone else in Flynn’s family told her?

That seemed very unlikely. What would they gain from doing something like that?

Bewilderment morphed into anger. How could Kerry do this? How could she do this to me after all the help I’d given her? I hadn’t told her a thing about Chandler or Flynn Talbot and yet she’d managed to uncover it and had gone straight to Athena, instead of confiding in me about it.

Why would she do that?

“Leonie? What is it?”

I gazed up and into Flynn’s light eyes. My heart clattered against my ribs.

I had to tell him. How could I not? The news about his grandfather’s secret identity was going to be splashed all over my magazine pages.

My mouth opened and closed for a moment like a ventriloquist’s dummy. I didn’t want to tell him. I didn’t want to shatter what was flourishing and growing between us.

This was like one of those bloody games of Jenga, where you find yourself constructing what you think is a solid tower of brick, only for one of them to dislodge and bring the whole thing crashing down in front of you.

I tried to compose myself. “That was my editor,” I managed, wishing I could will away what had just happened.

“Yes, you said it was her a few moments ago.”

“Oh, right. Yes, I did, didn’t I?” I pressed my lips together, almost suffocating under the despondent, sickening sensation pressing down on my shoulders.

I glanced over at Lily and Flynn senior, still engaged in conversation by the cottage steps.

I was struggling to look Flynn in the eyes.

“Leonie?”

I swallowed a mouthful of woodland air, the words tripping over my tongue as I said them. “Someone’s told my editor the identity of Chandler. They know he’s your grandfather. They’re going to write an exclusive on it.”