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‘One of the most captivating authors I’ve ever read; totally draws you in to the story and you feel like you’re right there with the characters! Love them all!’ Emma Bailey
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‘Paige has a talent for writing relatable characters and her books have the right mix of romance and realism – they’re not clichéd.’ Kimberley Rutter
‘BEWARE, you will not be able to put her books back down again until you’ve devoured every single word! Paige creates a world you fall into, with characters you just can’t help but root for.’ Lo Marie
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‘Perfect to snuggle up with and escape to another world. Such page-turners, they are always finished within a couple of days. By the end of a book I feel as if I know each character personally!’ Abi Webster
Other books by Paige Toon
The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson
Adult novels
Lucy in the Sky
Johnny Be Good
Chasing Daisy
Pictures of Lily
Baby Be Mine
One Perfect Summer
One Perfect Christmas (ebook short)
The Longest Holiday
Johnny’s Girl (ebook short)
Thirteen Weddings
The Sun in Her Eyes
First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
A CBS COMPANY
Copyright © 2015 Paige Toon
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
All rights reserved.
The right of Paige Toon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
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Simon & Schuster Australia, Sydney
Simon & Schuster India, New Delhi
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
PB ISBN 978-1-4711-1880-7
eBook ISBN 978-1-4711-1881-4
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Typeset in Goudy by M Rules
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd are committed to sourcing paper that is made from wood grown in sustainable forests and supports the Forest Stewardship Council, the leading international forest certification organisation. Our books displaying the FSC logo are printed on FSC certified paper.
For my former English teacher, Chris England,
and the students at Altwood School.
Thanks for the memories.
Hello!
Before you get started on I Knew You Were Trouble, I just want to say a big thank you for buying it – I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
If this is the first book of mine you’ve picked up, then you may not know how much I love hearing from my readers, so please drop me a line to say hi on Twitter @PaigeToonAuthor, www.facebook.com/PaigeToonAuthor or Wattpad.com/PaigeToonAuthor – I’m dying to hear what you think about Jessie and her journey so far.
I also wanted to mention that last year I launched a unique, free book club called The Hidden Paige. Think of it as DVD extras but for books – featuring extra content, free stories, news and competitions, all delivered directly to you in one handy email.
There’s more information about The Hidden Paige at the end of this book, along with an exclusive Jessie-related short story that you will have missed out on if you’re not already a member. But to avoid that happening again, do sign up at paigetoon.com!
Now, without further ado, here’s I Knew You Were Trouble…
Contents
Prologue
Six weeks earlier
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Prologue
‘Stop looking so worried.’
‘It’s just… I don’t know, Jessie, you’ve got a bodyguard for a reason.’
I scowl out of the window at the scenery flashing past. ‘Yeah, and it’s ridiculous,’ I mutter under my breath.
Four months ago, I didn’t even know that I had a dad, let alone that he’s a famous rock star. It was all fun and games in the beginning when my identity was still a secret, but now it’s out there that I’m Johnny Jefferson’s daughter and everything’s gone one stop too far on the crazy train.
He doesn’t say anything and, when I look back at him, his jaw is rigid with tension. My eyes travel along the length of his long, lean arms until they rest on his tanned hands gripping the steering wheel. I’m suddenly tempted to unclick my seatbelt and climb closer so I can press my lips to his warm neck, but I know that would be pushing my luck. He’s come over all protective these days.
He glances in the rear-view mirror and his frown deepens.
‘What is it?’ I ask, my thoughts still on kissing him.
‘I don’t know,’ he murmurs. ‘That white van has been behind us for a while.’
I swivel in my seat and look through the back window, but I can’t make out anyone in the driver’s seat. ‘You’re being paranoid,’ I say, brushing him off, and then he’s swerving off the main road into a smaller one.
‘Whoa!’ I gasp, trying to stay upright. The van flies straight past us on the main road. ‘See?’ I exclaim. ‘Nothing to worry about. Jeez! Pull over.’
He doesn’t bother indicating as he crunches to a stop at the entrance to a private driveway. I flash him a dark look and wrench open the door, hopping out onto the gravel.
‘Oi,’ he calls. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’
‘I need some air,’ I state, slamming the door shut.
A moment later he joins me. I glare up at him.
‘Come on, maybe we should go to your dad’s place,’ he says gently.
I stare at him, incredulous. I can’t believe he’s saying that to me. ‘No!’ I raise my voice. ‘I’m sick of feeling like a prisoner! I just want some alone time with my boyfriend – is that too much to ask?’
‘Hey,’ he says softly, sliding his arms round my waist and pulling me against his firm chest. To my surprise, I discover I’m fighting back tears.
It’s all been too much. I want my anonymity back. I’m fed up of getting harassed by the press and being followed around by a bodyguard every minute of every damn day. I’m sick of it all. I just want to be left alone. So today I made a run for it. I’m free! And now he’s telling me to go back? No bloody way.
‘Kiss me,’ I demand, tilting my face up to him.
He touches his lips to mine, but withdraws all too quickly. ‘We’re parked in somebody’s driveway,’ he says uncertainly.
I start to laugh, but the sound is verging on manic, the laugh of a crazy person that’s been locked up for too long.
I take a few steps backwards, away from him. He snatches my hand and pulls me towards him and this time he kisses me like he means it. The sun, surprisingly warm for October, beats down on our heads as his hands circle my waist and then he pushes me back against the car door and traps me with his body. We kiss like it’s our last, and it is so, so sweet. I draw a sharp breath as he wrenches his lips away from mine and stares past me, over the car roof. His whole body tenses.
‘The van,’ he says in a low, urgent voice.
Before I can roll my eyes, I hear it, like thunder, hurtling towards us. And then it screeches to a stop and my heart stops with it because I know we’re in danger.
‘RUN!’ I scream, shoving him away from me. ‘RUN!’
Six weeks earlier
Chapter 1
I stare contemplatively at the girl in the mirror. She looks the same as her reflection of a couple of months ago. She has the same light-blonde hair, tied back into an untidy braid, the same green eyes, outlined with black mascara, and the same school uniform cut daringly high. But she’s not the same girl. She is anything but.
Before the summer holidays, that girl there was Jessie Pickerill: an orphan of six months. But I’m Jessie Jefferson, daughter of a global megastar. The only thing is, hardly anybody knows it.
My ears prick up at the sound of my rock-star dad’s name being mentioned on the radio.
‘Johnny Jefferson’s world tour sold out in minutes on Friday. Which lucky people among you managed to get tickets?’
I smile to myself. I’ll have ringside seats! Of course, the tour isn’t until next year – ages away – so I’ll have to put it out of my mind for now. But the thought of hanging out backstage with Barney and Phoenix, my two little half-brothers, makes me want to spontaneously combust on the spot.
‘Are you nearly ready?’ Stu, my stepdad, calls up the stairs.
‘Coming!’ I call back, my stomach instantly swamped with nerves.
If Mum were here, she’d hug me tightly and then crack some joke to make me laugh. But she’s not here, and I don’t want to cry today, so I try to put her out of my mind.
It’s my first day of school in Year Eleven, but I’m unusually apprehensive. My friend Natalie has moved on to sixth-form college, and my ex-best friend Libby is now living in her new bestie Amanda’s pockets. I have no idea where I stand with Tom, the boy I had a crush on before the summer holidays. We were meant to go on a date, but I haven’t been in touch with him since I got home from America. I’ve been so busy and, I don’t know, maybe I’ve missed that particular train. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
For a moment, Jack’s blue-grey eyes stare back at me from inside my mind and the image is so tangible, I want to reach out and push his black hair away from his face.
I’m still certain he’d break my heart if I gave him the chance. But God, I fancied him. Unfortunately I still do.
‘We’re going to be late!’ Stu calls.
‘I’m coming!’ I shout back again, grabbing my bag and pushing all thoughts of LA bad-boy rock-stars-in-the-making out of my mind.
Just one more year to get through, I remind myself as I jog down the stairs, and then I’m free to do what I want. Free to move to America if I want to. Free to tell the world that I’m Johnny’s long-lost, fifteen-year-old daughter.
No one would believe it if they could see me now.
I pull the front door shut and climb into Stu’s little white Fiat, looking back at our shabby 1970s townhouse.
As disguises go, mine rocks, I think with a smirk.
Everything may feel different, but it all looks weirdly the same.
‘Have a good day,’ Stu says, raising one eyebrow at me from behind his black, horn-rimmed glasses as he wanders off to the staffroom.
‘You too,’ I call after him, hesitating uncertainly in the corridor as he disappears out of sight. On impulse, I decide to go to the bathroom, where I play Candy Crush on my phone until I hear the nearby courtyard start to fill with people. I wish Stu didn’t have to come into school so early. He’s a Maths teacher here, so he doesn’t really have a choice. Libby would sometimes get in early to hang out with me, but those days are well and truly gone.
I sigh and switch off my phone, stuffing it into my bag as I hear someone enter the cubicle next to mine. I flush the loo and go to wash my hands, jolting when I see Amanda leaning up against the wall.
‘Oh! Hello!’ I say.
‘Hi, Jessie,’ she replies, her voice lacking the warmth she reserves for my former best friend. A split second later she switches her attention to the locked cubicle. ‘Get a move on, Libs!’ she calls good-naturedly. ‘We’re going to miss out on our table.’
An uneasy feeling rolls over me. Of course they’ll be sitting together this year. I wash my hands quickly and leave the bathroom just as I hear Libby ask, ‘Was that Jessie?’
The morning drags by. I end up sitting next to Louise, the
new girl, in Science. Libby and Amanda sit at a table behind us. Libby gave me a little wave and mouthed, ‘You OK?’ as Amanda hurried her past me, but I don’t know how she expected me to reply. It’s not like I can talk to her about Johnny in front of everyone. She knows about him – she’s been sworn to secrecy – but we haven’t caught up properly since I’ve been home. I’ve spent most of my spare time with the Jeffersons. We all had to rush back to the UK together because Johnny’s dad had a heart attack – luckily he’s going to be fine. I got to meet him last week and he seems a real character. I’d like to get to know him better.
On top of that, shortly after I returned from LA, my grandmother passed away. I barely knew her – she hadn’t been close to my mum or me, and she’d been in a home for years, suffering from senile dementia. But I was her last living relative, and she was my last blood connection to Mum, so I found it understandably difficult to organise everything and then attend her funeral. Stu helped and came with me, thankfully.
Anyway, with everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had a chance to see much of anyone.
After English, I spend break in the library on my own, before finding myself beside Louise again for History and Maths.
When the lunch bell rings, Amanda makes a big show of gathering all her stuff together and talking overexcitedly to Libby about going to eat their lunch on the playing field. I take my time and, after a moment, I become aware that Louise is doing the same. If I felt apprehensive about school today, I can’t imagine how she must feel.
‘Want to come to the cafeteria with me?’ I ask her impulsively.
‘Sure,’ she replies, a little too quickly.
We follow Amanda and Libby out. Amanda has hooked her arm through Libby’s and is whispering something conspiratorial into her ear. Her OTT behaviour makes me want to gag. Libby is lapping it up, I think meanly. Suddenly Libby looks over her shoulder at me and smiles.
‘You coming to eat on the field?’ she asks, pulling Amanda to a stop.
‘We’re going to the cafeteria.’ I indicate Louise.
She nods. ‘See you later maybe?’