Page 91 of The House Swap

For a moment, she just stared at it, her brain trying to connect the dots.

Had it been watching her? For how long?

Could it hear her too?

Her mind went back over the last week and a half. She had assumed she was alone and had privacy, and she thought of the many times she had been in this room in just her underwear or bikini.

Had she been naked at any point? She couldn’t remember for sure but didn’t think so.

No. That was beside the point. A camera had been watching her and she had been unaware. It was not on.

Tom. It was his villa.

He should have warned her about the camera.

Unless of course he hadn’t wanted her to know.

Betrayal stabbed through her, anger coiling tightly in her gut.

He had been spying on her.

Furious, she muted the TV, then snatched up her phone, dialling his number. It rang twice before he answered.

‘Hey, trouble. How was your boat trip?’

‘I just found your camera!’ she snapped, ignoring his question. Right now, she was too angry to attempt a civil conversation.

‘My camera?’ Tom repeated, and she could hear his confusion.

‘The one you have hidden in the smoke detector in the kitchen!’

There was a lengthy pause before he spoke.

‘Pops. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.’

He sounded genuinely shocked, but she’d had enough of being played for a fool.

‘Don’t lie!’

‘I’m not! Are you sure it’s definitely a camera?’

‘I have it in my hand. I can see the fucking lens, Tom!’

There was another moment of silence. When he answered her, he sounded shaken.

‘I don’t have a camera in the house. Smoke detectors, yes, but no cameras. The only one is outside the front. For security.’

His reaction had her losing some of her bluster. Was he being straight with her?

When she didn’t answer, unsure what else she could say, he quietly asked a question.

‘Why would I have a camera in the villa, Poppy? It’s just me there. There’s no need for…’ He paused abruptly. ‘Wait. Are you saying you think I purposely put it there so I could spy on you?’

He sounded horrified and hurt.

Yes, that’s what she did think.

Or at least had. Now she really wasn’t quite sure.