His eyes flickered, with no idea who she was. ‘Oh, yes,’ he said, in his lyrical accent. ‘How are you?’
‘Good,’ she said. She sat down opposite him, without waiting for an invitation. ‘I didn’t get a chance to tell you I work with Essie Starling. I’m passing on my regards.’
‘Oh,’ he said, followed by a long pause. His rings clinked against his coffee cup. ‘That is good. I heard that she’s here in Dubrovnik. I hoped I might see her.’
‘Unfortunately, she’s been otherwise engaged.’
‘I am sorry to hear that.’
Liv paused a beat. ‘You wanted to see her?’ she said. ‘Is there anything I can help you with?’
He smiled and stirred his coffee. ‘That is kind of you, but no. It was something between Essie and me.’
‘Something… from the past?’ Liv said.
Sven eyed her. ‘Why do you say that?’
‘Marlon mentioned something happened between you and Essie.’ She wondered if she’d moved on their conversation too speedily.
His eyes flashed before calming just as quickly. ‘Ha, Marlon. He has nothing to worry about. Essie chose him instead of me. All is good.’
Liv waited to see if he’d add anything else. When he didn’t, she jumped in. ‘Actually, may I ask you a few things about Essie?’ she said. ‘I’m doing a little writing for her and would like to understand her better.’
He laughed. ‘This sounds like you want to interview me.’
‘Oh, no, I’m not a journalist.’ She rolled her eyes for effect.
‘Good. I heard from one only last week, asking me questions about Essie.’
Liv controlled her breathing. ‘Was her name Chloe Anderton, fromSheenmagazine?’ she said nonchalantly.
‘Yes, you know of her?’
‘She’s writing an article about Essie.’
‘So I learned. I told her I was not interested in talking about my ex-client. What is it you want to know?’
‘I believe Essie bases her characters on real people. Did you inspire any of her heroes?’
‘This question!’ He tipped his head back and laughed. ‘Me? I doubt that very much.’
‘Didn’t Essie sign with you after splitting up with Ted? That’s what he told me.’
‘Sure.’ Sven twisted a ring around his thumb. Her mentioning Ted’s name seemed to assure him it was okay to talk. ‘After her divorce, Essie was flying high. She wanted to start over and sign with a literary agency, to get her the best deals. The trouble was, everyone wanted her.’
‘How did you woo her?’
‘I like this word,woo.’ He laughed again. ‘With someone like Essie, it is mostly about the mind. You have to pique her interest, challenge her, or equal her. I knew flowers and flattery would not do the trick.’
Liv thought how Sven was unlikely to send Essie white roses.
‘We had a terrible first meeting. I spilled a little coffee on her dress, and asked which author’s career she would most like to have. She stared at me as if I was an imbecile.My own, of course, was her reply.’ Sven made his fingers into a gun and mimed shooting into the air, and his hand fluttering down. ‘Pow. I thought it was over. I mean, it was bad.’
‘How did you win her around?’
‘I didn’t try. I gave her space. She met other agents and called me after a couple of months, sick of everyone sucking up to her. We were like a married couple straightaway, bickering and annoying the hell out of each other. Our wordplay together was a little like foreplay.’
Liv blushed.
