Page 25 of The Good Neighbour

“Get off with you,” he replied, wriggling free. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Suzanne blew him a kiss and left. He looked around the empty studio. The day he had moved in seemed like onlyyesterday. He’d had three collections under his belt and things were flying.

The shop downstairs had sold CDs in those days. It would be a few more years before Helga swooped in and grabbed it for her own.

No matter how much the failure of his marriage hurt him, nothing could take this away. He should have returned to work weeks ago.

He reached into his coat pocket for his phone. They’d been so engrossed in developing Suzanne’s designs he hadn’t checked it all day. That had to be a good sign.

His heart skipped when he saw that he had a message from Hugh.

“Hey, I’m back in the land of the living. Fancy calling in for a drink?”

Too bloody right, I do.

He packed up and after saying goodbye to Helga, set off home. On the way he called into the supermarket to grab a bottle of champagne and some chocolates. From when he was a child, his mother had drilled into him that showing up to someone’s house empty-handed was the height of bad manners. Growing up in a thriving Caribbean community in Peckham, that had got very expensive indeed.

As he walked around the corner onto the street that had seen some of the best and worst times of his life, he had a spring in his step for the first time in ages.

He strode up to Jeannie’s door and rang the bell.

Hugh beamed as he opened the door.

“The man himself,” he said. “I was talking about you.”

“Oh, yes?”

“Come in.”

He led Josh down the hallway and into the kitchen where another man sat at the table. He must have been roughly thesame age as Hugh. He was attractive as well. Nowhere near as much as Hugh. Although Josh suspected he might be a little biased already.

The other guy had dark hair that he kept very short. His tan skin had a slight streak to it which gave Josh suspicions that it came from a bottle rather than a sunbed. His skin also had a glow that suggested many products were involved. Even so, he had an air about him that exuded confidence.

“Michael, I presume,” Josh said, holding out his hand.

“Very perceptive,” Michael replied, shaking said hand.

Josh handed the carrier bag over to Hugh. “A welcome-home present.”

Hugh peered inside. “Wow,” he said. “Thank you. Take a seat and I’ll have this bad boy opened in a jiffy.”

Josh sat opposite Michael and watched Hugh busying himself around.

“So, Josh,” Michael said. “What have you been doing today?”

“I went to work.”

Hugh spun round, his face full of joy. “You really did it? Proud of you, mate.”

“Thanks.”

The heat that spread through Josh alarmed him. This man’s approval meant a lot.

“Want to know what we’ve been doing?” Michael asked.

“Michael, you are so unsubtle it’s embarrassing,” Hugh chipped in. “Josh, ignore anything this one says.”

Josh had met people like Michael before. Those who tried to disarm you with their attitude. There was only one way to survive. Fight fire with fire.