Page 61 of The Good Neighbour

“I got a call from his agent in the middle of the night. I knew it was going to be about him before I even answered it,” Josh said. “There’d been a car accident. Nicolai was killed instantly and some guy that he’d picked up was in intensive care.”

“What the hell?”

Josh nodded. “We didn’t have an open relationship. He’d cheated and died doing it.”

“Fuck,” Hugh said. “I’m so sorry, Josh.”

Tears stung his eyes but he wanted to get to the end of the story.

“It was a shitty time. Of course, the press leapt on it. I don’t blame them. It was an interesting story for five minutes. They soon backed off. Thank fuck.”

Hugh nodded.

“So I threw myself into work,” Josh said. “I built up the business and when Winston came into my life, I guess I wanted stability. What a joke.”

Once again, silence descended on the room. Josh studied Hugh’s handsome features in the lamplight. They were full of concern for him. He’d never seen that in Nicolai or Winston.

Do I dare to believe?

“The reason I told you that is I’ve thrown myself into relationships without stopping to think,” Josh explained. “Then the whole world gets involved and there’s a different kind of pressure. I quite liked living in our own little bubble. You know, letting trusted people in like Mrs W and the Prof. I don’t want anyone else picking over it.”

Hugh nodded. “I can understand that. I had no idea.”

“Why would you? Come here.”

He pulled Hugh against his body again. The scent of Hugh’s oaky cologne wafting over him. Already he associated that with safety.

“Have we made up?” Josh asked.

“Oh most definitely,” Hugh replied. “Thank you for telling me. That can’t have been easy.”

Josh squeezed him close. “Once the collection is out and your tour is on the road, we’ll tell the world. In fact, I’ll sit in the front row with a T-shirt sayingI’m Mr Harlton.

Hugh giggled. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know.”

The night sounds of Milan outside gave a sense of cosiness in their room. What had been a tense situation had rapidly morphed into one of the most loving experiences of his life. And he still had all his clothes on.

“We still have a problem,” Hugh said.

“What’s that?”

“Who the fuck took those pictures?”

Something had been playing on Josh’s mind while Hugh had been having a bath.

“Have you considered that this might be targeted?”

“What?” Hugh said with a laugh. “Darling, I’m what’s known as a cult figure. That means only a small amount of people give a fuck about me. I think it’s more likely to be a bandwagon thing. You know, a shitty photographer has seen the bad shit and tries to make a quick buck. I should be flattered.”

Josh didn’t want to alarm Hugh but he wasn’t so sure. If Hugh was too stressed to face it, Josh knew the perfect pair with the skills to get to the bottom of this mystery.

“Hey, you know what comes after an argument?” Hugh said, staring up at Josh.

“What’s that?”