Page 62 of The Good Neighbour

“Make-up sex, of course. Get ’em off.”

Josh sat in the lawyer’s office. Elizabeth Frinton was a stern woman with a blonde bob and suit that screamed expensive. Josh could identify good couture when he saw it. Judging by the prices she charged, he would be willing to bet she had a closet full at home.

“I’ve heard from your husband’s lawyer,” Elizabeth said. “Here is the list.”

She slid a neatly typed piece of paper across her desk. Josh picked it up and read it. At the top was the flat in Nice. That wasn’t a shock. Winston had made it perfectly clear he’d set his sights on that.

What came next made Josh sit up.

“He wants a quarter stake in Cut?”

Elizabeth nodded.

Josh remained absolutely stunned. Did Winston think that he would simply give that to him?

He studied the list further. Winston had filled it with items from the house. Some things that Josh had got way before Winston came on the scene.

“What’s the alternative?” he asked.

“The cash equivalent,” Elizabeth replied.

Josh frowned. He wasn’t badly off yet this could be a huge amount of money.

“I don’t have that to hand.”

She shrugged. “Unless you sell the house.”

Josh gripped onto the chair. “Sell Queens Crescent? I…I can’t.”

“I will fight this as best I can. Without a pre-nuptial, he is entitled to make a claim like this. I fear you’re going to have some difficult decisions to make in the coming days, Mr Winterton.”

He needed to get out of there. Winston had broadsided him and he needed time to think.

What the fuck was he going to do?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Josh was spending Saturday morning in the studio. He’d been hard at work on the two suits they’d brought back from Milan. Thankfully, Hugh had relented and let him do the work. Even though he fully understood why Hugh wanted to keep things separate, he was also enjoying helping. Hugh had no idea what he had brought to Josh’s life in these last few weeks. It meant the world to be able to repay that, even just a little bit.

The suit fabric was the most delicate shade of lilac Josh had seen. It was truly beautiful.Signora Rossihad given them material which matched so that Josh could create new panels to ensure the suit fitted Hugh perfectly.

With the radio blaring, he had spent hours making sure the dimensions were correct. Once both suits were ready for sewing, he took a break. He wanted to be totally fresh for when he made the final creation.

As he sipped a coffee, he reviewed the designs for the new Cut collection that he and Suzanne had been working on for days. They were the usual elegant yet minimalist style that had become his brand. He examined a prototype dress Sidney had finished the day before and sighed.

He’d still not even met Martha and Sidney. It was time to fix that. All the loose ends he’d left needed to be gathered up before he could even begin to plan his future.

As he listlessly wandered around the studio, his eyes were drawn to the pinned suits on the cutting-out station. He couldn’t wait to bring them to life. Why didn’t he feel this way about his other creations?

“Hello,” came a voice from the shop. “Are you up there?”

It was Hugh. Josh ran over to the top of the stairs.

“You can’t come up,” he shouted.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m at a very critical point and I don’t want you to see them until they’re ready.”