Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Two days passed and Josh found it impossible to settle. Ever since he'd been to Madeline's for drinks, he had let the world into his life. Even just a tiny bit. However, it was proving addictive. It didn't help that he had a gorgeous man next door. The walls between the houses were so thick, no noise ever made it through. However, Josh still sensed Hugh's presence.

He had tried to push such thoughts out of his mind. He was still technically a married man. Not that Winston seemed to be all that bothered. He'd still heard precisely nothing from him.

Josh had read and reread the letter. He needed to find a lawyer. Madeline would know the best divorce expert in London. Yet each time he'd got out his phone to message her, he hadn't been able to do it.

As he sat on the couch in the sunroom, he glanced through to the kitchen. He tried to remember the happy times he'd shared with Winston. Early in their relationship they'd had fun.

When did that all stop?

A long time before the cancer. That was for sure. The turning point had been Alessandro. Josh squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He always did that when he thought about that man. Winston had been making a film in Dubrovnik. Alessandro was a camera operator. Their little affair became common knowledge. To everyone except Josh of course. A friend of Madeline's had alerted her and she'd done the decent thing and told Josh. Winston hadn't even denied it. He'd told Josh he was overreacting and refused to speak any more about it.

Josh sprang up from the couch and pushed open the door to the garden. Anxiety swept through his system as he realised that Winston wouldn't be sitting in the house in Nice worrying about Josh.

As he stood watching the autumn rain fall, he heard a commotion from next door.

"How are we supposed to go on tour if your wardrobe isn't ready?" said a male voice unfamiliar to Josh.

"Calm down. A friendly neighbour helped me out," Hugh replied.

Josh grinned at the sound of his voice.

"Oh really?" the other man said. "Is he hot?"

"He is actually."

Josh gripped the door frame. It had been a long time since anyone had described him as hot.

"You've landed on your feet," the male said. "Fancy place to stay and a sexy neighbour."

"Will you be quiet?" Hugh replied. "He might be out there."

To Josh's horror, he heard scrabbling against the fence. He darted inside and hid behind one of the kitchen units.

"Michael!" Hugh shouted.

"The coast is clear."

Josh heard more noises, then a thud.

"Get inside," Hugh said. "Honestly, you're going to get me kicked out. It's bloody posh round here. I should have known better, asking you to come over."

The back door banged and Josh let out a sigh of relief. If anyone could see him now, they would think he'd lost his mind.

Still, it was worth it. Hugh thought he was hot. The feeling was most certainly mutual. Then he winced. He shouldn't be thinking like this.

Josh rested his head against the kitchen unit. How the fuck had he found himself here?

An hour later the doorbell rang. Josh had been flicking through magazines in the sunroom. He padded through into the hallway.

When he opened the door, he thanked his lucky stars he had actually got dressed that day. On the step stood the very handsome Hugh. Instantly, Josh's heartrate sped up as he gazed into Hugh's crystal-blue eyes.

"Not another flood, I hope," he said.

"Nah," Hugh replied. "I'm crawling the walls next door and realised I hadn't thanked you properly for your help."

Josh didn't know what say. He wondered in what form his reward would come. Hugh had on a tight white T-shirt and jeans that left little to the imagination. Josh had many suggestions on how Hugh might thank him.

Once again, he pushed those images out of his mind.

"Oh yes?" he managed.

"Takeaway on me?" Hugh replied. "You'll have to choose which one. I bow to your local knowledge. Of course, if you're busy, I'm sure I can find a meal for one somewhere."

The exaggerated expression of woe made Josh laugh.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I caused such a tragedy," he said. "Come in."

He led Hugh down the hallway.

The first male to cross the threshold since Winston.

He really had to stop thinking like this. His marriage had ended. The sooner he accepted that, the better.

They walked into the kitchen.

"What do you fancy?" Josh asked. "Thai? Mexican? Lebanese?"

"So much choice," Hugh replied. "I'll let you decide. Although it's my shout."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. I wasn't dragged up."

Josh sniggered. "You sure about that?"

Realisation dawned on Hugh's face. "Bad choice of words. Of course, I've been dragged up ever since I saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ."

"Is that where it all began?"

"Pretty much. For most Aussie kids it all starts there."

"Drink?" Josh asked.

"I'll take a beer."

Josh grabbed two bottles from the fridge.

"Sunroom or drawing room?" he asked.

Hugh took in his surroundings. "This place is bigger than Jeannie's. Let's go for the drawing room. It sounds so English."

Josh led him upstairs. Each house on Queens Crescent boasted a lounge that spanned the length of the property. As the buildings curved, each house had slightly different dimensions.

Of course, those in the centre were the biggest and considered themselves the best. Josh had decorated his in neutral tones to give the impression of it being larger than it actually was.

"This is nice," Hugh said, gravitating toward the window and that view over the gardens that Queens Crescent bordered. "There's not much of a view next door thanks to that bloody big tree outside."

Josh screwed the tops off the beers and sat down on the sofa.

"Take a load off," he said.

Hugh shrugged his jacket off and draped it over the chair that Winston used to prefer to sit in. He would complain that Josh took up too much room on the sofa. Josh felt a flash of satisfaction when he saw Hugh make straight for the other end.

He sat down and grinned at Josh.

"So?" Hugh said. "What are we eating?"

"How about Thai?" Josh replied. "I'll get us a set meal for two."

He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and fired up the takeaway app. One that he'd used far too frequently of late. Perhaps a healthy eating kick should start on Monday.

"How's the cape?" he asked.

Hugh groaned. "It's fine. I think. My drag sister had a go at me before for not taking care of things properly. I can't seem to do anything right at the moment."

The worry was etched on Hugh's face. He reached to get his beer off the side table where he'd placed it. In doing so, he nudged a photo frame.

Hugh picked it up and studied it. Of course he had found the solitary wedding photo in the house. Winston had declared it sad to have pictures of themselves all over the place. Josh had fought valiantly to have one reminder of their special day.

"Your husband is a filmmaker?" Hugh asked.

"Have you been doing some research?"

Hugh pursed his lips and returned the frame to the table. "I might have," he said. "I had to know about my handsome saviour."

Josh tensed at the word handsome.

"What did you find out?"

Hugh swigged from his beer and considered Josh.

"Word is that you've split up. He got the all-clear from cancer and fucked off."

Josh winced. The way Hugh laid it out there, so matter of factly, came across a little brutal. Still, he wasn't wrong either.

"Sorry," Hugh continued. "I tend to be a little direct."

"That's okay," Josh replied. "It's true. Winston is in Nice for the foreseeable future."

Hugh shook his head. "What a bastard. Using you. Then throwing you away."

For the first time, Josh saw the situation from that point of view. For the last few months, he'd been blaming himself. Maybe he hadn't cared for Winston enough. Or perhaps too much.

"You know what?" he said. "You're right. He is a bastard."

Hugh reached across the sofa and clinked bottles with Josh. The proximity making Josh's cock twitch.

"I'll drink to that," Hugh said with a devilish expression on his face.

He swigged from his bottle. Josh was transfixed. The way he did it was so erotic. Hugh's prominent Adam's apple contracting as he gulped down the beer. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned.

"What?" Josh asked.

"I'm thinking about how weird life is. At the beginning of this week, I'm getting ten tons of shit on the telly. Now I'm sitting in your fancy house drinking to a bastard stupid enough to walk out on you."

Josh snorted. "You don't even know me. I could be the most annoying man on the planet."

"I doubt that."

They shared a glance that sent electric charging through his body and leaving him trembling.

"What about you?" Josh said, eager to change the subject. "How come you're sofa surfing?"

Hugh leant his head back and groaned.

"A family falling-out," he said. "Unfortunately, I'd been staying with my mother. Yes, I know how pathetic that sounds when I'm in my thirties."

Josh frowned. "Not pathetic. I don't know how anyone gets on the housing ladder these days. Especially in London."

"You did all right," Hugh replied.

"I got lucky. I made money quickly and my financial adviser told me to put it into bricks and mortar. I'm so glad he did. I take it you and your mother had a fall-out?"

"More me and my new stepfather. He's a bit of an arsehole and doesn't like what I do for a living."

"Really? Why did your mum marry him then?"

Hugh shrugged. "Beats me. I guess love is blind or deaf. Both would be preferable where he's concerned. To be fair, he treats her well. It's just me he doesn't approve of. He's the chief executive of a hospital trust. He thinks it'll bring shame on him. Not that I would take his shitty name anyway. I don't think Hugh Hogg works, do you?"

"Not at all."

Josh marvelled at Hugh. He seemed to be bravely carving his own way in life. No matter where the opposition came from.

"He sounds like an idiot," Josh said. "He should be proud that you're following your dreams."

"Oh, he would be," Hugh replied. "If my dreams were treating the sick and injured. Poor bastard got unlucky there, didn't he?"

Hugh might come across as bulletproof, but Josh sensed that it was a fa?ade. Hugh's eyes told him that. He found a sadness there that Josh had an urge to try to banish.

"Sounds like we both have men in our lives who don't appreciate us," Josh said.

"You've got that right. Do you think your husband will come back?"

Once again, Hugh's directness skewered Josh in the heart.

"Now that's a question I've dodged asking myself for weeks."

"And?"

Josh took a deep breath. "Probably not. There's a solicitor's letter downstairs that says he won't. I just…"

"Can't believe it?"

To Josh's horror, tears welled in his eyes.

"Shit. Sorry." He wiped them away with his sleeve.

"Hey," Hugh said, scooting up the sofa. "I didn't mean to upset you. My mother always says I should learn to soften my edges."

Josh flinched as Hugh took hold of his hand.

"I think you're a decent person, Josh Winterton. I also think, deep down, you agree with me. You're a bit bruised at the moment."

This handsome being so close to him made Josh's chest tight and his body temperature shoot up.

"Are you going to tell me that time heals all wounds?"

Hugh nodded. "That would be a cliché, wouldn't it? How about good times get rid of them?"

Josh stared into Hugh's electric-blue eyes.

"Perhaps you're right. I have been hiding away for a while."

Hugh squeezed Josh's hand. "Nothing wrong in wallowing for a bit. You have to know when to stop."

He was the second person to say that to him.

They were so close now Hugh's breath tickled Josh's face. He was also sure that Hugh would be able to hear the heavy drum of Josh's heart. He half expected it to pound out of his chest if this carried on much longer.

"You make it sound so easy," he managed.

"It is," Hugh replied. "You just have to jump."

The invitation in his eyes was too much for Josh. He cleared the distance between them and kissed Hugh. The soft lips that he'd not stopped thinking about since he'd gone to rescue his new neighbour from the washing machine were finally pressed against his own.

Hugh shifted a little closer. Hugh swept the tip of his tongue over Josh's. Suddenly, the real world came rushing in and he leapt back.

"Fuck."