HP2058_HHusbandlover.indd by Julia Crouch

Author:Julia Crouch [Crouch, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-05-18T15:10:46+00:00

Now

This morning, as he has every day over the week following

Sophie’s nasty, threatening phone call, Adam escorts Lou from

the shelter of home to the Tube station. Although she has not

mentioned her tormentor – what on earth would she tell him?

– he seems to instinctively know that she needs protection. She

then scuttles from the Tube station at the other end to the

sanctuary of work. This much she has decided: Sophie is a

monster; she knows no bounds.

When it gets – as Sophie threatened – ‘messy’, will the attack

be physical? Or will her approach be more psychological?

Whatever. It’s only a matter of time before she turns up, and

all Lou can do is watch and wait, prepare herself.

At the end of each day spent hiding behind the shield of the

A.R.K. building security guards, she creeps back home, looking

over her shoulder, to the unwitting protection of her strong,

reliable man, who has now almost fully moved in. Each day,

new things arrive from his squat. He doesn’t bring his ex’s

stuff, though – when Lou told him, quite understandably, that

she couldn’t be doing with that, he boxed up all the tiny dresses and blouses and sent them back to Charley’s parents’ house.

Lou was happy to pay the postage.

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His own clothes now take up a modest amount of space in her wardrobe. His battered toothbrush has made its home

sitting in a mug next to her own electric model in the bathroom,

the shining sari adorns her bed, and the second bedroom now

bulges with his books and sound and video equipment, with

the Rothko leaning boldly against one of the walls. They’ve

even started referring to it as his studio, which at first made

Lou uncomfortable, reminding her of her own workspace in

Fen Manor and the personal and professional failure it

represents for her. But, after repeating ‘Adam’s studio’ hund-

reds of times to herself, she has almost cleaned the phrase of its negative associations.

Adam being so suddenly and fully in her life suits her well.

He looks after her as if she is a rare treasure. Her work-bound

scuttle is accessorised daily with a tasty, salad-based packed

lunch in a brown paper bag, and she is welcomed when she

returns at the end of the day with a hot meal, a swim, perhaps,

a bath, a massage and excellent, enthusiastic sex. It’s worth

every penny.

Also thanks to Adam, her apartment gleams. He has a way

with housework that outshines even her own. Her standards

are met entirely. She pays for everything, he does everything.

It’s a very pleasing symbiotic relationship.

There are just two problem areas.

The first is that he wants to take her home to meet his

mother. Lou would rather stick pins in her eyes. She wants

Adam, not his family. She doesn’t want to share him with

anyone, least of all his mother.

The other challenge is the children’s room. She found him

in there again, when she came home from work earlier in the

week.

‘What are you doing?’ she had asked him.

‘Dusting.’

‘Don’t.’

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He looked at her, a question in his eyes.

‘I’d just rather you didn’t. The room’s fine as it is.’

He moved towards her, took her hand and looked into her

eyes.

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