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‘Daddy. I think this is too small to be your new bed. I think you will have to come home and sleep in your proper bed.’
    ‘It’s not too small, princess. If I bend my knees a little it’ll be just cosy.’
    After the girls had gone, silence settled over the four of them like the dust that Hannah had been half-heartedly sweeping up earlier.
    ‘As I was saying,’ Dan said eventually, ‘this must be pretty weird for you two.’
    ‘It’s pretty weird for me too,’ said Sasha. She was smiling a small, tired smile and Josh found it impossible to work out if she was being sarcastic or just honest.
    Dan smiled at her and squeezed her hand in a gesture that Josh couldn’t help but find a bit creepy.
    ‘Sasha has been brilliant these last few days. We’ve talked about everything and I know it hasn’t been easy. Things haven’t been right between us for a little while and I think both of us realize we need to spend a bit of time apart while we – while I – sort out what the fuck’s going on in my head. I was going to rent a room somewhere nearby, but then Sasha suggested it might be better for September if I stayed here, just as an interim step. I really can’t thank you enough for agreeing to put me up.’
    ‘Yeah, he’s a horrible slob,’ said Sasha. Josh felt a rush of sympathy for her suddenly. She was trying so hard to put a brave face on everything, even while her world was crumbling around her.
    ‘Daddy!’ The shout came from the next room. There was a short silence, then it came back twice as shrill. ‘DADDY, I want you!’
    Dan got to his feet. ‘Better go.’
    Once he’d left the room, Sasha seemed to shrink back into the sofa cushions.
    Hannah got up from the far side of the coffee table where she’d been kneeling and sat down next to her friend, putting her hand on her arm. ‘Has it been hideous?’
    Sasha nodded. She leaned her head on Hannah’s shoulder. ‘I’m just so glad he’s coming here,’ she said. ‘I know you’ll help him get things in perspective. He’s been working so hard recently, doing such stupid hours. No wonder he’s stressed. He just needs a bit of a break, that’s all. He needs to realize just what he’s got and how much he’d be losing.’
    ‘He must be mad to even think about it,’ said Josh, and he was rewarded by a flash of a smile from Sasha.
    ‘Batshit crazy,’ she said.
    ‘Who’s batshit crazy? I’m guessing it’s probably me.’
    Dan had reappeared in the doorway, where he stood running a hand through his long dirty-blond hair. At least he had the grace to look sheepish.
    ‘How about a drink?’ Sasha seemed not to have noticed that it was barely past midday.
    Josh looked pointedly at his watch, but Hannah was already on her feet. ‘Wine o’clock, is it?’
    Josh followed her out to the kitchen on the pretext of helping her with the glasses. ‘Bit early, isn’t it?’
    ‘I don’t care,’ she said, uncorking a bottle of white she’d unearthed from the back of the fridge. It was one of their many bones of contention since finances had got so tight. Josh felt they could economize by cutting down on drinking at home, while Hannah felt it was wine that would get them through the crisis.
    ‘Dan is just doing my head in,’ she hissed. ‘All this I need to sort out my head bollocks when all he’s after is a free pass to screw young models.’
    ‘Come on, I don’t think that’s completely fair. Have you looked at him? The guy looks wrecked. I don’t think this is easy for him.’
    ‘Maybe not, but it’s a million times worse for her.’
    Hannah had a massive sense of female solidarity. Probably something to do with growing up in a female-dominated household. It was one of the things Josh loved most about her – her loyalty to her friends.
    ‘Oi, stop talking about us and bring the wine,’ called Sasha. Her voice lacked its usual confidence, but at least she was trying to keep it together.
    Back in the living room, Josh reclaimed the