‘You’ve been playing a game with me over the money you owe me, too, haven’t you?’ Hannah breathed, as if everything was so obvious to her now that she was cursing herself for a fool. Nico could imagine the hurt on her face. She seemed physically to be caving in, head and shoulders drooping. ‘I see your point about building my business while I lived with you,’ she muttered in a tiny voice, though it was a damned sight more than Nico saw. He messed up more scarves in irritation. Hannah went on, her voice filled with uncertainty. ‘But why are you running the shop? Why not just sell the lease?’

Albin scoffed, the way people did when they were stating the obvious and waiting for the other party to catch on. ‘Erm … Julia wanted the shop? It’s a profitable business. I … call in on my lunch hour sometimes. We were about to put up the closed sign for half an hour when you arrived.’ He smirked meaningfully and Julia smiled up at him like a spaniel: pretty, glossy and adoring. They couldn’t have said, ‘We’re having an affair and Albin comes here for lunchtime quickies’ more clearly if they’d posted a notice in the window.

Hannah’s head turned towards Julia. Julia’s smile fell away as if whatever she saw in Hannah’s expression killed her amusement stone dead. ‘I see.’ Contempt filtered into Hannah’s voice. ‘Julia’s taken my place. Don’t give up your own apartment, Julia, because it leaves you with nothing when he turns on you. Read your future in my past.’

When Julia looked up at Albin this time her expression was less certain.

Hannah turned back to her ex. ‘You’re still working as a fund manager, Albin?’ she asked slowly, as if yet to make sense of everything.

Nico saw Albin roll his eyes. ‘Obviously.’ He seemed to feel no remorse for the manner in which he’d switched from one of the women before him to the other. He might even be pleased that he’d come out of it so well.

Hannah took a step away from the counter. ‘You’re not going to pay me out until you’re good and ready, are you? Even if it’s unfair and I need the money? Even though it’s what you agreed?’

‘I’ll probably get round to it,’ Albin said carelessly.

Hannah finally turned away and Nico saw her eyes were diamond hard. She joined him at the scarf stand saying to him sweetly, ‘So it will have to be your lawyer friend.’