She had met Josh on their first day in the fashion design programme at St Martin’s. He was daring, with long dark hair, a cape and flashing eyes. Quite different from the solid boys she had met at school dances. She had been blown away when he sat beside her in class, whispered something irreverent in her ear and then suggested they get a cup of coffee together. They had been inseparable ever since. He was fiercely talented, she realized. But his talent was uncontrolled, and a bit over the top. Caroline also had talent, the teachers said. A flair for line and colour, a bright future ahead. But by graduation day, she had discovered she was pregnant.

Josh had professed his love for her and said that he wanted to do this “as a team.” And they had married right away. He had taken a job with a commercial fashion house, designing for mass market, high street. She had stayed home after Teddy was born, until financial need forced her to find a job—as an editorial assistant at a women’s magazine. It was below her qualifications, but it helped pay the bills.

“Look at us,” Josh went on. “We can just afford to rent a place in London. No chance to save for a house of our own, to pay for a good school for Teddy. You’re not going to inherit anything from your family; neither am I. It’s all up to me, Cara. I’ve got to do it, even if it means borrowing from the bank.”

She knew in her heart that he was right. They were only surviving, and Josh was becoming increasingly discontent with domestic life. And then he was gone. His phone calls from New York had been ecstatic. The contest judges loved his designs. He was a finalist! But then . . . he came in second place. Caroline expected a moment of disappointment and to console him when he returned home. The next day another phone call turned things in a completely different direction.

“You’ll never guess what has happened, Cara. Never in a million years. It’s a miracle—”

“For God’s sake, tell me,” she interrupted.

“You know the singer Desiree?”

“The pop star with the wild fashion sense and wilder hair?”

“She’s really quite magnetic and generous in person,” he said. “Anyway, she saw the fashion show, and she wants me to design the wardrobe for her upcoming tour. Can you believe it? She wants me to stay in New York for a while so she can collaborate on the designs with me.” When Caroline said nothing, he continued, “Are you still there? Go on, say something. Aren’t you happy for me?”

“Of course I’m happy,” she said, but she didn’t mean it. What about their son? Josh hadn’t even mentioned Teddy. What about her? “It’s just . . . I’ll miss you, of course.”

“And I’ll miss you too, you idiot. But this is just the start of good things; I know it.”