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‘Exactly. The whole thing is a disaster waiting to happen.’
‘Like, a cool solicitor who fights for the underdog in court?’
‘No, a deeply uncool solicitor who specialises in mortgage conveyancing, wills and probate.’
‘Right. But at least I’d be good at tennis.’
‘Ah, another small problem there. Graham has never picked up a racquet in his life, nor has he ever watched his wife win a tournament.’
‘OK,’ said Rob, holding up his hands. ‘Can I just say that Graham sounds like a prick.’
Hannah smiled. ‘I was fine with it,’ she said. ‘Tennis was my thing, and I was very happy for him not to be involved.’
‘So not a tennis player, then,’ said Rob. ‘Cricket? I’m not bad at that.’
‘No. Rugby. But to watch rather than play these days.’
‘I hate rugby. Can’t risk messing up this pretty face.’
Hannah laughed. ‘See? Even more reasons why this is a terrible idea.’
‘Graham loves dogs though, right?’
‘As mentioned previously, Graham is allergic to dogs. So him desperately wanting to adopt a Spanish mutt would be very much out of character.’
‘Right, but does your DAD know he’s allergic to dogs?’
Hannah thought about it. ‘No, I don’t think he does, actually.’
‘Right, so we’re reinventing Graham. He’s tall and extremely good-looking and loves dogs. And his gorgeous wife, obviously. He absolutely worships her.’
‘I should hope so,’ said Hannah with a grin.
‘But there’s no way we can make him love tennis.’
‘Absolutely not. He definitely hates tennis. I’m afraid that can’t be fixed.’
‘Shit,’ said Rob. ‘What else does your dad know about him?’
Hannah thought about it for a moment. ‘Surprisingly little, actually. I never talked about him much. Law degree, small practice in Guildford, rugby, cooking. And obviously Graham had the same evangelical upbringing as me, so he never swears.’
‘Ah, fucking bollocks,’ said Rob, crouching down to pat Scrumpy. ‘Help me out here, Scrumps. I’m screwed.’
Scrumpy panted happily and licked his face. Hannah watched them together, back to worrying about how she was going to explain the absence of Graham, and the presence of a really hot tennis coach. She imagined for a moment what it might be like if Rob WAS her husband; her dad would love him, particularly if he thought this was the man who’d made his daughter happy for the past fourteen years. She wouldn’t have to explain about Graham’s affair, and it would only be for a few days. And if Rob messed it up, she’d be in no worse a position than she was now.
‘Oh my God,’ said Rob, snapping her out of her trance. ‘You’re actually thinking about doing this, aren’t you?’
‘No,’ she said quickly. ‘OK, maybe a bit.’
‘I could totally pull it off,’ he said fervently. ‘And if your dad thinks I’m Graham, he’s much more likely to fall in love with my dog.’
Hannah opened her mouth, then closed it again. In the grand scheme of things, was it any more insane than any other idea she’d had in the past few weeks?
‘Dad, it’s Hannah.’ She chewed the end of her little finger nervously, remembering her conversation with Luke a month ago, when he’d done the same. A family trait, apparently.
‘Oh, what a lovely surprise,’ he said. His voice boomed around the car, the rich baritone of a man who’d once been one of the most powerful orators in their church until he’d lost his faith and his way. ‘It’s been a little while. How are you?’
‘I’m good. How are you?’
