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Hannah shook her head and smiled. ‘I send them a message every day, as promised. But I’ve left out quite a lot of information – they know about Scrumpy, but not that we’re at my dad’s. They think you and I are hiking around Andalusia.’
‘You can tell them about tennis this afternoon, though.’ Joyce and Dominic were out for the day, and Barnaby had some errands to run in Córdoba, so Hannah and Rob were planning to take advantage of the chance to play some tennis on Joyce’s court. It would be their first time playing against each other properly, and Hannah couldn’t wait.
‘Yeah, remind me to take a picture of us on court, so I can send it to them.’
‘Are they still OK about us travelling together?’
‘They seem to be finding it quite entertaining.’ Hannah smiled at the memory of Gaynor’s WhatsApp from yesterday, asking if the heat of Hannah’s unrequited lust had set fire to southern Spain yet. It hadn’t quite, but despite her best efforts to dampen things down during their walk home last night, she could still feel the electricity between them.
‘There must be questions about the sleeping arrangements, I imagine.’
Hannah blushed. ‘There have been a few. How’s the sofa bed?’
‘Uncomfortable,’ said Rob. ‘Some of the springs have gone.’
Hannah nodded, the air suddenly heavy with tension.
‘I guess your dad doesn’t believe in sharing a bed if we’re not married,’ said Rob, picking up a prawn from the bowl ofGambas al Ajillo. He held it out to Hannah, and she instinctively leaned forward so he could put it in her mouth, her lips briefly brushing his fingers. Rob cleared his throat, then wiped his hands on his napkin and took another slug of sangria.
‘I don’t think it’s a moral thing,’ said Hannah, wondering why this terrace was suddenly so hot. ‘I think he felt he was doing us both a favour.’
Rob nodded and held out the last prawn. ‘Well, I liked it better the other way.’
Hannah leaned forward again, wondering if he could actually see her heart beating out of her chest. What would he do if she took one of his fingers in her mouth? Was that even a sexy thing? It felt like it might be, but there was an equal chance he might be weirded out, so probably best not to risk it. ‘So did I,’ she said, wondering why her voice was suddenly so weak and husky.
Hannah practically bit Rob’s finger off as her phone rang, Luke’s name lighting up the screen. She looked at Rob, who nodded. ‘Go and talk to him,’ he said. ‘I’ll get the bill.’
‘Luke?’ said Hannah, hurrying out into the village square, out of earshot of the restaurant diners. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ said Luke, his face filling the screen of Hannah’s phone. ‘Dad and I talked for, like, an hour. My mind’s a bit blown, if I’m honest.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ said Hannah, feeling a wave of relief that Luke was OK and everything was finally out in the open.
‘People make podcasts about this kind of shit.’ Luke half-smiled, and she swallowed the urge to tell him off for swearing or mention that he could do with a haircut.
‘I know,’ she said. ‘But we’ve only heard Dad’s side of the story, not that I think he’d lie. It’s easy enough to check with Mum.’
‘I’m going round this evening, and I’ve got a day off tomorrow so we can talk it through properly. I’ve got SO many questions.’
‘Be gentle with her, Luke. It was difficult for her too.’
‘But why didn’t she let Dad know when she’d properly left the church? It was years ago; he could have got back in touch with me then.’
‘I don’t know,’ sighed Hannah. ‘Maybe she was scared about the church people finding out; Dad said they’re still around.’ She shrugged helplessly, wishing she was there to have this conversation in person. ‘Or maybe she decided it was just easier for him to stay away.’
‘Easier for her, you mean,’ huffed Luke. ‘I’ve grown up hating my dad for no reason. That doesn’t seem fair.’
‘Well, let’s wait until we’ve talked to Mum,’ said Hannah, conscious of how pious and sensible she sounded. In truth she was as upset as Luke about the years they’d lost, but there was no use kicking off about that now.
‘When are you back? We should probably see her together.’
‘Not for at least another week.’ Hannah thought about getting back on the road with Rob tomorrow, and where that might take them. ‘But I think we should involve Dad, too. There’s a lot of stuff that we need to get straight.’
‘I don’t think I can get Mum on a video call, especially with Dad. She thinks everything is being recorded by the Russians.’
Hannah laughed softly. ‘Did he tell you he was planning to come back to the UK?’
‘Yeah. But that could be ages.’
