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‘So you don’t want to hurt her either.’
‘Definitely not.’
‘And why is that?’ asked Guy, giving his son a penetrating stare.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Rob, wondering where his dad was going with this.
‘It’s a simple question,’ Guy said mildly. ‘Why don’t you want to hurt her?’
Rob shrugged. ‘Because I don’t like to hurt ANY woman, if I can help it. I always establish what the deal is up front.’
‘Good for you. Sensible.’
‘And even though Hannah seems OK with a fling, no pressure or whatever, I’m not sure that’s true.’
‘Right, so you’ve talked about that.’
‘Kind of, I guess. She said she didn’t care what happened next week or next month, and we almost . . . kissed, but a dog got in the way. It’s a long story.’
‘So you’ve established the deal, like with every other woman. So what’s holding you back?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Rob, his brow furrowed and the beginnings of a headache forming behind his eyes. ‘This just feels different, somehow. I don’t want to fuck it up.’
Guy flumped down on the tailgate beside his son, making the car bounce and creak on its rear axle. ‘Is it possible – and bear with me here, because I’m about to put a big, scary idea out into the universe – that you’ve fallen in love for the first time in your irresponsible playboy life?’
Rob turned to look at his dad with a soft smile. ‘Yeah. Maybe.’
‘Because if you have, you need to go and tell that girl right now. Before she talks herself out of you altogether.’
Rob nodded, trying to imagine the conversation in his head. He probably should have done it properly when they were talking in bed last night, if he was entirely honest, instead of spouting some old crap about ABBA and hoping it would all just happen naturally.
‘I’ve got one more question,’ said Guy, ‘then I’ll hand you over to your mother for further interrogation. If you were a betting man, would you put money on the possibility of Hannah being the one?’
Rob contemplated it for a moment, thoughts of their imagined life together playing through his head like one of those wholesome, happy-ever-after Netflix movies his sisters watched at Christmas, and he also secretly loved. It made him feel warm inside and inexplicably happy. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I think I would.’
Guy put his arm around Rob’s shoulders. ‘Well, in that case, it was totally worth getting fired. But promise me you will do everything possible not to fuck this up.’
‘Yeah, OK. Thanks, Dad.’ They gathered up the bags and locked the car, then headed back towards the hotel. ‘What’s your plan while you’re here?’
‘We didn’t really have one.’ Guy shrugged. ‘We thought you’d be coaching all day, but your mother will be delighted to spend more time with you. Let’s all have a nice few days together, get to know Hannah a bit, then we can talk about what’s next. We’ll pick up the bill.’
‘I’m coming home in the next couple of weeks,’ said Rob, walking into the air-conditioned cool of reception. ‘So I’ll find some summer work in Bath, if I can stay with you guys. And I’ve still got the job lined up in October.’
‘Rob?’ said a voice. Rob’s heart sank as Mark wandered into view from the direction of the lifts, his white polo shirt glowing against his conker-brown arms.Seriously, thought Rob.If he doesn’t have a sunbed for an all-over tan, he must have the whitest torso in Spain.
‘Hey, Mark.’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Checking in as a guest for a few days,’ said Rob, forcing a smile. ‘This is my dad, Guy.’
Mark thrust out his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you. I’m Mark, I run the coaching operation here.’
‘I’ve heard a lot about you,’ said Guy, and Rob stifled the urge to laugh.
There was a brief and deeply awkward silence, then Mark cleared his throat. ‘Look, I was going to call you tomorrow, actually. Can you spare ten minutes for a chat in my office?’ He rubbed his jaw awkwardly. ‘No problem if you can’t, obviously.’
Rob considered his options, most of which involved inflicting ritual humiliation and moderate pain. ‘Sure,’ he replied with a casual shrug. ‘I’ll just help my dad drop these off in my room.’ Mark nodded at them both and strode off, his calf muscles gleaming in the soft lights.
