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For lack of anything helpful to say, she rubbed gently between his shoulder blades.
“Why did it never occur to me that all that crap might have left a lasting impression?” With his eyes fixed on the floor, he stayed silent for a moment before huffing out a laugh. “I kind of thought that cutting her out of my life meant she was out of my life, but I guess she’s been here all along – telling me to get my hair cut and make sure my clothes are ironed and my shirts tucked in and my house is spotless and that I’m clean-shaven at all times and god knows what else.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Bloody hell.”
“Sorry,” Allie whispered in his ear.
“You will be when I send you the bill for all the therapy I’m going to need. You just pulled on a thread that might unravel my entire adult life. I was blissfully ignorant, and now I don’t even know who I am.”
“I can help you out there,” Allie said, pressing her cheek into his shoulder. “You’re a wonderfully kind and compassionate man with great hair and a gorgeous smile.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” he said, straightening up and stretching his neck with a low groan.
“Are we okay?” she asked seriously.
“I don’t know about you,” he said, cocking an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I am at this moment.”
She gave him a sympathetic smile. “I meant is everything okay between us? Everything felt so easy and perfect and then the last couple of weeks have been chaos.”
“They have been pretty eventful,” he said, slouching back on the couch and taking her hand in his. “I guess things won’t be so straightforward from now on, what with Emmy home and you having a company to run. But I think we’ll be all right …” The uncertainty in his eyes wasn’t overly reassuring.
“You don’t sound too sure,” she said, trying to keep her tone light.
“I guess I just worry …” He looked down at their intertwined fingers. “Are you planning on sticking around?”
Her chin jutted out and she blinked a couple of times as she waited for his words to sink in.
“When we first met,” he said, “you weren’t sure of your plans, which didn’t seem to matter when we were just having fun so I didn’t really think about it. But now I realise that you really weren’t planning on staying for long, were you?”
“I wasn’t,” she said. “But my plans changed. I’m staying here. At least for now. I told my dad I’m not going back to Surrey. He’s already arranged for my cousin to take over my role at the golf club there. I can’t say what will happen long term, but for now I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Hugh’s lips pulled to a slow smile as his hand slipped to the back of her neck and drew her to him. She’d just caught the hint of coffee on his lips when a knock came at the door.
“Sorry,” Allie said, pulling away as the door slowly opened and a blonde-haired woman stepped hesitantly into view.
“Hi,” she said. “Daisy told me I should come back here. I’m Cynthia. We spoke on the phone earlier.”
“Yes.” Allie stood up in a rush, extending her hand as she approached the woman. “Thanks so much for coming in.”
“Is it a bad time?” she asked.
“I was just going,” Hugh said, smiling at her as he passed.
“Take a seat,” Allie told Cynthia. “I’ll be with you in one minute.” In the hallway, her fingers curled around Hugh’s. “She used to work on reception,” she whispered. “We fired her. Kevin did,” she corrected. “I’m hoping she’ll be keen to come back. This shouldn’t take long. You can hang out in the bar and wait if you want.”
“I need to go anyway. I’m picking Emmy up, then we’re meeting Leo and Damian for dinner in the pub.” He stepped into her personal space. “Can we find some time for ourselves sometime soon, though?”
“I’d really like that.” She winced, knowing that the golf club was going to demand most of her attention for a while.
“Emmy’s staying at a friend’s place tomorrow,” Hugh said, hands resting casually at her hips. “I could come over here and we can hang out when you’ve finished working.”
“That would be perfect.” She pushed up on her toes to give him a quick peck. “I can’t wait.”
CHAPTER 44
Hugh messaged Emmy to say he was on his way, so she was waiting for him when he pulled up at Eva’s house.
“How was your day?” he asked.
She shoved her schoolbag in the footwell of the passenger seat. “Did you know that Allie owns the golf club?” she asked, eyes sparkling eagerly.
