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Swallowing her emotions, she switched her gaze to Emmy. “Happy birthday!” She said, stepping forwards to give her a hug before deciding that might be too much and giving her arm a squeeze instead. “How’s your day so far?”
“Really good. We went to the beach this morning. I went paddleboarding and surfing.”
“You’ve gone for an action-packed day, haven’t you?” She swept her gaze over Emmy’s friends, smiling at them as she introduced herself and asked their names.
“Do you really know loads of celebrities?” Eva asked, pushing her long dark hair over her shoulder as she eyed Allie with a look of awe.
“I’ve met a lot of celebrities,” Allie told her. “I don’t really know them.” She thought of how fun it would have been to see Emmy’s face if she’d managed to get the concert tickets. “Anyway,” she said clapping her palms together. “Who’s ready for some golf?” She was met with eager nods. “Daisy’s going to take you through to the driving range and get you all set up out there.” She moved around the girls to Hugh, eyeing the cake box in his hands. “I can take that for later.”
“Thanks.” Their fingers brushed as she took it, only for the briefest moment but his touch felt like pure joy.
“Have fun,” she said, smiling at the girls.
Emmy stepped towards her. “Aren’t you going to hang out with us?”
“Oh … I …”
“I thought you could give us some golf tips and stuff,” Emmy said, her eyebrows raising pleadingly. “Show us what to do.”
Allie nodded automatically. “I can do that. I just have to check on a few things, then I’ll come and join you.”
“Thank you.” Emmy beamed at her, then turned back to her friends, who were already following Daisy.
Hugh caught Allie’s eye and she felt horribly self-conscious.
“I’d better put the cake in the kitchen. Go through with the girls. Daisy will bring drinks out to you if you want.”
He gave her a quick smile, then headed for the driving range, leaving Allie to draw in a deep breath before forcing her feet into action.
She waited a quarter of an hour before joining the party in the driving range. Daisy had set them up at the end of the row and Hugh sat at the table on the back wall, which held a selection of drinks.
“How’s everything going?” she asked, standing beside him and following his gaze to the girls, who were giggling away as the short-haired one swung and missed repeatedly.
“They seem to be enjoying themselves,” Hugh said, smiling crookedly.
“Can you help us?” Emmy asked. “We’re not doing very well, and Charlotte can barely hit the ball at all.”
“I’m so bad at it,” Charlotte said. “I can only hit the ball if I don’t really swing the club, but then it doesn’t really go anywhere. What am I doing wrong?”
“It takes practice,” Allie said, grabbing herself a club and moving to stand among the girls. After giving them a quick lesson on hand-positioning, she gave them tips on stance and how to swing the club. Following that, she gave a couple of demonstrations, then gave feedback on their attempts before subtly slipping away to let them practice.
“You seem to know what you’re talking about,” Hugh said teasingly.
Allie had intended to head back to her office but took a seat instead. “I always thought I’d like to coach one day,” she said. “I think I’d really like to teach young people.”
“You’re very natural with them,” he said, tipping his chin to the girls. “You had them hanging off your every word.”
Allie avoided his gaze as she felt her cheeks warming up. “Golf is definitely my comfort zone,” she said, then slipped her phone from her pocket as it began to buzz against her hip.
It took a few seconds of staring at the screen for her to register who was calling. “No way,” she whispered. “You’re not seriously calling me.” As her brain caught up, she swiped her finger over the phone, hoping she hadn’t stalled for so long that she’d miss the call. When Alasdair King’s face filled the screen, she couldn’t quite believe it. Instinctively, she stood and wandered a little away from Hugh and the girls.
“Hi,” she said into the phone.
“How are you?” Alasdair replied.
“Fine.” She grinned at him. “How are you?”
“I’m good. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I only just saw the message. And then I was gonna reply, but it’s the party now, right? I thought I could call and wish her happy birthday.”
