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“Oh my god! Yes, please.”
While the girls all leaned in to say hello and Alasdair chatted away to them, Allie slunk back to sit with Hugh.
“Is that Alasdair King?” he asked.
Allie nodded. “I only wanted to see if I could get concert tickets for Emmy. I never expected he’d call.”
“That’s …” He looked her right in the eyes. “Did I tell you how upset Em was about missing out on the concert with her friends in the school holidays?”
“No,” Allie said.
Hugh didn’t say any more, just turned to watch Emmy and her friends excitedly crowding around the phone.
Leana had been right about Alasdair being charming. The guy was a natural showman, even if his current performance was chatting with a bunch of excitable adolescents.
A few minutes later, the call ended, and Emmy and her friends stared at each other for a moment before bursting into shrill squeals and hugging each other tightly.
“That was so amazing,” Emmy said when she brought Allie’s phone back. “Did you hear? He said we can all have VIP passes and we can bring our mums too.”
“I heard,” Allie said.
“Thank you so much.” Emmy hovered in front of Allie before reaching down to give her a hug. “This is the best birthday ever,” she said into Allie’s shoulder.
They were interrupted by Eva knocking into Allie’s legs in her scramble for one of the collection of bags under the table. “I can’t believe this,” she said. “My mum’s going to freak out. Is it okay if I call her now and tell her?” She looked to Hugh who nodded.
The rest of Emmy’s friends followed Eva’s lead and called their mums too.
“Is your mum a fan of Alasdair King?” Allie asked, catching the way Emmy’s eyes darted over her friends while they chatted animatedly on their phones.
“I doubt she knows who he is.” Emmy shrugged and Allie felt a jolt of pain for her, knowing exactly how it felt to not have your mum around and being envious of your friend’s relationships with their mothers.
“Do you want to come to the concert with us?” Emmy asked.
Allie had the urge to look behind her, as though Emmy might be directing the question at someone else.
“Alasdair said we can all bring someone,” Emmy went on. “Mum won’t want to go, and it’d be embarrassing to bring Dad when everyone else has their mum with them.”
“Thanks,” Hugh muttered.
“I’d like to,” Allie said, at a loss for how to respond. “Maybe your mum will want to go though …”
“Or Louise,” Hugh suggested.
Emmy shook her head. “She’ll have had the baby by then, so I guess she won’t be able to.”
“It’s still several months away,” Allie said. “Maybe you’ll think of someone else you want to go with. Otherwise I’d love to go.” She wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say, but it got a smile from Emmy.
She dropped onto her dad’s lap and draped her arm around his shoulders. “This is the best birthday ever. I’m so happy the girls were with me when Alasdair called, otherwise no one at school would believe it.” She looked guiltily at Allie. “When we were talking to him I took a screenshot on your phone. Can you send it to me?”
“Of course.” Allie found it on her phone and sent it to Hugh. “I better go and check on the food,” she said as Emmy’s friends migrated back to them. “Why don’t you hit another bucket of balls each and then it should be about ready.”
Once she’d given the kitchen a ten-minute warning, she ducked back into her office and hid out there for half an hour. She used the time to try and figure out what vibes Hugh had been giving off, but only managed to tie herself in knots again without reaching any conclusions.
But she could have sworn the look he gave her when she walked back into the restaurant was one of pleasure to see her. In fact, she’d even say he’d been looking out for her.
He smiled at her across the bar. “I decided to prop up the bar and leave Em and her friends to eat without her embarrassing dad sitting with them.”
“I don’t think she thinks you’re embarrassing really.”
