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He twisted his lips to one side. “We saved you a slice of cake,” he said, tipping his head to the plate beside the till.
“Thank you. I hope Emmy had a good time.”
“She did. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome. I don’t know if I mentioned that celebrity phone calls aren’t included in the standard party package. That’ll be an extra on the bill.”
His eyes brightened as he beamed at her. “I already sorted out the bill with Daisy and she must’ve forgotten to add it on.”
“I’ll have a word with her,” Allie joked. “We can’t have that kind of incompetence.”
Some of Allie’s tension left her at the lightness of their conversation.
“Could we talk properly sometime?” Hugh asked, features turning serious.
“That would be good.”
“The girls are coming back to our place for a sleepover,” he said. “Can I give you a call tomorrow when all the birthday celebrations are over?”
“Yeah.” She searched his face, again trying to gauge how the conversation might go and wondering if the spark of hope she felt was nothing more than her eternal optimism.
She supposed she’d just have to wait and see.
CHAPTER 48
Hugh decided the conversation with Allie would be better in person. Arriving at the golf club, he was surprised when Daisy directed him to the flat above the clubhouse. He followed her directions to reach it – up a flight of stairs at the back of the building. The door was wide open, giving him a straight view into the kitchen, where Allie was unpacking food from shopping bags on the counter.
Nervously, Hugh gave a quick tap on the doorframe and she swung around to him.
“Hi,” she said, pausing with a carton of milk in her hand. “I thought you were going to call.”
“I decided it would be easier to talk in person.” Wandering into the kitchen, he stopped a couple of metres from her. “Daisy told me I’d find you up here.”
She put the milk away and swept her gaze over the large open-plan living and dining room. “I just moved my stuff up here this morning. I’d been putting it off because I thought it might be difficult to be up here … memories of my mum.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Do you want a drink or something?” She moved to fill the kettle without waiting for a reply.
“Are you okay?” Hugh asked, sensing that she wasn’t.
“Yes,” she told him over her shoulder. “Just feeling a bit emotional about being up here, but I’m fine.”
Hugh shoved his hands into his pockets. “I sort of thought you were putting off moving up here until you decided whether you were definitely staying long term.”
Turning, she gave a subtle shake of the head. “I told you I planned on sticking around.”
“I know, but then I saw all that stuff about you online. I figured that given how successful you’d been, you’d want to get back to that.”
She tilted her head. “I might. At the moment I have no idea if I want to go back to playing golf professionally, but even if I decide to, I can do it while living here.”
Hugh nodded, knowing he needed to be completely honest with her but struggling with his feelings about everything. “It wasn’t just your career, it was your whole lifestyle. You had such an exciting, adventurous life that it didn’t seem likely that you’d really want to stay around here.”
Allie looked at him sadly. “You didn’t think I’d want to be with you?”
He held her gaze for a moment, feeling that she’d hit the proverbial nail straight through his heart. It was exactly what he’d thought, and a part of him was still certain she’d get bored with him – probably sooner rather than later.
Needing to move, he walked to the living room, then lowered himself to the couch. “I didn’t tell you everything about what happened with my mum,” he said eventually. “About why we don’t speak.”
Allie moved to sit in the armchair and gave him a nod to continue.
“Emmy was almost three,” Hugh said eventually. “It wasn’t that long since Nancy had left and my parents were looking after Em for the afternoon. I arrived home to hear my mum telling Emmy off for colouring outside the lines.” His chest tightened as he remembered the incident, which could easily have slid by without any drama. “She gave her a lecture about being messy and how she should always do her best. As soon as I caught the look on Emmy’s face, I lost it. Told Mum to get out and never come back.”
