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No clueless guys needing a dating guru?
Smiling, she sat on the bed. Sadly not. Just your standard waitressing stuff.
Boring! There was a pause and she debated whether to invite him over, but she wasn’t quick enough. I should let you get to bed, he wrote. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
With a slightly unnerving sense of disappointment she wished him goodnight.
CHAPTER 28
Hugh couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a carefree weekend. He told himself it had been back in his university days, then decided it probably hadn’t even happened back then.
Anyway, he’d definitely succeeded in his mission to have fun. The weekend with Allie had been glorious. Working on the golf course designs with her had felt exhilarating. That alone would have made for a fantastic weekend, but there’d also been the sex. A lot of sex…
On Monday, he found it difficult to concentrate on work since his mind constantly wandered to the intimate moments he’d shared with Allie. Not just the sex, but also being curled up together and chatting into the early hours of the morning. Or the way she’d casually kissed him in the middle of a discussion about the design of the course. She’d only done it as a distraction technique, but it had worked perfectly. After only a few seconds of her lips on his, he’d been ready to concede her point. Mostly because his brain had turned to mush and partly because it no longer seemed important.
It was slightly disconcerting how much space she was now occupying in his mind. The only minor break he had from thinking about her was his phone call with Emmy on Monday evening, but it didn’t last long since she wasn’t overly chatty.
Nervous of stifling Allie, he resisted the urge to invite himself over to her place after she finished work on Monday evening. He also refrained from messaging her on Tuesday, though it took a lot of self-restraint. Then he panicked. She might think he’d just been using her for sex and be upset by his lack of contact.
He was tempted to message Damian and Leo to get their opinion but decided he’d rather figure this one out himself. Plus, he’d run out of steam when it came to playing it cool. He waited until he thought her shift would be ending, then drove up to the golf course. After sitting in the well-lit car park for a few minutes, he gathered his confidence and exited the car.
Chatter erupted from the main entrance as he approached and a small group walked out.
A young guy caught his eye. “Sorry, we’re just closing.”
Hugh spotted Allie wandering out behind the other three staff members. “I was actually just …” He waited for Allie to notice him, but her eyes were cast down and she appeared to be miles away until Daisy gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow.
“What?” Allie said in a daze.
Daisy pointed at Hugh and Allie finally spotted him. Her lips lifted gently at the corners, but her smile didn’t come close to meeting her eyes. Maybe he was coming on too strong. He should have messaged instead of just showing up.
“Hi,” she said, breaking away from the group.
Her colleagues called goodnight before striding across the car park amid hushed conversations and gentle laughter.
“They’re going out for a drink but didn’t invite me,” Allie said.
Hugh raised his eyebrows. “Because of my bad timing?”
“No.” Her eyes darted to his. “I wish that was why. I overheard them talking about it, then they all stopped talking when they saw me.”
“Ah.” He wasn’t sure what to say. The people she worked with were barely past their teenage years, so it surprised him she’d be concerned about the lack of invitation. “Did you want to go?”
“No.” She blew out a breath. “It’s not only that they didn’t invite me. I feel as though this happens a lot … conversations stopping when I arrive.”
“I thought you liked working here?”
“I do. And they’re all lovely, which makes it harder.”
“They don’t sound lovely, they sound cliquey.”
“If we’re talking about work or anything light-hearted, they’re great, but it’s like they don’t really want to get to know me properly.” She sighed heavily. “Do you think it’s because I’m still new?”
“I don’t know,” he said vaguely. This wasn’t the greeting he’d expected, and he felt a little lost in the conversation.
“I feel as though if I could get Daisy on side it’d be easier. They all seem to follow her lead. I might be overthinking it.” She blew out a breath. “Sorry.”
Taking a step closer, she pushed up onto her toes to kiss him. That was more like the greeting he’d been hoping for. “I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” she said. “Did you message and I missed it?”
