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“I’ve been thinking about asking Caitlin to officially move in,” Leo said. “She’s at my place most of the time anyway, so it seems a bit daft that she still pays for her own place.”
“Makes sense,” Damian said.
“Yeah. Except she still stays at her place a couple of times a week and I get the feeling she likes having that option. Especially if Alice hasn’t been sleeping well. I’m always kind of envious of her actually.”
“Just ask her,” Damian said.
Leo rolled his eyes. “Just ask her? As though it’s that simple. Have you decided if you’re going to ask Amy to marry you?”
“No.”
Craning his neck to look into the back seat, Leo shot Damian a smug look. “Just ask her!”
“It’s not that simple. I’m talking about marriage. It’s a big deal.”
“So is asking Caitlin to move in with me. If she doesn’t want to, things could get awkward.”
“Maybe she wants to and is just waiting for you to ask,” Hugh suggested.
Leo rubbed at his chin. “I feel as though there’s only one way for me to figure it out and that’s by you letting me drive this car.”
“How’s that going to help?” Hugh asked, amused.
“I don’t know, but I think it will.”
Hugh pursed his lips, then pulled the car over and opened the door.
“Are you serious?” Leo said. “You’re letting me drive?”
“Yes. It’s awesome. But be careful, okay?”
As Leo and Damian each took a turn driving on the way back to the club, the three of them chatted and teased each other in their usual way.
Once or twice, Hugh caught himself laughing and felt slightly uneasy at the situation, as though he was having a good time at Allie’s expense. He reminded himself that he’d done a good thing in lending her his car.
Also, any bad feeling he had was quickly overshadowed by Leo and Damian’s joy at getting to drive a Porsche.
CHAPTER 30
An hour into the drive to Surrey, a message came through from Bella to let Allie know her dad was out of surgery. She felt she could breathe again, knowing the operation had gone smoothly and he was okay. Arriving at the hospital, she spotted Bella by the main entrance with her phone at her ear. As Allie approached she ended the call.
“He’s fine,” she said, looking close to tears. “He’s awake and talking.”
“Thank goodness for that.” Allie drew Bella into a tight embrace.
“I was just checking in with Fox Hill. Everything’s fine at the club too.” Bella drew back, her brow wrinkled. “I’m so sorry for not telling you what was going on. I don’t know how he convinced me it was a good idea to persuade you to go away for a while. It honestly seemed like the right thing at the time, but as soon as you left, I felt terrible. I convinced myself you’d get fed up after a week and come back. When I realised you weren’t in any rush, I tried to persuade you to visit at least.” She shook her head. “I should have told you the truth, but Uncle Richard …”
“He’s manipulative,” Allie finished for her.
“I was going to put it much more kindly than that. The poor man’s in a hospital bed, after all. And we both know he means well.”
“He always thinks he knows best.” Allie linked her arm with her cousin’s and set off inside. “Did you tell him I was on my way?”
“Yes. So he’ll probably pretend to be asleep.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Allie said while they waited for the lift. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with him on top of the stress of the club.”
“I’ve really been enjoying running the club. It’s Uncle Richard who caused me stress.” The lift pinged and they stepped inside. “You made good time, by the way. I didn’t expect you to get here so soon.”
