Page 104 of Playing for Keeps

“Yeah.” He sounded much more positive. “That would be great.”

* * *

On his way to pick Emmy up from school, it occurred to Hugh that telling her about his lunch plans with Allie the next day would be a good way to bring up the subject of him dating.

The car would be a good place for a chat too. Or it would have been if she didn’t climb into the passenger seat, put her headphones on and stare out of the window. Apparently she wasn’t in the mood for chatting.

At home she went straight upstairs and didn’t reappear until he called her down for dinner.

“Was it good to see your friends again today?” he asked, while she pushed vegetables around her plate.

“Yep.”

Hugh chewed his mouthful while working up the courage to say what was really on his mind. “I was talking to Allie earlier …” He waited for a reaction but got nothing. “I’m going to have lunch with her tomorrow.”

“Nice,” she mumbled.

Hugh nodded while loading up his fork again. “I thought you’d like to know,” he said, injecting a lightness to his tone that he didn’t feel. “Since you were the one who told me dating would be good for me. You’re welcome to be all smug about being right …” Still no response. In fact, she was acting as though she wasn’t even listening.

“I’m not hungry,” she announced. “Can I go and finish my homework?”

“Yeah,” he said automatically.

She hurried out of the room, leaving him feeling like the world’s most insensitive person. He’d pretty much told her it wasn’t okay for her to have feelings about him dating since she’d been the one to suggest it in the first place.

And she clearly did have feelings on the matter. If he could figure out a way to get her to open up it would help, but she clammed up when he tried to talk to her later that evening and was her usual monosyllabic self at breakfast the next morning.

She’d never been a morning person, and he knew better than to try and get anything out of her in the hour after she’d woken up.

“We have to go soon,” he said as she lingered over her cereal with her phone in her hand, messaging her friends on their group chat. “You’ll see the girls in half an hour. Maybe you can put the phone aside and get ready to go.”

She did as she was told and put the phone aside, but she didn’t make any move from the table.

“I don’t feel great,” she said.

He tilted his head as he looked at her. “How do you mean?”

“I’ve got a stomach ache.”

Automatically, he put a hand across her forehead, but she ducked away from him and stood up.

“I don’t think I can go to school today.”

“It’s your second day back,” he said, following her when she headed for the hallway and then the stairs. “You need to go to school, Em.”

“I can’t.” She trudged up the stairs. “I’m going back to bed.”

Hugh stood at the foot of the stairs, stunned. Apparently she didn’t even think it worthy of a discussion. It took him a second to get his brain in gear, then he bounded up the stairs and strode into her room.

“You can’t just decide you’re not going to school.”

“I can.” She pulled the covers back and got into bed. “You can’t force me to go to school when I’m ill.”

“Are you really ill though?”

“Yes.” Her chin quivered and she started to cry before turning away from him.

“Em.” He walked around the bed and crouched beside her. “What’s going on?”

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