Page 125 of Playing for Keeps

He frowned. “Yes.”

“Did you know that her full name is Alegra Harris and that she’s famous?”

“I don’t think she’s famous. She used to be a professional golf player. I told you that the other night.”

“She’s totally famous.” Emmy thrust her phone at him and he raised an eyebrow at a picture of Allie with a young, brown-haired guy.

“What’s that?” Hugh asked, pulling out of the cul-de-sac.

Emmy’s eyes bulged. “It’s Allie with Alasdair King.”

Slowly, he shook his head. “He’s a singer, right?”

“Yes! Dad! He’s amazing.” She turned the phone, holding it at an angle so they could both see the screen. “There are more celebrities. She plays golf with them. Her Instagram account is full of photos of her with famous people.” Trailing her finger up the screen, she scrolled through the photos.

“She was a social media influencer,” Hugh said.

“I know.” Emmy kept her eyes on the screen. “She has like two million followers. How crazy is that?”

“Pretty crazy,” he agreed vaguely. “How did you know all of this?”

“I just looked her up.”

“Why?”

“Oh!” She looked up as though remembering something. “Eva’s mum is friends with Jenny who works in the kitchen at the golf club.”

“Right.” Hugh sighed. Village gossip at its finest. Not that he could really blame anyone for spreading the story around. If he wasn’t so embroiled in it, he’d find it fascinating too.

Emmy smiled delightedly. “Do you know that the manager of the golf course was stealing money? Allie was pretending to be a waitress and she uncovered it.”

“I know,” he said wearily.

“Eva’s mum said it’s unethical that she pretended to be a waitress so she could spy on the staff, but I think it’s cool …” Finally, she shifted her eyes from the phone and looked up at Hugh. “You could have told me, you know? I guess you’d promised to keep Allie’s secret but I wouldn’t have told anyone.” She grimaced. “Actually, I’m not sure I could have kept it from the girls. It’s so cool.”

“Yeah,” Hugh muttered.

“Do you think Allie can invite Alasdair King to be at the golf club for my birthday party?”

Hugh shook his head. “I doubt it.”

“I’ll ask her. I can’t wait for my birthday now. The girls are super excited about the golf, especially now we know who Allie really is. Should we call her Alegra from now on?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed as he pulled into a parking spot near the pub.

“I’ll ask her that as well.” Emmy continued chatting away as they walked inside, then gained volume once she had a captive audience. “Do you know Allie’s famous?” she asked, plonking herself on a chair between Leo and Damian. Amy was there too, her head resting on Damian’s shoulder as she snuggled at his side.

Leo bounced Alice on his knee. “We seem to have been hearing all about Allie today, but no one has mentioned her being famous.”

“She’s not,” Hugh said, wishing he knew for a fact that was true. She’d sworn there were no more secrets, but he was beginning to feel doubtful about that.

“She has a lot of famous friends, anyway.” Emmy held up her phone as proof.

“Is that Josh Bane?” Amy asked, leaning forwards. “From Ghost Moon?”

“Yes,” Emmy replied excitedly. “There’s also a picture of her with Alasdair King. I love him.”

“He’s very cute,” Amy agreed, then grinned when Damian raised his eyebrows. “Brilliant musician, is what I meant to say!”

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