Page 140 of Playing for Keeps

“From what I’ve heard it sounds as though that had been building for a while,” Allie said hesitantly.

“Yes.” He nodded. “For about a week I was adamant I’d done the right thing. I had no remorse whatsoever.” He shrugged. “I still don’t actually.”

“But?” Allie prompted when he fell silent.

A wave of sadness swept through him. “But she’s still my mum, and we still don’t speak. And she wasn’t all bad, so even though I think I’m better off without her in my life, I still miss her sometimes.” He pushed his head into the back of the couch, looking up at the dark beams which crossed the white ceiling. “What really gets to me is that she didn’t try to fix things between us. She sent me an email, telling me I should get in touch when I was ready to apologise, but other than that I haven’t heard from her since.”

“I’m sorry,” Allie whispered.

“I think she blames me for my dad leaving her.”

“Why?”

“Because two days after I told her to leave, my dad turned up on my doorstep, asking if he could stay with us for a while.”

“That was when he left her?”

“Yes.” Hugh rubbed at his forehead. “He apologised to me, saying he should have stuck up for me the way I’d stuck up for Emmy. He said he’d wanted to leave Mum for a long time but had been too much of a coward to do it.”

“You said you don’t see much of your dad either?” Allie asked.

“No. He was right – he should have stuck up for me. Mum was cruel, and he just stood by and watched it happen. Sometimes I think I’m as angry with him as I am her.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I can’t imagine how that feels.”

“It doesn’t really matter that much any more.” He forced himself to look at Allie, offering her a small smile. “Except that I have this voice in my head that keeps telling me that my wife left and my mum left, so the chances are you’ll do the same.”

He hated how pathetic he sounded but also knew that if they stood any chance of having a relationship, she needed to know what was going on in his head.

“I guess it felt easier to end things before I got even more attached,” he told her.

She moved to sit beside him, taking his hand. “I can’t promise anything,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I can tell you that I’m happy here, and part of the reason I’m so happy is because of you. It only took a couple of dates with you to know that I wanted this to be a long-term thing.”

“Me too.” He pulled his hand back and stood briefly to retrieve his wallet from his back pocket. As he sat back beside Allie, he pulled out the card Arietta had given him when they’d spent the evening on Sometimes Island.

“You’re not going to propose, are you?” Allie asked, her lips twitching upwards.

“No.” He chuckled. “I was only going to say that I didn’t take it just so Arietta wouldn’t be offended. I took it because I could absolutely see a future for us. Even then.”

A slow smile spread over Allie’s face as she took the card and let her gaze linger on it. “That was a really great night.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, while she returned the card to its place in his wallet. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you. I do want to be with you.”

Her eyes radiated joy as she turned to face him. “Did you think I was a complete nutcase when you tried to break up with me and I wouldn’t let you?”

“A little bit.” Smiling, he leaned closer and brought a hand up to caress her cheek. “But I was also glad you didn’t let me.”

* * *

After all the stress and emotions of the past week, Allie could have happily sat there kissing Hugh indefinitely. She could stay in that little bubble of contentment and never leave. Maybe that wasn’t particularly realistic though, she decided when he pulled gently back.

“I have a question,” she said while he gazed at her lovingly. “Did you tell Emmy you’d tried to break up with me?”

“No.” He beamed. “I knew she’d shout at me and tell me I was an idiot, so I thought I’d skip the lecture.”

“She’s very sensible, that daughter of yours.”

“Yes, she is.” He slipped an arm around Allie’s back and pulled her close.

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