Rules of Engagement: A delightfully charming small town romance (Single Dads Club Book 4) by Hannah Ellis

Author:Hannah Ellis [Ellis, Hannah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hannah Ellis
Published: 2023-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25

By the time he pulled into the car park at the golf club, Hugh’s brain had come up with numerous scenarios for what he was about to walk in to. Most of them weren’t good.

Daisy gave no hint that anything was wrong when she directed him up to the flat. He hadn’t noticed the speed he’d been moving at until he had to catch his breath at the top of the stairs.

The sound of laughter took him off guard, and he waited to be sure it really was laughter and not hysterical crying. After a cursory rap on the door, he walked inside and along the hall to find Emmy sitting on the floor, howling with laughter. In front of her, the coffee table held three plates of food, two of which were almost empty.

Allie smiled up at him as she swiped a chip through ketchup and popped it in her mouth.

“Hi, Dad,” Emmy said, as though they hadn’t been screaming at each other a mere hour ago.

“Hey.” He dropped a kiss on her head. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we ordered you a burger.”

“Thanks.” He eyed Allie questioningly and gave her a quick kiss.

“It should still be warm,” she told him.

“Great.” He made no move to touch it as he sat on the couch. “What was all the laughing about?”

“Allie was telling me stories about growing up on a golf course. I feel sorry for her dad now. She was always getting into trouble.”

“I was just having fun!” Allie protested.

“Yeah.” Emmy’s eyes flashed with delight. “Can I go down and ask the chef for dessert?”

“Bring something for us too,” Allie told her.

With a spring to her step that Hugh hadn’t seen for a while, Emmy skipped away.

“What happened?” Hugh asked, turning to Allie. “Have you been trying to persuade her to move here with stories about how great it is to live on a golf course?” He wasn’t sure how to feel about it, since Emmy seemed to have been enjoying it. Usually, she’d spot those kinds of manipulation techniques a mile away.

“No. But I did talk to her about that.”

“I wanted to leave the subject alone,” he said quickly. “If she’s so unsettled, I don’t want to put any more pressure on her.”

“I agree,” Allie said, eyeing him impatiently.

“Oh.” He frowned. “What did you say to her, then?”

“I asked her to discuss it with me calmly, and told her that if she really didn’t want to move, we wouldn’t.”

He tilted his head. “What did she say?”

“She’d overheard us talking about having a baby,” she said with a pained smile. “She was worried about being left out and not feeling like part of the family. I guess moving felt as though she’d be giving up her home, too.”

“So that was the issue all along?” Hugh’s stomach twisted.

“Seems like it.”

He pressed his fingers to his temples. “Why didn’t I see that?”

Allie laughed. “How on earth were you supposed to know she’d overheard our conversation?”

“I don’t know.” With hindsight it seemed obvious there was more going on with Emmy than her being upset by the idea of him getting married.

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