Page 16 of Playing for Keeps

With thoughts of her dad in her head, she pulled out her phone to call him. Among other things, she wanted to ask about Bill, and if there was anyone else locally who might remember her. Not that Bill had shown any flicker of recognition.

When her dad didn’t answer the phone, she considered calling her cousin to check everything was okay but told herself she was being silly. Bella would get in touch if there were any problems.

Bright blue skies beckoned to her through the window and she got changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of jeans and T-shirt. Knowing that the colour of the sky was entirely deceptive, she pulled on a jumper and a gilet, too.

The salty gusts on the clifftops were invigorating on her walk to Hope Cove, and she marvelled at the craggy shoreline interspersed with gorgeous golden beaches. Instinctively, she ducked into the cafe in the village, then joined the queue for takeaways when the place was busier than she expected. It seemed it was the place to be on a Sunday afternoon. She’d just reached the counter and had ordered a coffee from the middle-aged waitress when an older woman walked out from the kitchen with plates in her hands.

With a similar sense of deja vu as she’d felt on seeing Bill, Allie’s eyes followed the woman, who walked to a table in the corner occupied by a young couple.

A tap on her shoulder broke her from her trance and the smiley woman behind her pointed at the waitress holding a coffee out to her.

“Sorry.” Allie took the cup. “Thank you.”

Stepping away from the queue, she moved slowly to the door while keeping her eyes on the chatty, jolly lady who she assumed was the owner.

At the table to her right, a guy was calling out to someone. It pulled her from her thoughts and, with her mind back in the real world, she recognised the man.

“Allie!” he said again.

She glanced behind her, confused, then inwardly grimaced as she realised he was talking to her. She bit her tongue to keep from insisting it was Alegra.

“Hi,” she said, drifting closer to his table. “Hugh, right?”

“Yes.” The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “You looked as though you were several million miles away.”

She nodded. Not only had she been lost in thought, she also hadn’t recognised her name. Registering the girl across from Hugh, she remembered him telling his date about his daughter. She was older than Allie had imagined, probably in her early teens.

“How are you?” Hugh asked.

“I’m good. Using my afternoon off to explore the area.”

“You’re not from around here, then?”

“No.” She paused, realising that was a lie. But she really didn’t consider herself to be from Devon despite spending her early years there. “Surrey,” she told him.

“That’s a bit of a change.” Hugh’s eyes flicked across the table. “Sorry, this is my daughter, Emmy. This is Allie.”

“Hi,” Emmy said, with a bemused smile.

“I met your dad at the golf club last night,” Allie said. “I’ve just started working there.” She looked to Hugh. “Did you hear anything from …” She searched her brain but came up blank.

“Rebecca?” He rolled his eyes. “No word from her.”

“Did you message her?” Allie asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

He shifted in his seat, eyes darting to Emmy.

“Sorry,” Allie said quickly. “None of my business.” She was about to leave, but Emmy spoke, stopping her in her tracks.

“I said he should message and ask how her daughter is … but his friends told him to wait a while and play it cool. He took their advice instead of mine.”

“I didn’t take anyone’s advice,” Hugh said. “Unwanted advice, by the way.” He tried to scowl, but the attempt only made Emmy giggle.

“What’s the plan, then?” Allie asked.

“I decided you were probably right.” Hugh looked her right in the eyes. “The sick kid thing was an excuse to leave, and me messaging her is just going to seem desperate. Besides, she said she’d call me, so I’ll wait to hear from her.”

Allie pursed her lips. “You’re right. If she’s interested, she’ll be in touch.”