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As soon as the waiter left, Lara offered us a sly smile. “So how is the yurt? It looked so romantic online.”
Summer’s fingers plucked at her napkin. “Oh, it’s lovely, Mom. What a surprise! It’s out in the middle of nowhere, but it’s so cozy.”
Lara glanced expectantly at me, and I felt the need to chime in. “It’s very romantic, Lara. Thank you for your generosity.”
She beamed in reply. I breathed an inward sigh of relief; I’d answered correctly.
After we received our drinks and ordered our dinner, Summer and her mother began gossiping about people they both knew from Kentucky. I asked Jim about the franchises that he owned, and that was enough to keep our conversation flowing until the waiter brought out our food.
Summer relaxed more as the evening went on. I kept checking on her to make sure she was okay. I refilled her wine, stole some touches, and even leaned over to give her a soft kiss a few times. We were having such an enjoyable time, that I forgot that it was just an act.
Our discussion about Scotland had morphed into traveling in Europe. I didn’t travel much as a child, but I’d been all over Europe with the band. Summer’s parents liked to vacation abroad, and they’d taken her to several places when she was younger, but she expressed an interest in seeing more sights. Italy and Greece were on her bucket list.
When dessert arrived, Lara switched topics. “I booked you two into a spa session for tomorrow at 10 o’clock. It’s a hydrotherapy circuit. It looks really neat.”
Summer’s forehead creased. “Why don’t you and I do it instead, Mom?”
Lara exchanged a knowing look with Jim. “I’m already signed up to take some classes tomorrow and do a reiki body cleanse. I prefer to do those with your father. But I’d love to steal you away Saturday afternoon. We could get some spa treatments and some pampering in while the boys entertain themselves.”
Summer glanced over at me, worry etched on her face.
I knew she was nervous about me being alone with her dad, but she needed to spend time with her mom. “Don’t worry about me, Sunshine. I’m sure I can find plenty of things to occupy my time.”
Jim cleared his throat. “We have a rental car and there are a few breweries that aren’t too far away. I thought we could have lunch in town and then go on a brewery tour. Afterward, we could find a sports bar and relax for the afternoon. Do you follow any sports, Scotty?”
I was going to miss out on spending the afternoon with Summer, but relaxing with a pint of beer sounded enjoyable. “That sounds like the perfect plan, Jim. I’ve followed the Celtic Football Club since I was a wee lad. That’s uh, er, soccer. I played soccer until I came to the U.S. But, I enjoy watching American football, too. And hockey and college basketball.”
Jim’s eyes were shining. I was guessing by the look on his face that he was a rabid sports fan. “I’m sure we could catch the Kentucky game. The Wildcats are playing Tennessee.”
I nodded. “That should be a good game.”
Lara put down her water glass. “Then it’s all settled. I’ll go ahead and schedule our appointments for Saturday, Summer. I’m booked solid tomorrow, so we’ll just plan to meet up for dinner tomorrow night. Is 7 o’clock good for you?”
“Sure,” Summer answered.
We said our goodnights and then Summer headed off to change into different clothes for our trek back to the yurt. I sat back and smiled. I had Summer all to myself for the next 24 hours and I planned to use every one of them.
She met me at the entrance of the restaurant when she was done changing. She was now wearing jeans and a sweater, and she was out of the heels and into more practical socks and sneakers for the walk back.
I handed her my hoodie. “It’s going to be cold. The weather app says it is 22° outside.”
She didn’t argue. She bundled into my hoodie and even put up the hood this time. I took the bag of clothes from her and handed her the blanket. We stepped outside and damn, it was cold. Summer wrapped the blanket around herself and we began following the path through the trees back to the yurt.
“Well, that was interesting.” As she spoke, I could see the condensation of her breath as it puffed out into the cold air.
I shortened my stride to match hers. “I thought it went well.”
A gust of biting wind whipped through the trees and she pulled the blanket tighter around her. “Yeah, you really charmed them.”
“It comes naturally,” I answered with a smile of pride.
“Can you not act so perfect?” she griped. “My parents are really starting to like you.”
“Maybe I’m not acting.” I felt the huge grin on my face. I was certainly far from perfect.
“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “Do you always suck up to parents so much?”
I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had to impress the parents of a girl I was with. It was probably Aila’s parents years ago. “I’m not sucking up. They’re good people. I don’t mind hanging out with your dad.”
