"I hope you enjoyed the round with the guys," she said.
"I did. They are great company."
"Yeah, Garth has been friends with them for a long time."
Taking her hand in mine, I asked. "Who makes up your circle?"
She looked at our hands, but didn't attempt to say anything. "As you can probably tell by now, I don't have a lot of friends. Put that down to my mother."
"How so?"
"She never approved of my friends, so I stopped bringing them home." She pushed a hand through her hair, then looked at me. "Casey and a couple of others were enough."
"Is it that you stuck with Casey because your mother knew and approved of her?"
"Did I tell you Casey is my cousin?"
Shaking my head, I said, "I don't believe you did."
"Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore."
I raised her hand to my lips and kissed the back of it. "I believe it does matter to you. I also believe you should let go of this need you have for your mother's approval."
"I don't need her approval. She just riles me up all the time and that's why I stay away from her."
"Now is not the time to discuss this, but I think you simply need to decideno moreand work with that. Anyway, let's go inside."
One look at Gina told me she was tense, so I massaged the back of her neck, keeping my touch light. Our lips met gently and I kissed her slowly and thoroughly before drawing back to brush my lips against her forehead. "Better?"
"I guess."
I opened the door and she grabbed my arm. "Are you sure you can find your way back to the cottage?"
"I'll be fine. The car has a GPS system, remember?"
"Right."
While she reached for her things on the back seat, I went to the passenger side and opened the door for her.
She got out and stood before me, her smile loving and yet wistful. She preferred being with me, but as much as I wanted her company, I had created this situation with my insistence that she stay here.
After pulling out her key, Gina crossed the verandah and opened the front door. I followed her into the house. The short passage from the front door opened into their living room, where her father sat before the center table with papers spread over it as if he'd been working.
Gina sat next to him, kissed his cheek and hugged him. "Hey, Daddy."
Mr. Chu raised his eyes to me and nodded. "Good to see you."
I wasn’t sure he meant it, but it didn't matter. "Good evening."
"Have a seat," he said.
"Thanks, but I'm not staying."
Mr. Chu's gaze went to Gina and came back to me.
"I have some work to do, that’s all." I smiled then. "And I figure Gina needs to spend some time with you."
Her mother walked into the living room and stopped as if she wasn't sure what move to make next.
