Page 40 of No Summer Hotter than You

“Evelyn mentioned at the fair that she sees my mom like a second mom, which I’m glad she at least has her as another motherly figure,” I said. “Just like how I know you see Auntie and my mom as one as well.”

Shoua turned to me with a small sniff when I came to a stoplight. She wasn’t crying nor were her eyes watery, but I knew she was trying to fight back the tears. The only time she ever allowed herself to cry in front of me was when I showed up to her car accident last year. Before that, I had never seen her shed a tear.

But I knew her. I knew her pain and what hurt her the most. I knew watching what Aunt Sue did to Evelyn made her upset.

“You can cry if you want,” I said gently.

“What?” she asked, rather sharply. “Cry? Why?”

“It’s okay, Shoua. You can cry,” I repeated. “It’s okay to be vulnerable.”

“I—I just—” She blinked quickly with another sniff. “I just feel sad for myself and Evelyn.”

I pulled my hand off the steering wheel and put her hand in mine. I squeezed it, silently letting her know that I would always be here for her. The rest of the drive home was in silence, but it was much needed after tonight.

CHAPTER 16

shoua

Anthony hardly ever swung by my workplace, which was why I was thoroughly surprised when he texted me about coming over with lunch today. The last time this happened was almost two years ago when his ex-girlfriend dumped him over text messages. It had been an upsetting break up for him.

“Hey, baby,” he said to me so casually that my co-workers did a double take.

A hot, searing blush crept up my face as I stuttered out the following words, “H-hey, Anthony.”

“Come on! What are ya waiting for? Let’s eat,” he said, nodding toward the front door. “The food’s in the car.”

Outside, the heat was intense. Anthony was lucky to nab a parking spot under a big tree. It was cooler than being stuck right under the sun with a nice breeze.

“So, what do I owe you for this lovely Friday lunch with you? Life advice? Or did something happen?” I asked as I waved the fresh stack of papers I just printed out. “By the way, here are some properties I think it’d be good to invest in.”

He had mentioned yesterday that he wanted to start looking into a second property we could buy. Ideally, he wanted us to start looking around now and into the fall, buy it, and hopefully have it ready for sale or rent in the spring. It was a great plan, and I was looking forward to hunting down a new place.

We walked quickly over to his hybrid company truck as he took hold of the papers I handed him. He usually dropped his truck off at the business office in the morning and would take one of the large company trucks to his work sites. It was easier to account for the mileage and the materials he and his crew needed for the day that way.

Anthony raised his brows at me and then pulled that big, wide grin of his across his lips. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered uncontrollably. He tilted his head to the side a little bit with his bright and glittering eyes, looking boyish and coy.

“I can’t drop by to see my fake girlfriend?” he asked, fanning himself with my papers. “I missed you this morning.”

My breath got caught in my throat as my heart began to pound at the sound of that. I croaked out, “But you already saw me this morning.”

Anthony let out a snicker as he motioned to the front of the car. “Yeah, but it was only for a split second. I wanted to eat a meal with you, but you woke up late.”

I set the wrong alarm last night before bed and woke up later than usual. Anthony stopped by to drop off my coffee and thankfully woke me up so I wouldn’t be late to work. We saw each other for just a few moments and then he was gone. Of course, he didn’t forget to kiss me on the temple. Exactly like the other day, except I had just woken up with morning breath, crusty eyes, and a bed head that was nothing short of a messy and wild plume.

I let out a stiff laugh as we climbed into the truck and he turned it on for the air conditioning. On the seat were two bánh mìs, Vietnamese sandwiches, and two Vietnamese iced coffees. I smiled. It was no surprise since Anthony loved Vietnamese cuisine.

“Thanks for waking me up this morning,” I said.

“Of course! I couldn’t let you go to work late. You’re such a stickler for being punctual,” Anthony said.

“What about it?” I asked. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

He let out a booming laugh this time. “Remember the time when you left a date before the guy arrived because he was more than ten minutes late without texting you?”

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my food from him. “If he couldn’t even make it on time for a measly first date, then who’s to say he wouldn’t be late for something more important? Don’t waste my time if you don’t care about being there on time.”

“I don’t blame you, Shoua. You did what you should. Your time is too precious for the likes of men like that anyways.”

---