Page 59 of No Summer Hotter than You

“That was unintentional, ma’am,” Anthony said, answering for me. “We only told Aunt Sue and my mom about our relationship because Aunt Sue has been trying to set me up with her daughter. Shoua and I agreed we’d tell our families about our relationship once we were ready. We meant to announce it to you all soon.”

My mom’s nose flared in his direction. She was quiet for a moment, as if she was deep in thought about his answer until she spoke up. “Anthony, if you could kindly help out Sai by giving him a job again then?—”

“Now is not the time for that,” my dad interrupted, exasperated. His voice was a sharp snap and my mom immediately backed down. He turned back to Anthony with a long sigh. “Son, if you two are together, does that mean you’ll eventually get married? Or are you just fooling around? You bought that property together after all.”

“Dad, we barely started dating—” I quickly answered, flustered. I understood that my dad just wanted to get to the bottom of whatever they heard through the grapevine, but he didn’t need to head straight to the core.

“It’s a bit early to say for sure if we’ll get married, but your daughter will make me the happiest man alive if she says yes and grants me the chance to be her husband,” he said, placing his hand on my thigh and squeezing it. “I’ll gladly marry her if she lets me.”

Even though I knew that was very much a lie, my heart palpitated wildly.

My dad nodded while my mom let out a long, angry breath. I also wanted to let out a sigh of relief, thankful for my father’s presence. This conversation wasn’t as volatile as it would’ve been if it was just with my mom. He brought the calm to my mom’s raging storm at times, but that wasn’t without a retort or two.

“Son, I trust that you’ll be a man of your words,” my dad said.

“I will. You have nothing to worry about,” Anthony answered.

“Good.” My dad’s intimidating face cracked into a smile as he stood up.

Anthony immediately got to his feet as well as my dad reached across the way to give him a firm handshake. I tried not to gawk at how happy my dad was. I had never seen him like this with any of my previous boyfriends when I introduce them to him.

I glanced over at my mom, who was watching them. She was still upset, but I wasn’t surprised to see the glee that was also in her eyes. It was then that I realized both my parents wanted me to marry Anthony. Not just my mom, which was why my dad went straight to the point with Anthony. He wanted an answer, as if that would seal the deal.

Dread slowly seeped into my veins as I glanced at Sai, who was bored out of his mind. He scoffed at me. I could tell he was still upset after our debacle the last time I came home. But over what? Over the fact that I told him to learn how to speak up for himself? It wouldn’t surprise me if he was upset over something as simple as that.

“You two are fucking. So what?” he said. “Anthony could do better than you, to be honest. You’re not even pretty, and I’m surprised he’d settle on you—of all women.”

My body instinctively flinched at the sting of his words as I stood up from my seat.

“Excuse me, Sai,” Anthony immediately interjected. His voice was calm but carried an unmistakable edge to it. “That’s not an appropriate way to speak about Shoua or our relationship.”

Anthony’s entire body immediately became stiff as he clenched his hands so tightly, they turned white. He was trying his best to keep it all together instead of speaking his mind, especially with the role he was supposed to play now in front of my parents. He wasn’t just my friend anymore to them. He was my boyfriend. The tension between him and Sai was thick, dampening the lighter mood my dad just casted.

Sai raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting from boredom to mild annoyance as Anthony came to my side. I brushed my hand against his, causing him to relax a bit. My brother continued to stare at us with narrowed eyes.

“Who are you to tell me what’s appropriate?” he retorted, crossing his arms defensively. He looked like a dumb kid trying to argue with an adult.

Anthony maintained his composure as he stood tall and stared down at my brother. His hard gaze was unwavering. “I’m someone who respects and care for Shoua,” he replied evenly. “And I won’t stand by while someone speaks disrespectfully about her, even if you are her family.”

The glance he gave my mom didn’t go unnoticed by me, but neither of my parents or brother seemed to catch on. Sai was taken aback by Anthony’s unwavering stance. He became flustered and was unable to say anything in response, especially when my mom started to chide him.

“Sai! Why would you say something like that to Shoua? Show some respect to your sister and future brother-in-law!” she said with a nervous chuckle.

I almost scoffed. Was that how she was going to refer to Anthony now? Her future son-in-law?

Embarrassment immediately colored my dad’s face at my mom’s and brother’s shameless acts, but he tried his best to redirect the conversation. Sai, on the other hand, let out a dramatic sigh and got up and left the living room without muttering another word.

“I’m grateful you could come with Shoua to explain your relationship and where you stand with my daughter,” he said, grabbing Anthony’s attention. “Tell your parents we would love to formally talk to them about the two of you when they have time. Give them a heads-up that we’ll give them a call eventually.”

Anthony smiled. “Of course. I’ll let them know.”

Sweat beaded down my back as I felt a huge dose of stress and worry surge through me, mixing with the dread I was already feeling. Anthony and I were supposed to be dating, not getting married. My dad was jumping the gun.

“Dad, we’re only dating,” I reminded him with a tight smile.

My dad grinned. “Of course.”

I glanced at my parents’ elated faces, feeling the guilt begin to weigh me down. None of this was real. It was all an act—a complete sham. I wanted to tell them the truth, but I didn’t trust them to keep the secret, especially my mom.

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