Page 60 of No Summer Hotter than You

“If that’s all there is, then we’ll be leaving,” I said.

As we said goodbye to everyone, my dad’s glimmering, bright eyes flicked between Anthony and me. After Anthony opened the car door for me, I climbed into his truck and slumped in the seat.

“Well, that was a bit . . . much,” Anthony said with a sigh.

“Sorry,” I said. “My dad was a good sport. But my mom and brother, on the other hand, were being unreasonable.”

“Yeah,” he grumbled. The car rumbled to life, and we were on our way back home, which I was grateful for. “I’m glad your dad was there instead of what could’ve happened if it was just your mom, Sai, and us. By the way, I’ve never noticed this, but does Sai always talk to you like that?”

Sai took after my mom when it came to the sharp words he would throw at Lee and me at times. Usually, they were dull. However, today was one of those days when they were sharp and hurt me exactly where he wanted it to. I was sad my own brother would say these kinds of words to me, even if I offended him the last time we saw one another. It was just cruel.

“Yes, but his words usually have no effect,” I answered. “He’s bitter. I have a feeling he might still be upset about what happened the last time I was home.”

“You mean the last time you were here and had a panic attack driving home?” he clarified. When I didn’t answer, he nodded slowly. “What did you say to him?”

I let out a long breath. “I told him he needed to learn how to speak up for himself instead of asking Lee and me to do it all the time for him. I also told him to start a career or fight for a life he’d at least want. I’ve already said that stuff to him many times before, but I guess he took it the wrong way last time.”

“You were only telling him the truth. He didn’t need to get angry and say all those horrible things about you.”

I shrugged. “He’s my mom’s son. What do you expect?”

“He’s still your brother. He didn’t have to disrespect you like that in front of me just because you don’t coddle him. Besides . . . everything he said about you isn’t true.”

A beating moment passed us by as he pulled up to a stoplight. Anthony looked at me in the eyes and, with a slow blink, the hard lines of his face instantly softened. “You’re beautiful, Shoua. You’ve always been. But you’re so much more than just looks. You have a warm and big heart. You love so deeply and care too much about other people,” he continued. “Take your family and clients, for example. You bend over backwards for them all the time out of your own good heart. Sometimes, I feel like you don’t even see the value of your worth at times. I wish . . . I wish you could see yourself through my eyes so you would know exactly how beautiful you and your soul are.”

“Anthony,” was all I could say as my eyes began to burn. I quickly blinked, trying to keep the tears at bay, but I couldn’t.

Through my blurry vision, I could make out the grin stretched broad along the lines of his lips. “It’s the truth.”

CHAPTER 25

anthony

“Mr. Hughes, your girlfriend seems like a very kind person,” said Hugo, one of the new guys on my team.

“What?” I answered, slightly taken back.

Hugo’s dad, Ramiro, and I grunted as we lifted a stainless-steel sink onto the counter and into its rightful place. It looked magnificent paired with the beige marble countertops. Monique and Shane, my clients, were going to be ecstatic when they saw it.

“Your girlfriend—the one who brought us iced tea the other day,” Hugo said innocently. He was a young kid, just working part-time with us for the summer before he went back to college in SoCal in the fall. “She’s nice.”

My girlfriend. He was talking about Shoua. I hadn’t planned to tell my team about the details of our fake relationship since it was supposed to end in a few weeks.

I wondered why she stopped by our project site the other day with a few iced teas. I knew she was just on her way back to town from a showing, but she hardly dropped by any of my project sites. So, this was the first in a long time.

Ramiro let out a deep chuckle. “She’s not his girlfriend, Hugo!” he said. “They’re just friends.” He added air quotes to emphasize the friend part and I laughed.

“O-oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Hughes!” Hugo said, blushing bright red. “I thought she was your girlfriend!”

“No! It’s fine. That happens a bit,” I said.

Ramiro laughed out loud at my response. He nodded at his son. “You’re good for today, Hugo. It’s lunchtime,” he said. “You can head home now, son.”

The young man turned to me, and I nodded. Once Hugo was out of earshot, Ramiro turned to me with a curiously raised brow. “Are you going to head out to see her for lunch again?”

“I’m just dropping by her workplace to see if there’s a new property she may have for us to buy together,” I answered, lying through my teeth. “We’re interested in getting another one.”

“For every day of this week?” Ramiro flashed me an unconvinced smile.

---