Page 88 of No Summer Hotter than You

“His son came by to talk to you, right?” I asked.

Tim’s son, Tyler, stopped by after dinner to chat for some time with Anthony and Uncle Gary. They looked ecstatic after it but had yet to mention anything about it. A wide grin stretched across Anthony’s lips, ear to ear.

“Tyler asked Dad and me if we could help renovate their ski resort as soon as August,” he replied with bright eyes. He let out an elated, booming laugh that easily vibrated through me.

“Their ski resort?” Jonathan gaped.

“Yeah, they own Anderson Ski Resort,” Andy replied. “You don’t remember how I mentioned it before?”

“Nope. I only remember that they’re rich and that was it,” Jonathan retorted. “But congrats!”

Anthony chuckled. “Thanks. I’m grateful he and his son keep coming back to ask us to do more projects with them.”

Jonathan smiled. “As they should! You do good work, Anthony. I was looking at all the renovations you and your team made around here, and it’s amazing. No wonder your dad almost cried during dinner the other night.”

“To be honest, I could do better.” Anthony nodded confidently. The cocky grin he wore made him look so handsome I almost leaned over to kiss him.

Andy laughed. “I bet you could. Can’t wait to see what you and Dad do with their ski resort. What did they want you to renovate anyways?”

“Their entire lobby and reception,” Anthony said.

“Sounds like you’ve got a big project on your hands soon.” Andy let out a low whistle.

“It’ll be a pain to come all the way up there every day, but it should be well worth it,” Anthony said.

Anderson Ski Resort was a good thirty-minute drive south from here and over an hour’s drive from home. However, the Andersons brought plenty of lofty projects and many connections to Hughes Developers Incorporation and this was another great opportunity for them to show their expertise. Anthony and his dad would be silly not to accept the job.

“Enough about me,” Anthony said, glancing at everyone around the firepit. “How was the lake trip for you all?”

“I’m surprised I’m enjoying it so much,” Sai said softly. He was never much of a talker so to hear him say this was a surprise.

I looked over at him with a raised brow. He was looking at Evelyn, who wasn’t sparing him a glance. I saw this morning that they had started rooming together when I saw my brother’s things laid out in her room when they left the door wide open. It looked like it was only the two of them sleeping in there now.

It turned out Kelvin started rooming with Jonathan, who also hadn’t said anything about it to us. I expected him to usually blabber his mouth off, but he had been strangely quiet about it.

Either Evelyn’s face turned red from the heat of the fire or because she was embarrassed, I wasn’t sure. But everyone’s eyes were bouncing between them.

“Y-yeah, it’s been . . . great,” she stammered.

Sai reached out and grabbed her hand, confirming what we already suspected. Evelyn quickly pulled her hand out of his grip, immediately drawing an awkward tension over all of us. My brother’s lips pulled into a wobbly frown as his hurt eyes tore away from her. Quietly, he got up with tense shoulders and left our group, heading toward the dock.

I expected Evelyn to follow him, but Jonathan, who pursed his lips and glared pointedly at her, was the one to go after him instead. She stayed put as she glanced at me for a second and quickly looked away, embarrassed. Without saying another word, Evelyn got up and left.

I considered saying something but decided not to, so she could leave quietly. Anthony spoke up softly, breaking the awkward silence we were all sitting in now. “How about you, Shoua? Did you enjoy this place?” From the light tone of his voice, I figured he was trying to diffuse the tension.

“I love it,” I said as gently as I could. He turned to me with a gentle smile, and I did my best to flash one back.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“This place is great,” Kelvin said, and Anthony’s smile tipped up a bit. “Thanks, Anthony. You’ve really made my California trip by bringing us here and showing me all these beautiful sights.”

He looked directly at me and smiled. I could feel everyone’s eyes on us now as tension continued to build. I politely returned the smile along with an awkward laugh while Anthony cleared his throat.

“Well, I’m glad you all enjoyed it,” he said, his voice slightly terse. “I know it wasn’t perfect, especially with my little mishap.” He touched his nose gingerly, eliciting sympathetic chuckles from the group.

“Anyone want more s’mores?” Kelvin asked, leaning over to my side and placing a firm hand on my thigh to grab the marshmallows that were sitting between Anthony and me. A chill ran down my spine at his touch and my heart began thumping wildly; I panicked and pushed his hand immediately off of me.

Anger immediately flashed across Anthony’s face, and his eyes narrowed. I looked at Kelvin in disbelief. “Kelvin, you’re making me uncomfortable,” I said firmly.

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