Page 26 of No Summer Hotter than You

Evelyn batted her lashes as her mouth formed into a pout. “Please? We should go. I would love to get to know Shoua better, you know? She seems like she’s really sweet. Besides, we have all month long to go. It doesn’t have to be this weekend. Please, Anthony. We should?—”

“She’s right. Why don’t you and Shoua make some time and take Evelyn for a shopping trip?” my mom said with a soft smile.

“Why don’t you take Kelvin too? It’ll give you all a chance to do things aside from hang out with us old folks,” Aunt Sue suggested with a grin.

“No thanks,” Kelvin muttered as my dad chuckled. “I hate shopping. I’d rather go fishing.”

“Even if Shoua can’t be there, then it’s fine. I’ll just pick out something simple,” Evelyn suggested happily and then shrugged. “It can be just me and you.”

Fuck.

“I’ll have to ask Shoua. She loves shopping a lot too, but she’s busy. I can’t promise anything,” I said.

“Oh, no. I’m not obsessed with shopping. I’m just going to the mall for my bikinis,” Evelyn said.

“That’s great. It should be quick then.” I nodded as I glanced between my parents. “Mom, Dad, I think I might head out early since I need to get to my project site early tomorrow morning.”

I was lying and my parents knew it. I didn’t want to be there any longer than I needed to be. Leaving early because I needed to hit the hay for tomorrow was a great excuse.

“Anthony, your dad has been telling me all the great work you’ve been doing in the company as a project manager,” Aunt Sue said, smiling. “Soon enough you’ll be ready to take it over when he retires.”

My stomach dropped at the sound of that. I could never imagine a world where I had to take over my dad’s place and position. Although it was a given that I would eventually take over, I couldn’t confidently say I could fill his shoes.

I nodded slowly. “Hardly. It’ll be another fifty years before I’m ready for something that big.”

My dad smiled at me, showing me a grin like mine and Andy’s. “Give yourself more credit as a general contractor and developer, son. Hughes Developers Incorporation wouldn’t be where it is today without your insight and fresh energy.”

That was what everyone said, but I doubted it. We were only able to double our revenues last year because of my dad. It was through his networking, great work, and direction that got us where we were today.

“Aw, Dad. Are you getting sappy on me?” I teased, wiggling my eyebrow at him.

He let out his booming laugh. “You bet.”

I shook my head at him with a small smile as I stood up from my chair. “You shouldn’t be too proud yet.” I turned to my mom. “Sorry, Mom and Aunt Sue. I got to get going. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”

I bid my goodbyes with them and the moment I closed my parents’ front door, I took in a deep breath. It was cooler now that the sun had finally set, but I could still feel the heat lingering. Dinner had gone much worse than I expected. Going to the mall with Evelyn wasn’t part of the plan, and now Shoua and me were going to have to take her at some point. I wondered what Shoua’s reaction would be. She definitely wouldn’t be thrilled about it.

As I made it to my car, my phone started blaring. It was Shoua’s name that flashed across the screen. I immediately answered. “Hello?”

“A-anthony,” she said with a hoarse voice. She let out a wobbly sigh. “I had an anxiety attack.”

My stomach did a somersault as I stopped in my tracks. “Where are you?”

“Near home. Newton Street,” she said softly.

“Okay, I’m on my way,” I said, jumping into my car. “Stay on the phone with me, all right?”

“Okay,” she said with a sniff.

Guilt weighed me down as I started the car. I wished I could be with her whenever this happens, but it always seemed to happen when we weren’t together. I hated that I had to race to her instead of just being with her already.

“When I get there, why don’t we order some Chinese, hm? I didn’t eat much during dinner,” I said as I pulled my Jeep out of my parents’ driveway with a loud screech. I always talked to her about anything other than her anxiety attack to keep her focused on me and my voice. “Let’s get some of that walnut shrimp that you love and whatever else you want. I’ll pay. We can watch that movie you keep talking about some small-town romance or something like that.”

I tried to keep my voice even and neutral as I talked to her. We agreed that it was best if I didn’t ask her how she was doing over the phone because it’d only make her focus more on how horrible she was feeling.

I zoomed out of the neighborhood I grew up in and onto the main road. I was going well over the speed limit as my heart hammered against my chest. Even though she wasn’t saying much, the little sniffles I heard from her were enough to make me worried.

“You know what? We’ll even go to the farmers market again on Thursday,” I continued, forcing myself to laugh lightheartedly when I felt the complete opposite. My heart was heavy. My eyes started burning a bit as if I was getting ready to cry. “How does that all sound?” I whizzed through a stoplight turning yellow, knowing I was mere minutes away from where she was.

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