But this could never become anything more.
First of all, she was off dating at the moment. Now, it had been nearly a year, and the reason she’d stopped dating was because she was the Queen of Bad Boyfriends—and Sebastian was nothing like her exes. He was a good guy.
He’d made her French toast for breakfast. With baked fruit and a garnish.
He was thoughtful and considerate in the bedroom...in a totally ungentlemanly way. She squeezed her thighs together at the thought of what they’d done together last night. He’d blindfolded her with one of his ties and pleasured her for half an hour, until she was begging for his cock. He’d whispered such naughty things in her ear...
She’d assumed they’d sleep together a couple times and that would be it. Except it had been going on for a few weeks now, and she had no desire to end it. This was exactly the sex she needed.
And, okay, there was that teeny-tiny feeling of romance.
Her friends had a point, much as it pained her to admit it.
Sebastian would not be the bad boyfriend she was afraid of, but was she ready for a relationship? With a Lam?
That was the big problem. She might be interested in dipping her toe back into the world of romance, but with Sebastian, she couldn’t simply dip her toe. Their families would make sure of it.
They could avoid telling their families for a little while, but not forever, especially since Sebastian was an honest guy who didn’t like keeping secrets.
He’d asked her if he could tell Zach there was something going on between them—because he was seeing Zach this weekend and would feel weird about his friend not knowing—and Amber had said yes, as long as it was vague and Zach swore not to tell anyone else.
She wasn’t sure how Zach would take this. He was her older brother, after all, but Sebastian thought it wouldn’t be a big deal, and she was trying to believe him.
Their parents absolutely couldn’t know, however.
Besides, she only liked Sebastian a teeny-tiny bit, and maybe she should stop seeing him soon, to prevent those feelings from becoming anything more.
No, she wouldn’t make him a peacock.
* * *
Sebastian drove back to Stratford, whistling along to the music in the car.
After visiting his parents this afternoon, he’d stopped by Zach’s house in Mosquito Bay and told his friend that he was seeing Amber. To his relief, Zach had been fine with it. This was what Sebastian had expected, although he hadn’t been entirely confident.
With Zach, Sebastian had pretended he didn’t know where things were headed with Amber, though that wasn’t true. He knew he was falling in love, but he hadn’t wanted to say it out loud until he’d spoken to her, and that wouldn’t be for a couple more weeks.
Valentine’s Day.
Yes, Sebastian had finally settled on a date.
Sure, Valentine’s Day might be a little lame and predictable, but he liked the idea of it. It seemed fitting, since her basket had been full of discounted Christmas chocolate when they’d met at the grocery store, that this involved another holiday. Plus, Valentine’s Day was on a Friday this year. The timing was good.
Until then, he’d be very sweet—except in the bedroom—and prove he was the guy she deserved.
He just hoped she’d be interested, and he hoped he could reassure her that his parents would like her and wouldn’t interfere that much.
Chapter 10
“You will never guess what happened!” Ah Ma said.
Amber held the phone closer to her ear as she reclined on her couch. “What?”
“Guess!”
“No, I’m not playing this game.”
“Fine, be no fun,” Ah Ma said. “Zach’s relationship was fake. Jo wasn’t his girlfriend.”
Amber sighed. “I already knew that.” Her mother had called her the other day.
She’d been surprised. Zach and Jo had seemed like a real couple at Chinese New Year. However, she could understand Zach’s desire to avoid further matchmaking.
“You already knew?” Ah Ma shouted. “Aiyah. I thought I had big exciting news! But did you hear the rest of the story? They are now together for real. It is like a novel! Maybe you should get a fake relationship and turn it into a real one.”
Zach and Jo’s story did sound sweet, yes. However, Amber was not interested in doing that herself.
“Guess what I am doing now?” This time, Ah Ma didn’t give Amber a chance to respond. “I am having orange juice in a glass with a little umbrella. I use the umbrellas every time I have water or juice.”
“You mean the cocktail umbrellas from the time we had piña coladas?
“Yes! That was a great day, wasn’t it?”
“To be honest,” Amber said, “I’m surprised you remember any of it.”
“Silly girl! Of course I remember. I had a piña colada, and it was delicious! Then I went home and had a long nap.”
“Do you remember going to the mall?”
“We didn’t go to the mall.”
“Yes, we went to Masonville. You don’t remember because you were drunk. You were trying to get me to wear clothes that would make me look like a hot piece of ass.”
“Wah, don’t use those naughty words.”
“I’m just repeating what you said.”
“Hmm,” Ah Ma said. “I guess it sounds like something I might say if I was drunk. So, did it work? Do you have a boyfriend now?”
“No boyfriend.”
Why did that feel like a lie? It wasn’t a lie. Amber had a fuck buddy, not a boyfriend.
“You hesitate!” Ah Ma said.
“No, I did not hesitate.”
“Yes, you did. You have a boyfriend! Amber has a boyfriend! This is so exciting! All grandchildren have partners now!”
There was a kerfuffle at the other end of the phone, then Amber’s mother said, “You have a boyfriend?”
Amber sighed. “No, I do not.”
“Why does your grandmother think you do?”
“I paused for a split second, and she misinterpreted that pause.”
“What’s his name?”
“Se—I mean, I have no boyfriend!”
Amber was used to lying to her family about her dating life. She carefully controlled the information she gave her parents, grandparents, and three older brothers. No sense making
