“Thanks, Ah Ma,” Amber said.
“Let me get this straight,” Mom said. “You had a sexual relationship with Sebastian, and he wanted it to be romantic, too, but you said no?”
Ugh, Amber wasn’t in the mood to hear her mother say “sexual relationship.”
“Something like that,” she mumbled.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. As long as you’re enjoying yourself and being treated well, you do what you like.” Mom paused. “You haven’t had many boyfriends. Is this the sort of thing you do often?”
“I’ve had many boyfriends, actually,” Amber said. “I just haven’t told you about most of them. I thought you’d be mad about a few of them, and some didn’t last long. I was hoping to avoid your interference in my life. In fact, I’ve had so many crappy boyfriends that I decided to take a break from dating for a while.”
“And then you ran into Sebastian?”
“Yeah.”
“Where?”
“At the grocery store.” Amber would most certainly not say more than that.
“See? I knew it. The grocery store.”
“Could we please not talk about this anymore?”
Dad put his hand on her shoulder. “We want you to know that Cecilia and Randall are wrong. You’re definitely good enough for Sebastian. The question is whether he’s good enough for you—and that has nothing to do with him being a doctor.”
“He definitely is,” Amber whispered.
“You know,” Zach said, “I like the idea of you two together.”
“Me, too,” Mom said. “But it’s your choice, of course. We won’t interfere.”
Amber looked around at her family. “You’re serious? You won’t interfere in my life anymore?”
“Ah, now you are getting carried away,” Ah Ma said. “I cannot promise that.”
“But I’ve been thinking,” Mom said. “After Zach went so far as to get a fake girlfriend to avoid our matchmaking, and you clearly don’t feel comfortable telling us a lot of things...maybe we got a little too involved at times. Besides, relationships aren’t for everyone—your aunt Cheryl has been happily single for decades. We shouldn’t force it on you. I trust you to make the right decision.”
“I’ve made lots of bad decisions,” Amber said.
“And you haven’t let that get you down.” Mom held out her arms, and Amber embraced her. “We’re proud of you, honey, and don’t listen to anyone who treats you like you’re inferior.”
Amber sniffed, a little uncomfortable with the compliments. “I knew Cecilia didn’t like me, after the condom incident when I was seventeen.”
“We talked about it back then. I told her that you were being safe and I taught you well. She didn’t agree, but I had no idea she continued to hold that against you. Until yesterday.”
“There was a big fight!” Ah Ma said. “They came over and there was so much yelling. Rosemary even slammed the door on them.”
“I didn’t mean to cause problems in your friendship,” Amber said.
“Don’t be sorry about that,” Dad said. “They were horrible to you.” He gave her a hug.
“I want a hug, too,” Ah Ma crashed into the two of them and wrapped her arms around Amber from behind.
Ah Yeh had been silent, and remained so, but he hugged her next, followed by Zach.
Amber released a deep breath. She was lucky to have her family, even if they drove her nuts at times.
Just then, a loud sound pierced her ears.
“Why is the fire alarm going off?” Ah Ma asked.
“It’s probably you,” Dad said. “This happens almost every time you cook.”
“But I haven’t touched the kitchen today! I tried, but everyone told me to stay out.”
“Oh, shit,” Mom said. “I forgot something.”
“See? It wasn’t my fault!”
Ah Ma and Ah Yeh followed Mom into the kitchen, and Dad removed the battery from the smoke detector.
Zach stayed behind in the front hall with Amber.
“Sebastian is a good guy,” Zach said.
“I know,” Amber said miserably.
“I never thought I’d fall in love with Jo, and then...well, things changed. Just saying.”
Amber was overwhelmed right now. This weekend had been a roller coaster, and she was looking forward to going back to work tomorrow and getting away from it all.
The night at Sebastian’s seemed so long ago, but it had only been two days.
And she was starting to wonder...
“I don’t know,” Amber said. “I’m happy for you, by the way. That your ridiculous fake-relationship plan turned into something real.” She thought of Nick and Lily, as well as Greg and Tasha, and a wave of yearning rushed through her.
She might be the Queen of Bad Boyfriends, but she did want to have that one day. She hadn’t given up hope; she’d just put it on hold.
Was it possible Sebastian was the guy for her?
Had she really found love in the family planning section of the grocery store pharmacy?
* * *
Sebastian had hoped to spend most of the weekend with Amber.
Instead, he spent much of the time going over stuff for work, as well as shopping for things to make his house look more like a home. But what his place could really use was an inappropriate cross-stitch near the front entrance. His parents wouldn’t approve, but...
Sebastian liked his life; however, he wondered what would have happened if his parents had never pushed him in any particular direction when it came to his career. If there had been no expectations whatsoever.
Yes, there were things he didn’t tell his mom and dad—and he’d refused to move into the house next door—but overall, his life was close to what they wanted for him. Even his long-term relationships had been with women his parents generally approved of.
And then he’d started sleeping with Amber Wong.
He didn’t regret anything he’d done or said to them. He would never tolerate such treatment of the woman he loved. He had zero doubts about his feelings for Amber, and for once, he’d done something without a shred of consideration for his parents’ expectations.
Amber was entirely his choice. Sure, it had crossed his mind that his parents might be pleased because she was the daughter of their friends,
