Page 92 of Strictly Against Policy

Heat rose from the pit of my stomach to my chest and up to my scalp in a matter of seconds. “I’d love that.”

“Andy is hosting a watch party for this new psychological thriller movie; it’s coming out this week on some streaming platform. I was wondering if you’d . . .” His words mumbled off into an incoherent sentence. His cheeks blazed bright red as he cleared his throat. “As I was saying . . . I was wondering if you’d like to be officially introduced to my closest family members as my girlfriend.”

“To stake your claim on me?” I laughed.

He grinned proudly. “No. To stake your claim on me.”

CHAPTER 37

Lina

This was the seventh time I had taken a deep breath as Jonathan and I walked over to Julie and Andy’s townhouse. He squeezed my hand gently, drawing my attention to him. With a cocked brow, he flashed me a soft smile.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“Yes,” I admitted quietly.

He chuckled. “You’ll be fine. They love you already, you know.”

My brows furrowed, and my lips twisted into a frown. Before I could ask him what he meant by that, I heard Anthony’s voice all the way from the visitor’s parking lot.

“Hey, lovebirds!” his voice boomed from across the distance.

We turned to where he was standing across the parking lot, waving one of his hands in the air. Shoua stood beside him, red-faced. She smacked him on the arm and must’ve whispered something under her breath because he turned to her, laughing.

“Ignore them,” muttered Jonathan as he tried to usher me toward our destination.

“Let’s just wait for them. They’re already walking this way,” I said.

He let out a long and exasperated sigh when his cousin and friend approached us. “Sorry about that, you two,” Shoua said, still blushing in embarrassment. “Anthony has a tendency to be loud and⁠—”

“Annoying,” interrupted Jonathan dryly.

“It’s fine,” I smiled at Anthony. “We just got caught by surprise.”

“Lina, you shouldn’t encourage him,” said Jonathan, and Shoua nodded in agreement.

Anthony laughed. The air around us reverberated as his voice boomed effortlessly. “I’m just glad to see you two are doing well,” he nodded. He and Shoua looked between Jonathan and I with the same ecstatic grin.

“Was there a meeting we didn’t know about?” asked Andy, making me jump in my spot.

Julie laughed. We all turned. She and Andy were walking up to all of us. “We heard Anthony’s voice and we came out to see the commotion,” she said.

Shoua elbowed Anthony in the ribs. “You need to be quiet. This is supposed to be a quiet community.”

Anthony smiled at his upset girlfriend. “Alright, alright. I’ll be sure to shut the fuck up, babe.”

“We’ll see how long you last,” Andy chuckled, and everyone except me laughed along with him.

The married couple ushered us into their home. Their place was toasty, cozy, and inviting. It was filled with delicious scents of barbecued meats and vegetables. My mouth watered, and I tugged my gray hoodie tighter around me in the hopes of muffling my growling stomach.

Andy’s hazel green eyes turned to Jonathan and I. Meanwhile, Julie also took notice of the lack of distance between us. He stood too close behind me, with his breath tickling the back of my neck. Heat scorched across my body as Jonathan pulled his hand out of my mine, throwing his thick, heavy arm over my shoulders and pulling me closer to his side.

He turned to me. The drag of his cocky grin across his lips was slow and ever blissful. His entire face lit up like an incandescent firework across the night sky. Handsome, dazzling, intense, and brighter than the sun.

“Everyone, I’d like you all to meet my girlfriend—Lina,” said Jonathan.

Julie, Andy, and Shoua all shared the same wide smile as they glanced at one another. Meanwhile, Anthony let out a whistling laughter. One that was similar to Mary’s—the kind that encouraged everyone to laugh with them because of how happy and cheerful they sounded. Laughter bubbled effortlessly out of Jonathan and I.