Page 43 of The Broposal

“Don’t come near us again, or we’re getting a restraining order.” Han’s voice was icy and, I had to admit, a little hot. Even though it had to be an empty threat. Calling the cops wasn’t Han’s MO.

Before Jackie could answer, we got in the car and shut the doors.

“You can’t shut me out forever!” She banged on my window, suddenly dropping the “I’m in love with Bryan” act. I backed away and sped off, leaving an angry Jackie shouting in the parking lot, completely ignoring her poor date.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

HAN

Ishould have been used to kissing Kenny by now, but my cheeks warmed all over again, every time. I tried to catch my breath without being obvious while we drove home. I reminded myself we were just pretending. That this time it was mostly for Jackie’s eyes. I had to remind myself that wasokay. That I knew Jackie seeing Kenny move on was agoodthing. Even if Kenny did want to make her jealous, it didn’t mean heonlycared about that. He’d proven as much already.

“What do you think she wanted?” I asked.

“Probably for us to break up. But don’t worry, love, I’ll never leave you.” Kenny grinned, but I wished he wouldn’t joke about it.

“You know you can, right?” Giving Kenny an out was a dumbass move, but I had to do it.

His brows scrunched together. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want you to feel like youhaveto go through with this, you know? It’s your choice.”

“I know, and I’ll make the same choice every time. I wouldn’t bow out on you,” Kenny said, a frown tugging at his lips.

“Thanks. Seriously, it means a lot, bro.”

“When have I ever let you down? Don’t worry, okay?” Kenny smiled, and I really did believe him. My own smile lingered, even when Kenny looked away.

Dear Mami,

I’m getting married. Can you believe it? If you do, you won’t believe to who. Or, maybe you will, since everyone else pretty much guessed it.

It’s Kenny! I’m marrying Kenny.

But it’s all supposed to be fake and I feel like I’m going to explode if I don’t tell someone.

Love,

Han

I stared at the letter I had written days before, then at my mom’s contact in WhatsApp. It’d been a week since the engagement, but I still hadn’t built up the courage to tell my parents.

Even with Kenny’s prodding, I could hardly bring myself to open the app, let alone call them. What if they disowned me? Part of me felt like that wouldn’t matter. It wasn’t like they’d raised me anyway. But even if it was just a phone call or a video chat every couple of months, I still wanted them in my life. I might not have been the best son in the world. I could call more, but, then again, so could they. Still, I didn’t want to lose them altogether.

And now that I was going to get my green card, I could actually visit them. Maybe we’d get closer than ever. I hadn’t seen them or been to my hometown in so long. God, I missed Xalapa.

I found myself craving a chocolate-filled churro. My dad used to take me to this park with a churro stand all the time. You just couldn’t find authentic filled churros in the States. I’d definitely tried.

Luna broke me out of my reminiscing when she hopped onto the couch next to me, resting her head on my lap. I scratched her ears. Even if Kenny was her first priority (despite her being my dog), she was always there for comfort when I really needed it. And she gave me the tiny push to make the damn call.

It rang. And rang. And God, part of me didn’t want her to answer, until she didn’t. Then I realized how badly I actually wanted to talk to her. My mind immediately went to the scary place it always went when she didn’t answer before I shook it off and called my dad instead. She was probably just busy. Before I knew it, my dad was on the other end of a video call.

“Que pasó, mijo? Everything okay?” His concerned words delivered another shot of guilt into my veins. I knew I didn’t call as much as I should, but I didn’t want my dad’s first instinct when I did call to be that something was horribly wrong.

“Everything’s fine. Where’s Mami? I need to tell you guys something.”

My dad shook his head, sighing. “She’s… not here. What did you want to tell us?”

“I think she’ll want to hear this, Papi. Should I call back another time?”

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