The Anthony Brothers - Accidental Love (#1), Contemporary Romance Series

by Harmony Bryce

  “Hey…” Jai began to protest at the implication that he had as bad of a track record as Jin.

  “I agree with Jai and Zack,” Markus nodded, getting back on topic, “You were celibate pretty much throughout high school…and college…and medical school. Unlike Santana here who I’m pretty sure went out with every girl in his class.”

  A smirk appeared on Santana’s face as he said, “I’m doing the females a service.”

  He got a collective response of protesting glares and a couple of couch pillows thrown his way.

  Jin grinned as he watched the scene, enjoying the company of his brothers and how free he was to be himself when he was around them. Of the five, he’d always been the more bookish one. He knew he deserved their ribbing about his dating history, or lack thereof.

  It wasn’t that he was bad looking. In fact, he was sure that he was fairly attractive – especially considering how he’d managed to push himself to stay fit as a distraction from the books all these years. It was just that during his studies, he was really driven to accomplish his dreams and women weren’t a priority. He didn’t find the time to date even after he’d became an accomplished podiatrist and established his own practice.

  He was content with this until he met Mei-Ling during a convention for alternative medicine. She was a holistic healer visiting from Hong Kong. Since she was one of the guest speakers and he was one of the convention’s organizers, he was asked to be her host. She planned to live in the US for a year to conduct trainings on holistic healing. She and Jin begun hanging out even after the convention and somehow, she filled a void in Jin he hadn’t even known was there.

  Jin straightened on his seat as he tried to explain the connection he had with Mei-Ling to his brothers. They’d always been encouraged to learn more about their heritage, but they’d mostly been content to identify with each other and their upbringing as part of the Anthony family.

  “Don’t get me wrong. What we had growing up… I’d never exchange that for any other upbringing. I wouldn’t trade this family for anything, but still…When I met Mei-Ling, it’s like she ignited that part of me that wants to know more about myself. More about who I am and where I come from.”

  Some of his brothers looked at him in awe while others will still amused by it all. Jin rarely ever spoke, but when he did, he often spoke quite eloquently. However, they’ve never actually thought about exploring their individual roots. They’d always just been satisfied being the All-American melting pot known as the Anthony brothers. Race and nationality were not really part of their thoughts.

  “Hey,” Santana shrugged. “If the lovely Mei is helping you find some missing piece of you, then that’s cool, man.”

  “But really, Jin?” Markus asked, a teasing twinkle of mischief on the corners of his eyes. “She ignited that part of you? Who says stuff like that?”

  Jai and Zack exchanged glances, silly grins on their faces. It was Zack who eventually voiced out what was going on in both their minds.

  “So, who is going to be the best man?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Mei-Ling dangled her feet over the porch swing as she appreciated the riverside scenery in front of the Anthony home. Her almond-shaped eyes lit up upon seeing Jin approach her.

  “I hope you’re not too surprised to find out what my family is like,” he said, sitting beside her and comfortably resting his hand over her knee.

  A smile formed on her pouty lips. “At first, yes. I didn’t expect your family to be so diverse. You never mentioned that you were adopted.”

  “I probably should’ve mentioned it, but it just never came up.” The truth is that he shared such a bond with his brothers that he didn’t think much about it, forgetting how shocking it can be for others.

  “It’s nice to see how you were brought up. It’s quite interesting.” She still had a slight Chinese accent – something that he found so lovable about her. “It’s so different from mine.” Mei-Ling snuggled closer to him, nuzzling her head against the nook of his neck.

  Jin once again felt the now familiar ache of longing to know more about the Chinese culture. It was an ache that he started to feel since he met Mei-Ling. “Do you think I’ll ever get to meet your family?”

  She looked up at him, her brown eyes twinkling. “If we’re going to get married, you kind of have to meet them. Be warned though. My family is not like your mother and brothers. Our family is a lot more… strict.”

  “I’m sure they’re great. How else would such a wonderful young woman like you come to be?”

  A blush highlighted the splash of freckles on her cheeks. “That’s nice of you to say.”

  “I mean it.” He clasped her hands in his, squeezing to emphasize his point.

  “I’m going to visit Hong Kong next week. Come with me. You can then meet my family.”

  He was taken aback. He didn’t expect her to invite him to meet her family so soon. Though there was a hint of apprehension in how he felt about it, Jin did not hesitate to say yes. With anything that pertained to her, he found that he was rarely able to say no. “That sounds great, Mei-Ling. I’m looking forward to it.”

  She seemed surprised that he agreed to the trip right off the bat. “That’s it? You’re not even going to ask your mother’s permission to go?”

  “I’m a grown man, Mei-Ling. I can make decisions on my own. We’ll just inform Mavis and my brothers over dinner later.” Jin shifted on his seat in order to look at her face. “Why do you seem surprised?”

  She shrugged. “I was raised to always seek permission from my parents. Their opinions and approval lay a great weight on the decisions that I make. Sometimes, they even decide for me.”

  Jin gulped. “So if they don’t like me…” The idea filled him with dread. He had already reached the point where he couldn’t imagine living his life apart from her.

  A reassuring smile formed on her face as she flipped her long straight hair over her shoulders. “Jin, don’t worry. They’ll love you. I know it.”

  “I hope you’re right, because…” Jin started to say only to be interrupted by Markus, who laid a heavy hand over his shoulder.

  “Hey, bro. Mom’s been looking for you.” Markus said. He then grinned at Mei-Ling. “You don’t mind, do you, Mei?”

  Apparently, Jin’s brothers had already decided for themselves to call Mei-Ling by the nickname Santana picked for her. Mei-Ling didn’t seem to mind. Jin actually quite liked the nickname.

  Mei-Ling smiled at Markus. “No not at all.”

  Jin looked at her with concern. “You sure you’re going to be alright?”

  “Of course,” she wrinkled her nose. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Yeah, Jin,” Markus agreed, leaning on one of the front porch’s posts. “Why wouldn’t Mei be fine? Go talk with ma while we get to know our sister-in-law-to-be.”

  Jin rolled his eyes. “You’ll be fine with them. I know they look scary, but none of them bite.”

  Markus sneered and sent Mei-Ling a knowing look. “Unless, of course, you want us too.”

  Mei-Ling chuckled – her laughter such a sweet sound to Jin’s ears. She shook her head. “No, I think there’ll be no biting necessary.”

  Assured that his brothers were going to keep his fiancée company, Jin entered the house and found his mother in the kitchen, having a conversation with Zack and Jai.

  “Ma?” Jin started, “Markus said that you were looking for me?”

  Mavis smiled, but Zack spoke up before she could respond, directing his words toward their elderly mother. “We’ll leave you to talk with Jin here about our future sister-in-law.”

  Jai was still giving Jin a strange look. “I can’t believe you’re going to get married first. Who knew?”

  Jin rolled his eyes at his brothers and moved toward the kitchen counter, lifting himself up over one of the wooden stools across from Mavis. “What is it that you wanted to talk about, Ma?” he asked as Zack and Jai made their way out of the kitchen.

/>   “Mei-Ling is a very lovely young woman, Jin.”

  Jin smiled fondly at the thought of his fiancée. “She is, isn’t she?”

  “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, son,” Mavis began to say, setting a serious tone into their conversation. “But I just want to make sure that you are going to marry her out of your love for her and not because she somehow serves as your connection to your cultural background.”

  Jin was not expecting that. “That adds to the emotions, Ma, but I can tell you that my falling in love with her and asking her to marry me has nothing to do with that. I’ve never felt this way toward a woman before. It’s like she’s somehow a missing piece in my life’s puzzle. You know what it’s like, Ma. You loved dad.”

  A bittersweet look glazed over Mavis’ eyes at the mention of Simon. “I understand perfectly.”

  He waited a couple of seconds to see if she was going to tell him anything else, but Mavis kept silent, so he chose it as the perfect time to ask permission to go to Hong Kong. “I thought you should know, Ma. If it’s okay with you, Mei-Ling and I are going to Hong Kong next week to meet her family.”

  “Of course it’s okay with me. You don’t need my permission, but I appreciate that you value my say enough to ask.”

  Mavis’ reaction struck a cord with Jin as he noted Mei-Ling’s influence toward him. He never would’ve normally asked permission from his mother regarding something like this. He didn’t expect it to mean so much to his mother to be asked. All five of them were raised to not hesitate to show affection to both their parents, and Jin realized that it’s been so long since he’d shown Mavis any affection. Thus, he chose the opportunity to pull his mother in his embrace and whisper, “I love you, Ma. Thank you for everything.”

  He couldn’t have known that the gesture meant the world to Mavis.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  It was an odd thing for Jin to finally experience his homeland. He looked like practically everyone else – a stark contrast to the kind of upbringing he had, growing up in a home that proved to be a melting pot of several different races. He was used to diversity, uniformity somewhat unsettled him.

  It didn’t help that the striking similarities in features did not actually translate to similarities in character. Jin realized that though everything about his outward appearance screamed Chinese, everything about him on the inside was decidedly American. It hit him how little he knew about Chinese culture.

  They stepped out of the airport and Mei-Ling began speaking in rapid Chinese towards a man in charge of getting them a cab – whether it was Mandarin or Cantonese, Jin didn’t know because he couldn’t really tell the difference. Jin found himself pathetically helpless in assisting Mei-Ling, because he felt completely lost. He’d felt like a fish out of water among his own people – something he never felt around his family.

  At that point, Mei-Ling was in complete control and Jin could only respond when she turned to him for help.

  Once they got into the cab, Jin mainly focused on the places they were passing by, appreciating the beauty of the city they were in. As he stared out the taxi’s window, he recalled fond memories he shared with Mei-Ling. One in particular drew a smile from his lips.

  It was their second or third date. Mei-Ling had suggested that they try some good Chinese cuisine for a change. Her eyes grew wide when Jin wrinkled his nose, confused, and asked, “You mean like Mr. Wong’s Take-Out? Because that’s pretty much as far as I’ve gone in terms of Chinese cuisine…”

  Mei-Ling was horrified – so much so that she took it upon himself to make him a “proper Chinese dinner” in her apartment. It was his one of his favorite memories of her – even though he was anxious for most part of the meal, because he kept on trying to figure out how to use the chopsticks.

  “I thought you said you ate Mr. Wong’s Take-Out?” Mei-Ling questioned him.

  He blushed. “I used a fork on the noodles.”

  In hindsight, Jin was surprised that Mei-Ling didn’t go ahead and hit him over the head with the chopsticks in hopes of knocking some Chinese sense into him.

  Jin couldn’t hold back a chuckle at the memory, grabbing Mei-Ling’s attention as they went ahead with the ride.

  Curious, she looked him in the eye and, with a hesitant smile on her lips, asked, “Why are you laughing?”

  He grinned. “I remembered our first date. Can’t help but think how thankful I am that you taught me how to use chopsticks before meeting your family.”

  Mei-Ling gave him half a smile and seemingly distracted, looked out the window.

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her close. “Hey… what’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “It’s nothing really. It’s just that…”

  “Go ahead, Mei. Tell me.”

  “You’re the first guy I’m taking home to meet my parents. I’ve kept them up-to-date in the progress of our relationship. My mother and sister are excited to see you and they already know that you’ve proposed and that I said yes.”

  “Okaaay…” Jin drawled. “That’s a good thing, Mei. What’s the matter?”

  “It’s my father I’m worried about. He’s always been very protective of me, considering I’m his firstborn.”

  Attempting to lighten the mood, Jin chucked a fist on the line of her jaw. “I never pegged you to be a daddy’s girl, Mei.”

  Despite her anxiety, she feigned a pout. “I’m glad you’re here, Jin.”

  “I’m glad I’m here too,” Jin nodded, wondering where this playful side of him was coming from. He was normally the quiet, reserved one among the brothers, but there was something about Mei-Ling that really brought out the fun-loving, playful part of his character. “Seriously though, Mei… I can’t really blame Mr. Lee. I’d be very protective too if I had a daughter as beautiful as you.” He rested his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. “Here’s to me hoping our daughters turn out to be as pretty as you.”

  “Daughters?” Her eyes narrowed. “Jin, you do realize that it’s expected that I will have just one child?”

  Jin could feel his face drain of color. The implications of what she said knocked the breath out of him. One child? Growing up in a big family, he’d always wanted to have at least three or four children. More than that however, what messed him up with what she just said was the notion of living in China. Is that what she would want? Am I really prepared to pack up and leave everything behind to live here?

  He was relieved when Mei-Ling began to chuckle. “You should see the look on your face, Jin. It’s precious.” She then instructed the driver to stop at a corner. “We’re here,” she informed Jin as she took out a couple of bills and paid the driver.

  Normally, Jin would’ve felt bad about not being prepared to pay the driver, considering he still had American dollars on him. However, he was far too distracted by their recently concluded conversation. The thought of moving there hit him so hard and for the first time, he was met with one unsettling question: How much am I willing to give up for love?

  CHAPTER SIX

  It was the most uncomfortable dinner of Jin’s life. Just as Mei-Ling predicted, her mother, Xiaoli, and sister, Lingwei, were very accommodating of Jin. It was Mr. Lee who appeared stiff and wary of Jin. Dinner conversation was stunted and in his anxiety, Jin pretty much forgot everything he learned about using chopsticks.

  Mr. Lee spoke in their native tongue toward Mei-Ling.

  Mei-Ling swallowed hard and leaned toward Jin. “My father wants to know more about your background and family.”

  Jin gulped as he dropped his chopsticks on his plate. “Are you going to interpret for us or something?”

  Mei-Ling shook her head. “It’s unnecessary. My father can understand English. He simply has trouble speaking it and prefers to have himself interpreted.”

  Jin mouthed, “oh,” before directing his attention toward Mr. Lee. “Well, sir. I was adopted by an American couple when I was very young. They raised me with four brothers, all of whom are also a
dopted and from different nationalities. The way we’re brought up, our cultural background wasn’t made to matter so much. It’s only now that I’ve met your daughter that I’ve been trying to connect to my Chinese roots.”

  Mr. Lee stared at him for a prolonged period of time, causing an awkward silence to follow as uncomfortable glances were exchanged over the dinner table. He then spoke to Mei-Ling.

  Mei-Ling gave her father a lingering gaze before once again shifting attention to her fiancée. “He says that he finds your background interesting. However, he is concerned about the fact that you don’t know much about the Chinese culture. He’s asking if you know who your birth parents are.”

  Jin shook his head. “No, sir. I never thought to ask. I was very content as a child. My brothers and I – we had quite the happy childhood. The matter was simply never brought up.”

  Mr. Lee straightened on his seat and leaned over the dinner table. He gave Jin a pointed look and in a thick Chinese accent, asked, “I wonder, Jin, how you are able to live life not knowing where you came from. How then do you know where to go?”

  “Father…” Mei-Ling began to interrupt.

  Jin figured that she was probably worried that he might take the matter too sensitively. “No, Mei. It’s okay. Your father’s right. My past is a part of me that I ought to understand.”

  Mr. Lee began to once again address his daughter in Chinese, stood up from the table and bade his leave without even as much as a second glance toward Jin.

  “What did he say?” Jin asked.

  Mei-Ling exchanged glances with her mother and sister, who were both giving her sympathetic looks, before she replied. Wetting her lips, she tried to smile at her boyfriend. “He said that you should probably know more about your background. He also wishes to fly to the US with my mother and Lingwei in order to meet your family. Only then is he willing to speak to you about marriage.”