How do I tell my parents I like someone I met through my dad’s workplace? (Need advice)

Assalamu alaykum everyone,

(I originally shared this in another subreddit and wanted to hear perspectives from this community as well, insha’Allah.)

I hope you're all doing well, insha'Allah.

Brief context: I met her through my dad at her workplace. My dad knows her professionally, but me and her have spoken before, so we know each other on a more personal level too.

So the thing is, my dad finds the concept of "love" awkward. It’s not that he dislikes the idea, it’s just that he gets uncomfortable when the topic comes up (typical South Asian parent energy 😅). Whenever someone mentions marriage, even as a joke, he goes quiet and looks awkward.

When I mentioned her to him casually in the past, he said it probably wouldn’t be appropriate and that she might say no. I respected his view and didn’t push anything further at the time. Later on, when I spoke to her directly, she was interested, and we kept things within Islamic boundaries.

As of right now we're unable to speak due to a conflict of interest.

So my question is: if the time ever comes again to bring her up, how do I approach my dad in a calm and respectful way without making it awkward? I want to know how others have had this conversation with parents who are shy/awkward about these topics.

This isn’t about rushing anything, I just want to be prepared to handle it with adab, patience, and sincerity, insha’Allah.

If anyone has gone through something similar, especially from a South Asian household, I’d really appreciate any advice on how you approached both your mum and your dad.

Note: This isn't an update about us speaking again, we still haven't. But I wanted to seek some early advice so that when the time does come, I can approach things the right way, insha'Allah.

Apart from this there is one more thing I’d appreciate advice on. Because of the situation involving my dad and her workplace (as mentioned in my previous post), we can’t be in contact right now and I’m respecting that fully.

But since we’re both 24 (I'm turning 25 in a couple of months), there’s always the possibility that our families might start looking for marriage prospects while this situation is still ongoing.

So I’m also trying to understand how to express to my parents (if they start looking for someone for me)that I already have sincere intentions for someone, but that due to the current circumstances, we cannot move forward yet, without making things awkward or causing any tension. Any advice or experience on handling this gently would mean a lot.

Jazak’Allah khair for reading