Page 105 of No Summer Hotter than You

“I guess so. It’s easy to forget how big it used to be, huh?”

“It is. But to be honest, it always felt too small.”

I turned to her, and we smiled together.

“It did for most of our time here,” I said. “But I got to live next to my best friend, which was all that mattered most to me no matter how tiny this place seemed.”

Shoua’s hand reached out to me. “Was living next door to me that important?”

I laughed, walking up to her to take her hand. “You bet! I couldn’t have wanted a better neighbor than you.”

At the door, I turned back to look at the space where we once lived so happily. With a smile and a silent goodbye, I closed and locked the door, and we walked out hand in hand.

As we headed for the car, Shoua’s phone started ringing. She quickly answered it as she fumbled to put it on speaker. “Hello? Andy?”

His shaky breathing was all we heard until he said a soft and tired, “Hey, Shoua, tell Anthony he’s now an uncle.” I could practically hear the huge fucking grin on his face.

Shoua and me looked at each other with wide eyes. “We’ll be there in five,” I said.

We were about ten minutes away from the hospital where Julie, Andy, and my newborn nephew were. I was sure we’d be able to make it there within three minutes if I just sped a bit. Everyone had been eagerly waiting for the arrival of this baby—my first nephew and my parents’ and Auntie Yee’s first grandchild. Jonathan had been sitting on the edge as well.

“Drive safe,” Andy said. His voice was tired, but tender. “Your nephew wouldn’t want his Uncle Anthony and Aunt Shoua to get hurt, would he?”

My chest constricted at the sound of Andy calling me Uncle Anthony. Julie’s tender voice calling out to their baby in the background made me want to run to the car, but Shoua spoke up.

“No worries, Andy,” she said as she glanced up at the duplex. Her voice was tinged with a bit of sadness. “I’ll drive.”

He chuckled softly. “Good idea. Anthony would probably race down the street and the three of us don’t want that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I scoffed as I took over the phone and walked a few steps away so Shoua could silently say her goodbyes to this home. “I just want to come see the baby.”

“If you’re that insistent, you two better babysit while my wife and I sleep,” Andy said with a yawn.

“Babysit an infant? I don’t know about?—”

Andy snorted softly, interrupting me. “That’s what I thought. Shoua? Mind helping your fiancé while we nap?”

Shoua had more experience with little kids than I did. She looked after Lee’s kids every now and then after all. She turned to me with an amused look then snickered.

“Of course.” She nudged me. “See you soon.”

I quickly bid my brother goodbye as I eyed Shoua closely. “You all good?”

She flashed me a small, bittersweet smile. “Yup, all good. I just can’t believe we’re no longer living here.”

I glanced at the distance between what used to be our two front doors. I slipped my hand in hers, which fit perfectly in mine. “Me either.” I let out a long breath. “But I think we’re ready to move on.”

Shoua squeezed my hand as I played with the engagement ring I placed on her finger just a few months ago. “We are.”

I kissed the back of her hand and smirked slyly. “Soon we’re going to be the ones at the hospital with a baby.”

She raised a brow at me with a smile tugging at the lines of her lips. “Maybe in another two to three years.”

I laughed and pulled her flush against me, winding my arms around her waist. “Sounds good to me. Maybe we can try making this baby when we travel two summers from now. How does that sound?”

She tilted her head slightly, as if to contemplate. “Where would you like to go?”

“Where?” I chuckled. “How about somewhere fun like Santorini? Or Bali? Or Millerton Lake?”

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