Page 3 of No Summer Hotter than You

“Really?” My voice was shaky despite trying to contain my emotions.

“Do you know how scared I was?” Worry etched into his expression, making him look gaunt and even aged.

His full lips pulled into a frown. It was strange to see him so distressed when he had always been bubbly, loud, and boisterous.

“We could’ve lost you, Shoua.” His voice was so soft it sounded like a nervous whisper.

My heart skipped a beat as Anthony’s words hung in the air. The intensity in his eyes sent a tiny tingle down my spine.

“You’re not going to lose me. I’m here, and I’m safe now.” I nodded slowly.

He sat up and moved closer to the bed; his body was rigid and tense. Then I saw the flash of fear glinting in his eyes, and I knew. He wasn’t joking or simply saying these things to make me feel better. He was being completely honest when he said he was scared.

“Promise me—promise that you’ll always be careful.”

Before I could register it, my hand was already out and reached for Anthony’s straight, dark brown locks. I patted his head, and he instantly relaxed under my touch with a long, shaky sigh.

“I’ll never go anywhere, Anthony,” I said.

He reached up and pulled my hand into his much bigger, callused ones. Anthony gently squeezed my hand with his imploring eyes, which never pulled away from mine. His eyes lightly misted over as if he was about to cry.

“Promise me, Shoua.”

On cue, my heart began to pound in my ears again for the hundredth time today.

“I’ll never leave you, Anthony. I promise.”

CHAPTER 1

shoua

“Good morning!” boomed Anthony’s voice as he nearly kicked down my front door with two glass cups of iced coffee in hand.

If I wasn’t so accustomed to him doing that every weekday morning for the last two years, I probably would’ve been startled and tripped ungracefully down my stairs like the first time he ever did that. Now he gave me a warning with a solid knock on the door and then let himself in with the key I gave him.

The morning sun rays beamed brightly from behind his large frame as if he was the sun itself. I squinted at the sudden onslaught of bright light, and he quickly closed the door with a soft click before I could tell him to.

“Someone sure is happy today,” I said from the top of the stairs.

“Meanwhile, someone sure is grumpy this morning,” Anthony quickly answered back. He placed the coffees on the entryway table to lock the door. “Excited for today?”

“Yup, for another blazing hot day,” I mumbled. I walked down to where he was in my foyer from my bathroom upstairs with my tote bag and slingback heels in hand. I had a few showings today, so my usual flats wouldn’t cut it. “I’m going to dread driving all over town for the three showings I have lined up today in this heat.”

“Don’t work too hard, alright?” said Anthony. Despite the tired lines on his face, his radiance made my heart beat harder for a moment as warmth spread across my chest. “I know you’re busy every summer because you’re a realtor and all, but you should take it easy. It’s fucking hot today.”

“I’m complaining, but I’ll be fine.”

He flashed me an apologetic smile as he handed me my coffee. I sipped it and let out a satisfied moan, enjoying the sweet milky bliss. In college, he worked at an artisan cafe and had been making coffee ever since. When we started living next door to each other two years ago, he began making vanilla hazelnut lattes for me every morning. Hot in the winter with fancy latte art and iced in the summer.

I quickly grabbed my coffee from him. He always put my iced coffee in this cute, lilac colored tall glass with a glass straw, meanwhile his was usually in a regular glass cup. So, I always knew which one was mine.

Now we were standing near each other, I took in the wide smile and flushed cheeks he wore. A small smile eased onto my lips. His morning grins were always the most contagious, which was why he’s always the first person I want to see the most at the start of my day.

“Just take it easy today,” he said, humming softly. “And hydrate when you can.”

I nodded slowly when I realized the scent of his body wash was different today. It was floral, sweet, and feminine. He clearly wasn’t home last night, and the knowledge of that sent a slight ache through my heart.

“Looks like someone had sex last night,” I said before sipping my coffee again. I blew out a long breath that masked into a delighted sigh. “I didn’t know you were back to casually hooking up. Thank you for the delicious coffee, by the way.”

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