The Heat of Summer
Page 24
“You won’t be saying that later.” Summer smirked against Prue’s mouth, a knock on the door causing her to groan. “Come on, let’s get this over and done with.”
“Y-Yes,” Prue stammered. “Best idea you’ve had all night.”
The villa was quiet. Prue stacked the plates into the dishwasher while Summer, David, and Jade sat around chatting quietly outside. Pippa and Jack slept on the couch, the day’s events too much for them to cope with any longer. Prue approached the couch, leaning down and kissing them both on the forehead, before returning to her family outside. Jade, for all her flaws, was considered family too. In the months leading up to their pregnancy, Summer had needed her best friend more than any of them realised. As much as she’d wanted to let Jade in on the fact that it’d finally been successful, both she and Prue agreed that they should wait a while. At least until they had a baby scan and confirmed that everything was going smoothly. Now that they’d had that, it was time to let those closest to them know.
“Can I get anyone anything before I sit down?” Prue stood before them, praying they wouldn’t stay much longer. “Coffee?”
“No, thank you,” Jade said. “I have a flight to catch early tomorrow and I could sleep for a week.”
“David?” Prue arched an eyebrow.
“No. The kids could probably do with going back to the hotel soon.” David smiled at his sister. “You seem different. Is everything okay with you?”
“Actually…yes.” Prue smiled. “Everything is brilliant, but we did have something we needed to tell you both.” Prue sat down, motioning for Summer to join her in her lap. “Come here, beautiful.”
Summer removed herself from her seat, sitting sideways in Prue's lap. One arm wrapped around her wife’s shoulders, Prue’s hand settled on Summer’s thigh. “So…” Both spoke in unison, Prue cutting herself off and giving Summer the opportunity to speak. “We, uh…we’ve been planning something for a while now. Well, not planning, but trying.”
“O…kay.” David frowned while Jade’s eyes lit up. Her best friend knew exactly what was happening.
“It didn’t quite go according to plan at first, but now that everything is okay, Prue and I would like to let you both know that we’re pregnant.”
“W-What?” David’s eyes widened, tears welling in his eyes.
Jade…she was a sobbing mess across the table.
“Prue, you’re not fucking about, are you? You really mean it?”
“We mean it.” Prue nodded. “Jade, are you okay?” Jade continued to cry into her hands, sobs and sniffles concerning Prue. “Jade?”
“I’m okay.” She continued to cry. “Just so happy for you both.”
“Thank you.” Prue nudged Summer, motioning for her to give her best friend a hug. “Go on…”
Summer climbed from Prue’s lap, rounding the table and crouching down in front of Jade. “Hey.”
“Summer…” Jade’s bottom lip quivered as she looked up at her best friend. “I can’t believe it finally happened. You’re sure? I mean, you’ve been checked out and everything?”
“We’ve checked.” Summer handed over a small square image. “See?”
“Oh my God,” Jade whispered, taking the scan from Summer. “That’s your baby.”
“That’s our baby.”
“It’s so tiny.” Jade brushed tears from her face. “But so beautiful.”
“Oh, come on…” Summer laughed. “It looks like an alien.”
“Um…” Prue interrupted. “Did you just call my child an alien?”
“Sorry, babe.” Summer shrugged. “But it does kinda look like an alien.”
“Charming.” Prue shook her head, laughing. “So, we just wanted you to know. David, I don’t want this getting back to Mum and Dad.”
“You’re sure?” he asked.
“I’m more than sure.” Prue knew they occasionally asked about her, but they wouldn’t be blessed with a grandchild, not if Prue had her way. They’d dismissed her since the day she came out to them, allowing her to go through pain and suffering alone. Her child would not be brought up in a world where they believed behaviour like that was acceptable. Not while Prue still had oxygen in her lungs.
“Okay, whatever you want.” David pulled his sister into a hug. “So proud of you, Prue. Really proud.”
“Thank you.”
“This one…” He motioned towards Summer, her conversation with Jade giving him a moment to talk with his sister. “She’s made you the happiest you’ve ever been. Don’t ever lose that.”
“I won’t.”
“Michelle would be so happy for you.” Prue noted the sadness in her brother’s eyes, talking about his late wife. “She’d dote on your kid just like you do with ours.”
“They mean the world to me, David,” Prue said. “I promised Michelle during the last few days of her life that I would give her kids anything they needed. They had it right there all along though. They had you.”
“Don’t start me off.” He shook his head.
“Have you ever thought about moving out here with the kids?”
“You know I have, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Especially now that you have your own life with Summer.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Prue said. “You know we would love to have you over here with us. Consider it. Live your life for you and those gorgeous kids. Not for the bastards who raised us.” David was in touch with their parents, nothing too involved though, but Prue sometimes struggled to understand why. “They don’t do anything for you other than guilt you because they brought you into this world.”
“Prue.”
“They hate you for loving me.” Prue shrugged. “I know that.”
“I’m sorry you’re not in touch with them.” David sighed. “Really sorry.”
“I’m not. By being myself and living my life for me, I’ve achieved things people could only ever dream of. I mean, look at my wife. My wife who is now going to give me the greatest gift in the world. Not for me…but for us.” Prue smiled, observing Summer. “If I’d listened to them, what they believed I should be, I wouldn’t be here with all of this. I wouldn’t be happy in any way at all. I wouldn’t have her.” Summer smiled at Prue across the table.
“You’re right.” David nodded. “But you’re sure you don’t want them to know?”
“I’m sure.” Prue sighed, running her palms down her thighs. “They don’t need to know. It wouldn’t make any difference to them.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“No.” Prue held up her hand. “I don’t want them to know.”
David remained silent, watching Summer and Jade across the table as they both yawned. “I want to see you tomorrow, you can tell the kids, but we should go. Summer is dead on her feet.”
Prue looked over at her wife. “Yeah, she is.”
“Hey, Jade. You ready to leave?”
“I am,” Jade agreed, releasing Summer from another embrace. “This mother needs to rest.”
“I’m fine.” Summer rolled her eyes. “You sound like Prue.”
“Because that woman talks sense.” Jade glanced at Prue, winking, before turning her attention to David. “Come on. I’ll get one kid, you get the other.”
“I’ll see them out, okay?” Summer leaned down, kissing the top of Prue’s head. “Be right back.”
Prue sat back, admiring the activity around her. When Sarah left, she had no intentions of meeting another woman. She didn’t want to fall in love again. Though Summer caught her attention from the get-go, Prue hadn’t needed to even try to love her. She just did. Effortlessly and unconditionally. Prue wasn’t a fool, this could have gone horribly wrong, but her heart ached to try to make it work. It begged her head to remain quiet while she figured out her feelings for Summer. She did it alone, without opinion from anyone else, and it had all worked in her favour.
Prue would never forget the moment Summer arrived, her hair splayed across her face as she struggled with multiple suitcas
es. She would never forget that beautiful mouth saying ‘thank you’ when she sent that bottle of wine two weeks after Summer arrived. She also wouldn’t ever forget how Summer made her feel…the first time they touched one another. Prue had never been one to hold onto memories—none of them worth keeping—but every second she spent with Summer she would cherish. Every little laugh. Every comment. Every blink. Prue couldn’t ever erase anything her wife had said or done. Summer was ingrained in her every fibre, now and forever.
“I think it’s time we called it a night.” Summer’s sweet voice brought Prue from her thoughts. She turned to face her wife, tears she didn’t know had fallen rolling down her cheeks. “Are you okay?”
“Of course.” Prue frowned. “Why?”
“Just…you’ve been crying.”
“Oh.” Prue brushed away the wetness with the back of her hand. “Thinking about you and how unbelievably happy you make me.”
“Come on.” Summer took her hand, guiding Prue to her feet. “I need to lie with you. Today has been too much for my brain.”
Summer walked away but Prue stopped her, turning her wife to face her. “You know…” Prue started. “I could lose all of this tomorrow. This home. My businesses.” She looked around the villa, shrugging. “And it wouldn’t matter.”
“No?” Summer cocked her head, interested to know where this conversation was going.
“I have everything I could ever need right in front of me.” Prue leaned in, her lips caressing Summer’s as her hand settled on her belly. “You and our baby are my only priority.”
“I love you.” Summer smiled, her eyes closing momentarily.
“And I love you…but this is more than love,” Prue said. “The way I feel, it has to be more than love.”
“Maybe it is.”
“I can’t ever live my life without you, Summer.” Prue pressed her forehead against her wife’s. “The thought of it—losing you—it hurts like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
“I’m not going anywhere, babe.”
“Promise?” Prue smiled, her breath washing over Summer’s lips. “Just like you did when we stood face to face on our wedding day?”
“Never,” Summer whispered. “You’ll never lose me. I promise.”
Prue nodded, guiding Summer inside and towards the bedroom. With clothes shed in a matter of seconds, they fell into bed with one another, Prue resting up on her elbow and staring down at Summer. She had never seen so much beauty in another person—she never would again—but Summer still stole her breath every time those bright blue eyes caught her own.
“I’m so ready for the next stage of our life together…” She brushed Summer’s hair from her face, her blonde locks now longer than they were when they met. “More than ready.”
“Yeah?” Summer’s eyes shone with absolute love.
Prue inched closer. “Mmhmm…”
“Then I really need you to kiss me.”
Thank you for purchasing The Heat of Summer.
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Coming Soon…
The sequel to ‘The Arrangement’ will be coming soon.
I will also be releasing a stand-alone Christmas novel this coming December.
About the Author
Melissa Tereze is a best-selling author living in Liverpool, UK, with her fiancée and Golden Retriever. She holds a degree in Sports Development, and when she’s not writing, she can be found at a local bar singing one of her favourite tracks.
You can contact Melissa through her social media and her website.
Also by Melissa Tereze
The Arrangement
Forget Me Not
More Than A Feeling