Hiroshi

By Zelda Knight

Renowned architecture professor Hiroshi Furukawa has never been one to back down from a challenge.

But for the first time, he’s facing a problem he can’t overcome—a heart failure diagnosis that’s forced him into early retirement. Only in his early fifties and a workaholic for thirty years, Hiroshi can’t accept having to change his lifestyle. But he knows he has to keep his promise to his late wife and stay healthy and happy for their only daughter, Sara, who’s just given birth to twins.

His hometown of Gaynor Beach wasn’t his ideal place to settle down. And something is missing in their new lives. Hiroshi discovers what it is when he runs into a former student, Jayden.

Now pursuing a career as a firefighter, Jayden seems like the perfect match for his wayward daughter—young, handsome, financially stable, family-oriented, and, most importantly, single. Hiroshi’s determined to play matchmaker to ensure his family will have a secure future.

But there are two big issues with his plan: Jayden is gay and in love with his former professor.

Can Jayden convince Hiroshi that he’s the perfect man for him and not his daughter? Or is Hiroshi too stuck in his ways?

Hiroshi is a gay single dad contemporary romance set in the shared world of Gaynor Beach, featuring an age-gap, interracial, forbidden love story with an older bottom ready for a fresh start, a younger top eager to guide him, rescue pets, and adorable grandbabies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AURELIA LEO
• Release date: Feb 7, 2023

Zelda Knight

Zelda Knight is a USA Today bestselling author of steamy romance, a British Fantasy Award-winning, and NAACP Image Award-nominated editor, as well as a diverse bookseller. She’s also the publisher and editor-in-chief of Aurelia Leo, an independent Nebula Award-nominated press. Zelda co-edited Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora (Aurelia Leo, 2020), which has received critical acclaim, and Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction (Tordotcom, 2022). Keep in touch on social media @AuthorZKnight. Or, visit her website authorzknight.com. You can also email [e-mail].

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

HIROSHI

New year, new home, and hopefully, very soon, a new heart.

I gazed at my childhood home with determination, even though everything in me wanted to jump into my convertible and ride into the sunset. Though that meant leaving behind my daughter, grandsons, and the Toyota that we drove to Gaynor Beach, which was out of the question.

642 Winchelsea Road in Willis Cove had been my whole world when I was younger. But once I grew up, got married, and left that neighborhood and Gaynor Beach behind me, I thought I would never see our family estate again. Especially when my aging parents decided to relocate back to Japan.

They held onto the home for sentimental value more than anything else since it was paid in full. Yet you never know what life will bring your way. I could have never anticipated the curveballs that would send me packing back to 642’s doorstep.

And, regardless of my hangups, this was our home sweet home for the foreseeable future.

Professor, I heard my former architectural student trying to get my attention, Looks like we’re finished here. Is there anything else you need help with before I head home?

Turning around, I watched as he helped my daughter Sara haul boxes of baby supplies out of my sedan and into the garage. Helped may have been underselling things, seeing as Sara was directing while Demetrius lifted everything by himself.

Sara and I had decided to take the scenic route back to my hometown. The twins were still very young, only a few months old. Though it felt like they’d been with us for years. It was easier to stop along the way and rest for the night at hotels rather than deal with their tiny eardrums popping mid-air. That, and my condition, as much as I didn’t want to accept it, played a huge role in the fact that we drove cross country rather than taking a five-and-a-half-hour flight from Maryland.

We stretched an all-day two-day ride into a week and some change so we could both get some rest. When I was younger, I could have blown through hours of driving with two shots of expresso and my favorite songs. At fifty-one? I was lucky my back and spine were still intact after so many hours on the road, or they, too, would have contributed to my failing health.

I was feeling my age by the middle of the first day, but there was no turning back once we began. Not without purchasing costly plane tickets with massive layovers on separate planes. And selling Sara’s new car on the spot, which I gifted to her since I didn’t need it to drive to and from work anymore. I could cruise around in my Mercedes-Benz from now on, waiting for me in the driveway once we arrived.

Technically, her new car was used. But seeing as she was currently broke and unemployed, it might as well have been brand-new.

So we made the most of the road trip, trying to keep our sanity along the way. We needed as much sleep as possible while traveling with infants. And that was hard to come by. We were practically pulling all-nighters on the nights Matt and Ben got fussy, shuttling them between hotel rooms.

But overall, I wouldn’t trade that precious time with my daughter and grandchildren for the world. I seemed to have so little of it back then. Time, that is. So I valued every minute I had with them, through the highs and the lows. And it helped that Demetrius had taken the same journey from the East Coast not a year ago with his son, giving us much-needed tips on where to stop and what to see and do along the way.

Thank you, Sara said as Demetrius finished stacking the last of the boxes. That should be all of it. And the movers already unloaded everything we shipped inside. Right, dad?

She flicked her chin-length purple hair out of her face. Sara’s hair was slightly wavy, just like her mother’s had been, compared to my boring bone-straight black hair, as she liked to remind me.

I was surprised the dye was holding up since it was some corner store box job she picked up in Oklahoma City after we watched the parade of the new NFL franchise, the Copperheards, from the balcony of our hotel. She didn’t apply it correctly, purple streaks staining her face and causing the twins to wail in terror, thinking mommy had turned into a monster.

Yeah, we’re good here. Thank you so much, I said with a deep sigh, disappointed I couldn’t be of much help, as I finally came to my senses, lost in my wandering thoughts.

I wanted to help more and thought I could. But the doctor’s orders said I needed to chill out and avoid heavy lifting, even though I was used to taking control in those types of situations.

Don’t worry about it. Anything for you all, Demetrius responded with a broad smile, dark skin creasing around his eyelids, glasses slightly fogged over from huffing and puffing.

Sara grinned before dipping inside the garage. She had a baby strapped to her back and one burping against her chest. Seeing my baby girl taking care of two babies would never stop shocking me to my core. Especially seeing as she was only twenty-one.

By now, I expected her to be a junior in college, living her life and pursuing her dreams. Instead, she was figuring out how hard it was to parent alone, just like I learned ten years ago. Not that I became a single father by choice. Though, I supposed no one anticipated becoming a single parent ever. It was usually because of reasons outside of a person’s control.

Curveballs just kept coming. And I was never any good at sports. I prayed that year wouldn’t bring any more. I didn’t know how much more stress I could take.

We appreciate you, I said, walking towards Demetrius. You don’t know how much.

I hugged him tight, happy to see him near giddy with excitement. He was always such a mellow young man, boarding on melancholy, and it was something else to see his transformation. Gaynor had treated him well, and in turn, he’d done a fantastic job remodeling our home.

I thought back to Demetrius’ college days raising a son, balancing sports and schoolwork, and I had hope for my daughter. But he had a wife back then, and two healthy parents determined to see him succeed. Sara, unfortunately, was at a disadvantage.

I’m going to put them down for a nap, she said.

I nodded to Sara as she popped back outside and disappeared just as quickly after letting me know the twins were going to bed. For how long was anybody’s guess. She closed the garage door, and while I did want to follow their lead and jump into bed after such a long drive, I took a few more minutes to collect myself. Plus, it had been a while since I’d seen Demetrius face-to-face and not over social media or through a phone call.

Demetrius leaned in, gripping my shoulder, bending over as he was over six feet tall, and I was barely five-foot-ten on a tall day. It seemed like my bones were shrinking by the day.

We put in the new steps, the charred wooden planks, everything. The whole house got a facelift, thanks to Miguel and the crew. Just like you requested. So rest easy. You deserve to relax in retirement.

You all did well, I said, not liking the way his voice dripped with barely masked concern. Don’t worry about us. You all did such a fantastic job. I have nothing to keep me busy and no more work to send your way.

Of course, of course. We wouldn’t deliver anything but the very best. Rest. Recover. Watch your grandkids and daughter. I know you said you wanted to start building out their library. I mean, I think it’s a little early, but you do you. Speaking of building up their baby books, you know Erick Mack, that local children’s entertainer you told me about?

I gave him a blank look, and Demetrius rolled his eyes.

Your memory is shot. The one with the kid’s show who has a few books out. Mac n’ cheese? Macintosh?

Oh! I exclaimed, embarrassed I’d zoned out that hard. "Ethan Mack. Yes, yes, of course. That’s the man who’ll help me build up Matt and Ben’s library at some point. I’m going to get their nursery completely set up tonight…"

I trailed off before sighing, acknowledging the truth, ...If I have it in me.

Demetrius nodded. I could tell he was struggling not to volunteer himself any further. He knew it would only piss me off since it would highlight my sickness. So, he dropped it, circling back to the entertainer.

Yeah, that guy, Ethan. I heard he’s doing a reading at the bookstore on the boardwalk soon. You two should definitely check it out and take the babies to the show. That’s a hard age. I remember. It’s a little easier when you tire them out. My invite still stands to get some ham, collard greens, and turkey next month for Thanksgiving! But I see you do have your hands full. So no pressure, professor.

Wheezing softly, I murmured, "Well, it honestly never gets easier. Raising kids, I mean. They just get older and more independent. But I’ll make a plan for all of us to go to the show. Thanks! And while we’d love to come to your new house, I think we’re going to have a quiet meal this year. Just the two, ah, well, four of us. Maybe next time, after we’re finished lying low and unpacking."

I paused, adding, " And call me Hiroshi, not professor, for the last time, Demetrius."

He just grinned in return, adjusting his glasses.

Thanksgiving was fast approaching, but I figured Sara and I would just have a small meal this year, call my parents, and call it a day. I felt bad declining because Demetrius had invited us to come over to his place to meet his new boyfriend, though his ex-wife was supposed to show up. It sounded like an awkward arrangement, but it seemed to work for them, which was for the best. In my humble opinion, it was always better to raise kids together, or amicably, if you couldn’t stay in a relationship.

But, alas, a hearty Thanksgiving dinner just wasn’t in the cards. Not back then, with all the stress of the move, balancing cranky babies, and my daughter’s hysterics. Maybe next year, I hoped, anyway.

Okay, well, erm…

Demetrius started rambling some more. I nodded, eyes glazed over, frustrated that a little bit of standing, talking, and moving around was tiring me out big time. I gripped my keys, trying to stay focused. Demetrius stepped back, fiddling with his keys, probably waffling between saying what he wanted to really say rather than rattling off more pleasantries.

He chose the latter.

...Um, well, I was thinking. Maybe you can, I don’t know, volunteer at a local NOMA chapter? If you want to stay busy outside of helping to raise the twins, I mean.

When I raised an eyebrow, Demetrius clarified, "Localish. I know Gaynor doesn’t have a true local chapter. But I’m sure they’d love to have you anywhere in California. Think about it!"

I smiled. Still, I knew it didn’t reach my ears. Volunteering at a National Organization of Minority Architects’ professional chapter sounded like a great plan, in theory. It would keep my mind active, and I’d be able to stay somewhat in an educational role for a man who didn’t anticipate returning to the regular workforce.

But I was only fifty-one and had been a workaholic for thirty-odd years. The thought of changing my lifestyle was already hard to accept. The prospect of never getting back to work was downright depressing. I had to believe I’d be back in front of a classroom any day, though the truth was this was my life. For better and for worse. I couldn’t live with myself if something horrible happened because I was being stubborn, leaving my daughter to pick up the pieces.

We’ll see, I said, looking up at the muted sky, breathing in the crisp fall air. I’m not sure they’d have much use for me there.

But you’re world-renowned, Demetrius quipped, bringing me back to our current conversation. "And I’m sure in