Page 33 of After You Returned

“Too bad,” Scarlett says. “If you’re leaving this island, we need to get as many sisters’ nights in as we can.”

I groan. “Have you been practicing giving guilt trips?”

She beams at me. “I have. What did you think?”

I give her a thumbs-up. “Good job. Your children will always do what you say. They’ll resent the hell out of you, but they’ll follow your orders.”

“Nope. I’ll bring them with me on work trips to Japan. They’ll love me and probably be bilingual before they start kindergarten.”

“Why don’t you take me on trips to Japan with you?” Sadie asks. “I’m a great traveling companion.”

I giggle. “A great traveling companion? You have to pee every half-hour and are very particular about where you’re willing to go.”

Her nose wrinkles. “I wasn’t peeing behind a tree. We were less than five feet from the highway.”

“Who cares? No one wants to watch you pee.”

“Ha! Remember the car honking at you when you dropped your pants to pee.” She curls her lip. “No strangers are honking at me while I’ve got my pants around my ankles.”

“You could at least not drink a can of soda every hour.”

“We weren’t allowed soda unless we were on a road trip. I wasn’t missing out.”

“Sisters.” Scarlett claps her hands. “Can we forget about stuff that happened over a decade ago and go have some fun?”

“Yep.” Sadie skips to the door. She opens it and motions me inside.

I groan. “Do we have to go to karaoke?”

“Count your blessings. It’s not Mermaid Karaoke.”

Mermaid Karaoke sounds made up, but it’s an actual thing. In the summer, Smuggler’s Hideaway is inundated with tourists. The women dress up as mermaids and sing karaoke at theBootleggerbar in the hopes of capturing a smuggler. The men buy them shots of moonshine and it’s a party.

I step inside the bar with my sisters and allow my eyes to adjust to the dim light. The music starts up and a dramatic piano chord plays. Addy jumps on stage and grabs the microphone. She begins singingI Will Survivewhile dancing around the stage.

“Uh oh. Who broke Addy’s heart?” I ask.

“I don’t care,” Sadie says. “Girl can sing.”

It’s true. Addy can sing. She’s wasted working as a waitress atFive Fathoms Brewing.

We make our way through the crowd to a table at the side of the stage. The bar is packed with locals enjoying a Friday night out. Once tourist season hits, no one will have time for a night out since most people work at least two jobs in the summer.

We barely have a chance to sit down before the bartender, Alaia, arrives. She sets a bottle of moonshine on the table along with three shot glasses.

“We didn’t order this.”

She nods behind her. I crane my neck to see who she’s nodding at. I scowl before getting to my feet and stomping across the bar.

“What the hell, Miles?”

He frowns. “What?”

I poke his chest. Bad idea. I can feel his hard muscles. Muscles I’ve touched a thousand times with my hands and my tongue. Concentrate, Hazel!

“Dude, you can’t get me drunk because you want in my pants!”

His face pales. “Shit. I’m not trying to get you drunk. I’m treating you and your sisters to a drink.”