Page 83 of After You Returned

“I never harvested mushrooms. It was one mushroom.”

Miles grunts. “And it was a mistake.”

I wag a finger at him. “Don’t be annoyed because I thought you were a purple elephant.”

“You screamed I was going to crush you.”

“I don’t remember. Therefore, it’s not true.”

He rolls his eyes. “Likely excuse.”

Parker hands him two coffees and a bag. “Here’s your order. Go sit down and eat before the people in the line riot for having to wait too long.”

“I’m not going to riot,” Sloane says from behind us. “I am going to change my bet about when these two lovebirds finally make things official, though.”

I groan. How did I not notice her standing behind us in line? I blame Miles. I forget to monitor my surroundings when he’s around.

“Behave,” he mutters to Sloane before leading me to a table in the corner. “Ignore them. They don’t matter. The only people who matter in this relationship are me and you.”

“Pretty words, surfer boy.”

He hands me my coffee and muffin. “I’ll say all the pretty words in the world until you’re convinced I’m serious.”

“And then you’ll let yourself go? Grunt all the time. Wear sweatpants and gain weight from all the beer you drink.”

“Don’t worry, Blaze. I plan to spoil you every single day for the rest of our lives.”

I want to tell him I love him. I want him to spoil me every single day. I want to be with him for the rest of our lives.

But I’ve been burned once by Miles. And I barely survived. I don’t know if I can handle it a second time.

Chapter 28

I expect Kai and Zane to surprise me. Not Eli.

Miles

Iwhistle as I stroll intoBuccaneer’s Distillery.Monday mornings usually suck but any morning I wake up wrapped around Hazel is a good morning. And making out with her at her practice before I hopped in my car to come here didn’t hurt either.

“Good morning, Miles,” Dakota greets from the reception area. She’s technically Eli’s assistant, but she’s also the unofficial receptionist for the distillery.

“Good morn—”

Kai and Zane rush into the area.

“Good. You’re here.”

I frown at Zane. “Of course, I’m here. This is where I work.”

Kai snorts. “Where you work when you aren’t surfing.”

I scowl. He makes it sound as if I’m never in the office. Trust me. I’m in this office way more than I want to be. Sitting behind a desk all day is not my definition of fun.

“At least I’m not a goofball who made Jaxon do my work for me.”

“Made. Past tense. I’m not a goofball anymore.”

Zane barks out a laugh. “And you didn’t spend an hour speaking with a German accent to a newspaper reporter.”