“Been surfing?” Mom asks, her hands on my shoulders as she gives me a once-over.
“Always,” I reply, a grin on my face.
Dad nudges me with his elbow before dropping his arm around my shoulders. “What’s with the shit-eating grin?”
“Nothin’,” I reply as Miles walks in and says, “Quinn.”
Mom’s eyes light up, and I roll my eyes again, at my brother this time, as I mutter, “Fuck off.”
Miles laughs as he walks over and joins us, dropping his arm around Mom’s shoulders. “What? It’s true. Didn’t you walk her home from your place last night? Did you even go back home afterward?”
“Yes, I did,” I reply sarcastically.
“You did?” Dad asks, surprised.
I elbow him in the ribs. “Don’t you start.”
Chuckling, he ruffles my still-wet hair as he says, “Come on, even you can admit you’re a bit of a ladies’ man.”
“A bit,” Miles scoffs. “Try total manwhore.”
“Oh shush,” Mom says. “Kai’s just looking for his one true love.”
“No, I’m not,” I say at the same time Miles says, “No he’s not. He’s looking to get laid.”
“Leave your brother alone,” Mom says, as a weird knot forms in my stomach at Miles’ words.
“It’s not that either,” I say, meeting his gaze. “Quinn’s my friend. I really like hanging out with her. I’m not just looking to get laid.”
Miles says nothing, just looks at me with a stupid ass grin on his face. As my gaze moves to Mom, I can see she’s also looking at me, only her face is one hundred percent filled with hope and excitement and something else I do not want to read too much into.
Glancing at Dad, I can see he’s silently chuckling to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What?” I ask him.
“Your friend,” he repeats. “Who you really like hanging out with. And who you’d definitely fall into bed with given half a chance.”
I slow blink at him, not understanding what he’s getting at right now. This only makes my dad laugh even harder as he glances over at Mom and then Miles before turning his attention back to me.
“You do know that’s how your mother and I started, don’t you?”
“Me and Daze, too,” my unhelpful shithead of a brother chimes in.
“You might even say it’s the way we Olsen men fall for our girls,” Dad teases, hooking his arm around my neck as he pulls me closer in a friendly headlock. “Nothing to be ashamed of, my boy. I’m just glad it’s finally happened for you.”
“Took him long enough,” Miles mutters as my mom literally squeals, clapping her hands together.
“All of you are full of shit,” I say, shaking my head. “Now, we gonna get breakfast or what? I’m starving.”
I head over to Daisy’s bakery, walking there after Kai dropped me off. I love how close everything is to my little house: a coffee shop, the bakery, the surf shop, cute little cafés and bars, and a quaint convenience store. It’s perfect—almost like a little piece of New York here in a tropical paradise.
One of the things I loved about living in the city was the proximity to everything. I could just walk out the door of my building and find everything I needed.
Although I will admit, this is better—better in all the ways I’d never be able to experience in New York. And its distance from Sean makes it worth the long trip here.
I take in the beautiful view as I walk along the quiet street, the ocean waves lapping at the shore. The sound is so peaceful. It’s hard to believe anyone ever moves away from here.
When I walk in, it’s busy—a line has formed about seven people deep, and it makes me smile.
Daisy catches my eye, waving me around the line. She lifts a little hinged piece of counter, letting me behind to come in.
