Page 1 of After You Returned

Chapter 1

Miles – a surfer who still hasn’t figured out how to rectify the biggest mistake he made in his life

Miles

Isecure my surfboard under my arm before splashing through the waves onto the shore. I plant the board in the sand and lean over to shake out my hair. Water droplets fly everywhere.

“Hey! You’re getting me all wet,” Kai complains.

I smirk. “I know.”

My brother shoves me. “You’re such a child.”

“Says the child who’s shoving me.”

My oldest brother, Eli, clears his throat. “Can you two behave for five minutes?”

“He started it,” Kai and I respond simultaneously.

Rhett, another one of my brothers, groans. “Act your age.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Sounds boring.”

Zane sighs while Jaxon checks his watch. “Can I leave now?”

I roll my eyes at my brothers. Yes, more brothers. I have five of them – Eli, Rhett, Jaxon, Zane, and Kai. We usedto be ‘those Raider brothers’ as in the shit stirring, pranking, fun revelers. But not anymore.

All of my brothers have found love and they’ve become – gag – domesticated. Eli, Rhett, and Zane even have children. While Eli and Rhett’s children were planned for, Zane’s baby was a complete surprise. Some woman he doesn’t remember dropped baby Adele on his doorstep and – boom! – instant dad.

Rhett throws an arm around Jaxon’s shoulders. “No, you can’t leave. It’s the Smugglers’ Blaze.”

The Smugglers’ Blaze isn’t any old New Year’s Eve bonfire. It’s a glorified excuse for the entire island to gather on the sand, drink moonshine that should require a warning label, and pretend they’re sending the year’s mistakes up in smoke.

“I’m ready to say goodbye to this year,” I mutter.

Watching all of my brothers fall in love while the woman I want won’t give me the time of day has not been my idea of a fun year.

Rhett grins. “Let’s do this.”

He hands out shot glasses before pulling a bottle of moonshine out of his bag.

Jaxon fiddles with his glasses. “I thought we agreed to say goodbye to the year with my new Christmas whiskey.”

Jaxon is the master distiller ofBuccaneer’s Whiskey & Distillery,the distillery Eli founded after becoming a billionaire. Eli insisted his brothers were the only people he wanted to manage the brewery with him, and now, we all work there.

Jaxon loves it. He couldn’t wait to start developing whiskeys and moonshine. He’s extremely anal about his work. The nerd. But he is freaking fabulous at his job.

Unlike me. I’m the sales manager and I don’t suck at it but it’s not the job I want to be doing. I should be traveling the world on the surfing pro tour. Instead, I’m stuck on this island working an office job.

Don’t get me wrong. I surf as often as I can. I even give surfing lessons to tourists in the summer. But it’s not the same as going pro – riding the biggest waves in the world while everyone watches.

My shoulder aches to remind me of why I’m trapped working an office job. I injured my rotator cuff at my first professional surfing event in Hawaii. I worked my ass off at rehab, but I never regained the strength needed to be a professional surfer.

“It’s traditional to drink moonshine at the Smugglers’ Blaze,” Eli says before lifting his shot glass. “Here’s to the ones who sank their ships, lost their hearts, and still showed up for last call.

May next year bring smoother seas, stronger drinks, and fewer regrets — though not too few.”

“Smugglers!” we shout before downing our shots.