Page 43 of After You Returned

Since Jaxon has a hard time feeling he’s part of the group, Rhett and Eli came up with the idea of allowing him to make one arbitrary rule per poker night.

Rhett grunts. “No fair. Miles is the only Raider brother still in the wooing phase.”

“Plus, you’re no longer allowed to make poker rules,” Eli adds.

Jaxon frowns. “I’m not?”

“Not since the last time you made a rule and Zane ended up beyond wasted. He peed in the azaleas. Paisley’s still mad at me.”

Zane’s nose wrinkles. “I don’t remember peeing in the azaleas.”

I chuckle. “You were pretty drunk.”

He scowls. “I had to drink a shot of moonshine every time I mentioned my daughter. Which was bullshit.”

“You say bullshit, I say hilarious.”

Zane found out literally minutes before the poker game that Adele was his biological daughter. He was beaming with happiness. Naturally, we couldn’t allow his happiness to go unpunished.

“Speaking of moonshine.” Eli indicates the shots lined up at the bar.

I hold up my hands. “No moonshine for me. I’m on a strict beer diet tonight.”

Jaxon pushes his glasses up his nose. “Does this have anything to do with Hazel?”

Rhett slaps him on the back. “Of course, this has something to do with Hazel.”

“How?” Jaxon asks me.

I don’t bother hesitating. My brothers will get the information out of me eventually anyway. And I have no desire to spend tomorrow hungover or picking glitter out of my underwear. Trust me. No man wants the man next to him at the urinals to start sprouting glitter.

“Hazel thinks I only want her when I’m drinking.”

Eli narrows his eyes on me. “Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Only want her when you’re drinking? You’ve been home from Hawaii for six years and haven’t made any moves to win her back in all this time.”

Because I’ve been a fucking idiot who thought that when I finally figured out my life, Hazel would bethere waiting for me.

Zane barks out a laugh. “Except he follows her around like a puppy dog whenever she’s in the same room as him.”

“And chases her when she runs away,” Kai adds.

“And don’t forget the times he managed to con her back into his bed,” Rhett says.

I scowl. “I’ve never conned Hazel in my life.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “You have sex with her every few months and then disappear from her life. Pretty sure that’s the definition of conning.”

“I don’t disappear from her life.”

“Really? You don’t avoid her for a few weeks before starting this whole cycle back up again?”

Jaxon fiddles with his glasses. “Convincing Hazel to give you another chance is not going to be easy. We should brainstorm some ideas.”

“I don’t need my brothers to help me come up with ideas.”