Page 66 of After You Returned

“Can you ring him and let him know I’m here?”

A smuggler never refuses to see another smuggler. Unless they’re feuding. And, luckily, no one has been feuding on the island for a couple of decades.

“I will not. This is ridiculous. I have other customers to help.”

I glance behind me but the reception area is empty. Other customers?

Before I can tell him he’s more delusional than a pirate being sung to by a siren, the door behind him opens and Hudson walks out.

I smile. “Hudson.”

“Miles Raider.” He grins as he comes around the desk to shake my hand. “Haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Probably because you hide out in your resort with your wife and child and have abandoned the rest of the island.”

“Nova and Iliana are my life.”

The happiness beaming from him is infectious. I want what he has. The girl I fell in love with in high school. Children to bind us together. And I’m not stopping until I have it all.

“Why did you stop by today? To discuss how the products fromBuccaneer’s Whiskey & Distilleryare doing?” He ushers me toward the bar area. “Do you have any new products? The Christmas moonshine Jaxon developed was incredibly popular. I bet a summer moonshine would do well, too.”

“I’ll let Jaxon know.”

Unlike me, who failed to make a new flavor in a bid to impress Hazel, Jaxon, as the master distiller, develops popular new flavors all the time.

“Here.” Hudson scoots behind the bar. “Let me make a print-out of our most popular drinks and how much we useBuccaneer’s.”

I start to stop him but pause. This is my job as sales manager for the distillery. I should probably visit big clients more often. Get out of the office and away from my hated desk. The way Hazel suggested.

We find a table in the rear of the bar. Hudson and I review the popular summer drinks and how they could use a Buccaneer’s product in most of them. By the time we finish, the purchase order from the resort has nearly doubled.

“This has been a productive meeting,” Hudson says as he stands.

“Um, there is one more thing I need to discuss.”

His brow wrinkles. “Please don’t tell meBuccaneer’sis developing some crazy adventure sport circuit. Zane has been pushing me on the topic for years.”

“You have no need to worry. Zane’s calmed down since he became a dad.”

Hudson shakes his head as he sits back down. “I can’t believe a woman left a baby on his doorstep.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You can’t?”

He barks out a laugh. “Okay, it’s Zane. I can.”

“Anyway.” I clear my throat. “I wanted to ask you about your physical therapist.”

He scowls. “What physical therapist? I couldn’t find anyone willing to relocate to the island. I promised the coach I’d have a therapist when training camp starts.”

“Coach? Training camp?”

“Crap.” He rubs a hand down his face. “I’m trying to keep the arrival of the team’s stay here a secret but judging by the smile on your face, you already know.”

I shrug. “There have been rumors.”

“This town.”

“Don’t worry. No smuggler will speak to a tourist about it, and they’ll drive all the journalists off the cliff.”