Page 94 of After You Returned

She laughs as she hands me my order. “I can never stay mad at Jeremy for long. Which he knows and uses to his advantage.”

I smile at her grumbling. “Have a good night.”

I sip on my coffee as I walk to the beach. It’s not far. Nothing is in Smuggler’s Hideaway.

I reach the sand and kick off my shoes before gathering them in my hand and continuing my journey to the surf shack. Love shack isn’t too far from the truth either. The number of times Miles and I made out in the shack as teenagers.

I frown when I reach the surf shack. There’s a for sale sign on the building.

“What’s going on?”

Miles motions to the sign. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Um, no. Because the Miles Raider I know would never give up on his surf shack.”

He kisses me quick before snagging a coffee. “Maybe I’m not the Miles Raider you knew anymore.”

I scowl. He’s the Miles Raider I’ve known and loved for years. I open my mouth and nearly tell him as much but stop before the words can escape.

I’m not ready to admit I love him. Not out loud at least. I need to be a bit more secure in our relationship and his commitment to me before I admit how I feel.

And when will that be?

I don’t know. I honestly don’t know how Miles can prove to me he’s serious about me and staying on Smuggler’s Hideaway.

“Not the Miles I know? Has your body been overtaken by aliens? I thought aliens just probed you and let you go.”

“I’ve never been probed by an alien.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You didn’t claim to be probed by an alien as an excuse for not finishing your English homework junior year?”

“Can you blame me? We were supposed to readThe Catcher in the Rye.Holden’s voice was so whiny it was cringeworthy.”

“I liked the book.”

He snorts. “You didn’t like the book. You liked how Scarlett made extensive notes about the book when she was a junior. You never even read it.”

I gasp. “I did, too.”

He cocks an eyebrow.

“Fine. I read the first two chapters. Holden is completely unrelatable. Why are we still reading this book in the twenty-first century?”

Miles smiles and those blue eyes I love to stare into when he’s moving deep inside me twinkle. My breath gets caught in mythroat. I want those eyes to twinkle at me every day for the rest of my life.

I force those thoughts away. I can’t stand here and contemplate my future with Miles when he’s right in front of me. Especially since he claims he can read my mind.

I motion to the shack. “What’s the deal?”

He shrugs. “I don’t need it anymore.”

“Miles.”

“What? I don’t.”

“But you love to surf. And you love to give lessons.”

“Actually, I could do without the lessons.” He rubs his injured shoulder.