Chapter 31
I’ll take mythical creatures for five-hundred.
Hazel
“Hey, Parker,” I greet the bakery owner as I step inside Pirate’s Pastries. “How are you doing?”
Her nostrils flare. “I’m as mad as a kraken and ready to rain down vengeance like a leviathan.”
I bite my tongue to stop from laughing at her references to mythical sea creatures. I don’t want her going all leviathan on me. Being on the receiving end of vengeance is never fun. Doling it out, on the other hand? Oodles of joy.
“What happened?”
“Jeremy put a swimming pool in our backyard.”
“How dare he? This is outrageous. A billionaire put a swimming pool in his backyard. What was he thinking? Maybe we should contact the police.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. “He shouldn’t be spending all his money on our house. We don’t need a pool. Or a chef’s kitchen. Or fifty bathrooms.”
I lift my eyebrow. “Fifty bathrooms?”
“Slight exaggeration for dramatic purposes.”
I nod. “I’ll allow it.”
“He shouldn’t be spending his money on me.”
I scowl. “Why not?”
“It’s ridiculous. I don’t need it.”
“Parker, he loves you and wants to spoil you.”
She blows out a breath, and her shoulders sag as the tension flows out of her body. “I know but how am I supposed to spoil him?”
“I have a few ideas.”
She glares at me. “If you mention sexual favors, I’m kicking you out of here and banning you for life.”
I wag my finger at her. “Ban me for life and I’ll be forced to steal Viking.”
“Good luck. Mr. Moneybags bought him a new cage, bed, and security.”
“Viking has his own security? What is it? Tough otter bodyguards who hiss and glare at you when you come too close to Viking?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Actually, I would. It’s important to know how to steal a live mascot. Even if the live mascot is from your town and you’re ‘not supposed’ to steal him. But there’s no way Parker will tell me what security measures she’s added. She loves Viking too much to allow him to be stolen by the residents.
“There’s no reason to ban me. I wasn’t actually referring to sexual favors. There are other ways to spoil your billionaire lover. You can bring home coffee and treats. Show up at his office with lunch because he’s too busy to take a break. Get pregnant because he’s dying to give you children.”
“You had me until the end.”
I shrug. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“You never can,” she mutters. “What can I get you?”
“Two humongous coffees and whatever treats you have left since it’s the end of the day.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Going to see Miles?”
“We’re meeting at his surf shack.”
“The love shack!”
“At least you’re not as mad as a kraken anymore.”
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 read The 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 my throat. 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.
“I’m sorry. It sucks you got hurt saving a student.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Besides, it gave me an excuse to spend time with my favorite physical therapist on the island.” He winks.
“I’m the only physical therapist on the island.”
“You’re still my favorite.”
“Thank you. Most of my clients have secret fantasies about trapping me under the motor of a treadmill.”
“Nah. Those fantasies aren’t secret. They write about them in their reviews.”
“Gee. Thanks. Way to make me feel loved.”
He stalks toward me. I have to lock my limbs in order to hold my ground. He tucks a curl behind my ear. “I can show you how much I love you.”
I nod to the shack. “You used to show me in your shack, but now you’re selling it.”
“It’s not sold yet. We could go for one last hurrah?”
I shove him away and he stumbles in the sand. “One last hurrah?”
He chuckles. “For old times’ sake.”
“Miles Raider, behave!”
“Why start now?”
I shake my head, but I can’t help a smile from forming. Miles has and always will test my patience. He pushes all my buttons. And not just the sexy buttons. The ‘how far can I push her until she breaks’ button gets used an awful lot, too.
“I’m serious, surfer boy. Why are you selling your shack?”
“I don’t have time to give lessons anymore. The distillery is getting busier, and I’ve taken on a more active role as sales manager.”
I wait for him to make a derogatory comment about his job but he doesn’t. He actually appears happy. He’s growing up. Accepting his future won’t include being a surfer on the pro circuit. Maybe this time our relationship will last.
“Stopping with lessons doesn’t mean you need to sell the shack.”
“I don’t need all the storage for the equipment for lessons anymore.”
“But what about the shower for after you’re done surfing? Or the refrigerator the entire Raider clan uses during summer days at the beach?”
“The Raider clan can learn to drag a wagon filled with supplies onto the beach the way the other locals do.”
“But you use the refrigerator, too. Are you going to drag a wagon onto the beach?”
“Once we have kids and need a gazillion supplies.”
My mouth drops open. Is he seriously discussing us having kids? We have never discussed having kids.
Don’t get me wrong. Miles has made it clear he wants children. And I’ve told him I want children as well. But we’ve never talked about us having kids.
“Why do tiny creatures need so many supplies anyway? It makes no sense,” he continues as if he didn’t just rock my world.
“You’re serious?”
“I’ve made myself perfectly clear, Blaze. I love you, and I’m not going anywhere. You want children. I want children. Makes sense, we have children together since we will be together.”
My heart batters against my chest. For a second, I forget how to breathe. Miles is discussing us having children as if it’s a foregone conclusion. Miles. The man who’s been hot and cold to me for years.
I can’t. I can’t think about this right now. I’ll end up hyperventilating if I do. Passing out in the sand is no fun.
I motion to the shack. “I meant, are you serious about selling?”
He palms my neck and leans his forehead against mine. “I don’t need the surf shack anymore. All I need is us.”
Hope blossoms in my stomach and spreads throughout my body. This might work. This time, Miles and I might make it the distance.
I push up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his.