Chapter 37
Miles – a surfer who still hasn’t figured out how to rectify the biggest mistake he made in his life
Miles
I glare at my phone when it rings. I contemplate ignoring it, but I’d only delay the inevitable. My brothers won’t let me ignore them. They’ll drag me by my ear if they have to. I’m not exaggerating. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Hey, Eli.”
“Where are you?”
At home. Where I want to be.
When I don’t answer, he sighs. “Shall I pick you up?”
“If I have to go, you do, too,” Jaxon shouts.
Jaxon hates family occasions. He doesn’t hate the Raider family. He just finds group outings stressful. He’s a nerd who’s proud to be an introvert. Being married to Blossom has made him more open to social occasions, but he’s still an introvert.
Which means he’s going to Rumrunner and there’s no way I can bow out gracefully. I don’t do anything gracefully, to be honest.
“Fine. Pick me up.”
My house is in Smuggler’s Rest. I can easily walk to Rumrunner. Hell, I can – and have – crawled there on occasion.
But I’m happy to hitch a ride since I don’t want to go out tonight. Not when I know Hazel will be at the bar.
If you look up mistake in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of me. I messed up bad when I dumped Hazel back when I thought I was going to be a professional surfer and spend my life touring the world with my surfboard.
After I got injured in Hawaii, I slunk back to Smuggler’s Hideaway with my tail between my legs. And – proving what a gigantic idiot I am – I didn’t beg Hazel for forgiveness. Instead, I drowned myself in booze and women.
A car honks and I drag myself outside. Eli’s SUV is already full but I squeeze between Blossom and Jaxon.
“Why can’t you sit on the other side of me?” Jaxon asks.
“And miss you complaining?”
“I want to sit next to my wife.”
“It’s okay, nerd boy,” Blossom says. “We’ll get there faster if we don’t have to all change seats.”
Blossom isn’t a nerd or an introvert the way Jaxon is, but she is obsessed with time management.
I throw my arm around her. “And this way, we get to become better acquainted.”
Jaxon growls. “Keep your hands off my wife.”
Blossom giggles. “He’s just riling you up to get his mind off how Hazel will be at the bar.”
I glare at her. “You’re my least favorite sister-in-law.”
“Technically, I’m your only sister-in-law since none of the other Raider brothers have gotten married yet. Engaged doesn’t count.”
I grunt. I don’t understand how we got here. Every single one of my brothers is now paired off with a woman. Rhett, Eli, and Zane even have children.
A year ago, we were still those shit-stirring Raiders having fun, attending Mermaid karaoke, playing pranks on each other, and drinking way too much moonshine. I miss those days. It’s no fun drinking by yourself, and the amount of pranks has slowed to a crawl.
We arrive at the bar and everyone piles out. Zane is standing at the alleyway waiting for us with his baby, Adele. Rhett and Dakota are standing next to him.
“Good,” Zane says. “You’re here.” He makes his way toward the entrance of Bootlegger.
“I don’t know why we’re here,” I whine.
Zane scowls at me. “I need your moral support.”
“Whatever,” I mutter and motion him forward.
We enter the bar. While Zane heads to the bartender to ask for Sloane, the rest of us shove tables together until there’s enough room for all of the Raider family.
“I need a drink.” I take everyone’s orders before making my way to the bar.
On the way there, my gaze snags on red hair. Hazel must be a siren because my feet automatically change directions until I’m standing in front of her.
“What do you want?”
I blurt out the first thing I think of. “Can we talk?”
“Talk?” She snorts. “You don’t want to talk. You never want to talk. You want to get into my pants and then forget all about it the next day.”
“Not true.” I can never forget about Hazel. I’ve spent the past weeks laying in bed imagining how it felt to have her in my arms again on New Year’s Eve. How good she smelled. How crazy she goes for me when I kiss her lips.
My cock twitches. It remembers how it feels to be buried inside her.
“Not true? You’re a liar. You’re only interested in me when you’re drunk. The rest of the time, you ignore me.”
“I’m not drunk now.”
She scans the room until her gaze falls on the Raider table, which is empty of drinks since I was supposed to order them.
“Fine.” She crosses her arms over her chest and I can’t avoid staring at her cleavage. It’s magnificent. She’s magnificent.
I reach for her and she scoots backwards. “I didn’t give you permission to touch me.”
I smirk. “You always do in the end.”
Her green eyes flare with ire, and she shouts, “Get away from me, Miles Raider!”
She doesn’t wait for me to move. She runs away. I give chase.