Page 38 of Broken Hearts

“Shit,” Malo breathes out, his smile disappearing as he connects the dots. “Do you know what she’s gonna do with the shop? She wouldn’t sell it, would she?”

Like me, Malo depends on The Pipe Dream. Owen in a different way and Miles and Kai too, to a certain extent. I mean I know they sell their dad’s boards in other places, but The Pipe Dream has always been known for being the only place to stock their custom, one-of-a-kind designs. The boards I design for. And if that’s taken away, it’s not just me who loses out.

“I don’t know,” I say with a shrug. “But that fuckhead Butler has already dropped by. No doubt laying on the bullshit to try and convince her to sell.”

“And?” Malo says, as though I somehow have all the answers.

“Like I said, I don’t know. I haven’t asked her about it.”

“So why don’t you,” he now says. “Find out what her plans are.”

I blow out a breath, my hands moving through the water. “Got nothing to do with me,” I tell him, even though it kind of does. “It’s her shop, her decision.”

“Yeah, but Nate,” Malo starts.

“She knows that we all depend on the shop,” I say before he can continue. “She knows how important it is to us, but it’s still her decision, dude. I can’t try and convince her otherwise.”

Everything I’m saying is true, even if a big part of me is desperate to ask her what her plans are. Is desperate to beg her not to sell, even if she goes back to New York and just owns it from there. But I know I can’t do that because it’s not my place to say anything to her.

“Maybe we should?—”

“I’m gonna catch some more waves,” I say, cutting him off as I paddle in to where the swell breaks, not wanting to continue this conversation.

I’m sitting on my front porch, finishing up the designs I blew off earlier and trying not to act like I’m waiting for Sage to get back.

I’m totally waiting for her to get back.

After surfing, I’d blown off the guys and their suggestion that we head into town for some drinks, playing up that I needed to finish my drawings when the reality was, I just wanted to be here when she came home from Alana’s. As much as I don’t want to admit it, that kiss we had shared last night had been on a solid replay loop inside my head all fucking day.

And I was kinda desperate for more.

Just as I finish up the last design, I hear the crunch of her footsteps on the gravel. My eyes snap up to see her walking around the side of the shop, her iPhone lighting the way. I open my mouth to call out to her, but she’s already looking over at me, her gaze instantly locking with mine.

“Hey,” she calls out, walking halfway across the yard before stopping.

“Hey,” I say, standing and making my way toward her. I watch as her eyes widen, her body stiffening ever so slightly. “Want a beer?” I ask, heading toward the fridge under the stairs.

Sage blows out a breath as she says, “Sure.”

I grab two Coronas, opening them before turning back to her. “How was your night?” I ask, handing her a beer and making my way back to my open porch.

Sage follows me, sitting in the chair next to mine. “Good, fun. Alana’s roommates are really nice.”

Chuckling, I glance over at her. “You met Daisy and Sloane?” I ask.

“Yeah,” she replies with a nod. “Why’d you laugh at that?”

I shake my head, letting out another laugh. “Nah, it’s nothing. Just those three can be a lot all at the same time.”

Sage smiles at that as she says, “Yeah, I can see that. Alana is like non-stop. She’s really great and super friendly, but is she ever not excited or bouncing with energy?”

“Nope,” I tell her, taking a sip of my beer.

“I kinda still can’t believe you two are actually friends,” she now says, an almost playful smile on her face. “You are so different.”

“I know,” I reply with a laugh. “But you think I had any choice in the matter?”

Now it’s Sage laughing. “No, I guess not. So what did you get up to tonight? Did you go for a surf?”

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