Page 16 of Tides of Love

Antonio squeezed Lucky’s hand. “It won’t.”

“When you say it, it sounds like the truth, Captain.” Lucky rewarded him with that little laugh that made his heart flip over in his chest.

Unfortunately, the road didn’t grow any longer. The university came up before he was ready. He helped Lucky with the bags, setting them on the curb. “Don’t hesitate to text me. For this or just to chat… I might not respond right away but I promise I won’t leave you hanging too long.”

“Same to you, I’m only ever a text away.” Lucky cocked his head to the side, smiling. Antonio wanted to kiss him. It must have shown on his face because Lucky closed the distance between them. “All things considered, I had a good morning, Antonio.”

“That’s a relief.” Antonio cupped Lucky’s face, rubbing his thumb along Lucky’s cheek.

“Are you going to claim your after-date kiss then or…?” Lucky’s teasing smile as he pushed his sunglasses up to flash those gorgeous blue eyes at him was enough to make Antonio melt.

“Don’t mind if I do…” He didn’t need to be told twice.

“Bienvenido, how can I— Tonio?” Antonio dropped onto the office couch as Mateo looked up from whatever paperwork he was processing, groaning dramatically. “Weren’t you on a date? What happened, please tell me you didn’t already fuck it up…”

“No, no, not me. The fucking government is conspiring against me.” He sighed, staring up at the ceiling. He almost drove home. It was his day off; he had errands to run and laundry to do… But the idea of sitting home alone with his thoughts turned his stomach. As much as he scolded Mateo for overworking, SAR was more than just a job. It was more his home than the one he inherited.

“You’re gonna need to explain before I assume we’re staging the first coup in like three hundred years.” Mateo stood from the desk, dragging a chair near the couch. His friend was clearly eager.

“We went out looking for turtles, collected his camera, had a great conversation going… And then Evan from the Surveyors Office showed up. Turns out, someone wants to buy the beach Lucky’s turtles are supposed to hatch on. Something about the protective status not being filed. I don’t know, but it sounds like a mess.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a headache building behind his eyes.

“Oh… Oh.” That second sound had Antonio tilting his head to look at his friend. Mateo’s brow was creased, lips pulling a frown that tugged at the jagged scar cutting through his cheek and down his jaw. “Misha said the Melody Resort execs were in a fluff over some new competition. I wonder if it’s related.”

“Yeah… yeah that sounds about right. If he happens to say anything else…” He didn’t like prying into their relationship. Misha hated him enough for Mateo’s hectic work-life.

“We’ll see.” Mateo shrugged. “So, the date ended sour?”

“A bit. We had a nice chat in the car but… A land sale, Mateo. It’s Lyrica Beach all over again.” Antonio threw his hands up just to let them flop back to the couch. He felt useless. Worse than useless… He felt guilty.

“You need to let go of Lyrica Beach.” Mateo held a hand up before Antonio could launch into tired arguments, “You’re not your father. You’re not responsible for that sale, you were four.”

His father. The drunken official who approved several pieces of pristine beach to be sold off to private international interests. By the time the investigation happened, construction had started. The corruption was clear, but to stop construction would cost more money than Paradise could handle at the time. Lyrica Beach got its own representative for those corporate interests. None of which were more personally offensive than the sprawling Melody Resort.

“Thirty years is apparently enough time to forget the strife that all caused.” Antonio sighed, “And somehow, despite the odds, I’m involved.”

“I mean, you don’t have to be.” Mateo kicked the couch, “You could call it off with the beautiful and fascinating omega and continue on as our Captain while avoiding any and all political ventures.”

“Or?” Antonio prompted because that absolutely wasn’t an option.

“Or you face the future head on.” It sounded so simple when Mateo said it. “You’ve grown into an incredible man, Tonio. Don’t let ghosts drag you down. For all you know, you might be staring down your future.”

“My future…” Antonio huffed, “You’re quite the optimist today.”

“You caught me on a good day.” Mateo smiled wide, “But am I really wrong? If things go smoothly…”

“Except things aren’t going smoothly right now.” Antonio reminded him.

“Consider it an opportunity! You’re normally the optimist, Antonio. If you weren’t, we wouldn’t have this place, this team… Where’s our fearsome leader?” Mateo’s teasing made him laugh.

“Alright, alright… Keep my head up, yeah?” He could do that.

Hopefully.

11

Lucky

He felt numb. Despite the island heat, ice burrowed beneath his skin to make his teeth chatter unnaturally. Lucky moved on autopilot. He dropped off his SD cards into his research folder, plugged in all the batteries, and put the camera that had been knocked over on his desk with a sticky note reminding him to check it for damage.