Page 31 of Tides Of Your Love (Riviera Shores #3)

Owen

I MISSED THIS.

The laughter. The food. How easy and natural it all was.

How easy and natural I was.

Everyone I loved was here.

Loved.

I tried not to think too hard about the word, but it dug its way in.

All of them. Including her .

Always have. All of them. Her, too.

Just not like that. Not like now.

Though maybe I always had, just without giving it a name.

Tonight should’ve been perfect. It was perfect.

Except for the part where we were right to keep this thing between Rio and me a secret.

And the part where hiding it didn’t feel right at all.

No one had noticed. And if they had, they probably would’ve been happy. That should’ve been a relief.

But it wasn’t .

Because when Simon’s eyes locked onto mine across the table, I knew he saw it. He knew. And he wasn’t happy.

No surprises there. Simon knew me better than anyone. He loved me like a brother, but he also knew exactly what I was like when it came to relationships. And I knew it too. He didn’t trust me. I wouldn’t trust me.

And the way everyone looked at me, it was obvious—no one thought I was here to stay.

Up until a few days ago, it had been obvious to me, too.

But no one had ever made me feel the way Rio did.

Yesterday, for the first time in weeks, my name was back in the Times sports section. A piece about me, about my future. A future I thought I’d be forced to let go of.

I would have clung to that as a sign of hope, even though I hadn’t heard a word from Coach Alden or the team’s management.

But now, hope wasn’t the only thing gnawing at me. Because hope was now looped with something else—doubt, unease, a weight against my ribs. If this was what I wanted, why didn’t it feel like the answer I’d been waiting for?

.

Wheaton's Wonder Never Ends

A leader in the locker room. A winner. A fighter. A symbol. Flashy, fast, deadly in dribbling and crossing. A goal-scorer, but just as brilliant at setting them up.

Maybe it’s the self-confidence, the mischievous smile, or the way the cameras love him—but Owen ‘Wonder’ Wheaton has always been a fan favorite.

For years, Wheaton made magic on the pitch. But his latest injury had fans fearing the worst. With Westbridge searching for his replacement, many assumed his career had quietly come to an end.

But sources suggest that Wheaton’s recovery is progressing. Though a full return remains uncertain, we should remember that even with an injury that has ended the careers of others—if anyone can make Wonder happen, it’s Wheaton.

.

“What’s going on?” Simon clapped me on the shoulder, startling me out of my thoughts as I stood on the porch, watching the girls play in the lit garden after dinner. Walter sat at the round mosaic table with Paula, drinking tea, their voices blending into the night.

I turned my head to look at Simon. I didn’t reply. It was clear from his tone and the look in his eyes what he was asking about. There was no point in lying, and I wasn’t going to lie when he asked me something straight out like that.

“So, there is something going on?” he said. “You and ... Rio?”

I compressed my lips into a thin line, looked away, and tried to slow the breath that left me.

“What are you doing, man?” he asked, forcing me to look back at him.

No one could overhear us. Simon glanced over his shoulder, making sure that Nicole and Rio were still in the kitchen, out of earshot.

“It’s not what you think,” I finally said, sounding like every cheating fucker in the world.

“Really? Tell me what you think I think.”

“With Rio, it’s different.”

“Different how? ”

“Different everything. What I feel. What I—”

“What you, what? When did this even start? Let me guess—you were bored all alone here with just her and Walter for company, so you took whatever was nearby.”

I should’ve seen that coming, but the blunt force of his words still knocked me off balance.

“That’s not how it happened.”

“Owen.” He just looked at me. Don’t bullshit me . He then clapped my shoulder again and steered us to the side of the house, away from everyone.

“I’m not bullshitting you. She and I ... we go back a long way. We’ve been friends forever. She’s not some rando.”

He huffed a half-scoff, clearly mad at my word choice.

“That’s not what I meant. I just mean that it happened ... organically.”

Simon’s expression turned flat. “What the fuck are you talking about? ‘Organically’ ... only because you came here, and you only came here because you were injured. It wouldn’t have happened if your knee was still functioning.

You’d still be there, not messing around with her here.

So don’t give me ‘organically.’ You and I are better than this. ”

I ran a hand over my forehead, searching for words. I didn’t have them ready because, for days now, I’d been trying not to form them.

“There are plenty of women around who would love to fuck a superstar.”

“Don’t make it cheap, Simon. It’s not like that. I get that you’re mad, but it’s not like that at all.” My frustration flared, shifting from embarrassment and guilt to something closer to anger.

“So how is it? Why don’t you tell me? Because I know you, Owen.”

“It’s different with her,” I repeated. Other words formed in my mouth, in my heart, but Simon couldn’t be the first I’d tell them to.

Simon’s face didn’t change. “What does that even mean, Owen? Giving her a good time and some attention isn’t enough. Rio is not a Bambi, or a Gwen, or a Tabitha, or a Chiara, Ornella, Pilar, or Irma.”

I almost laughed. He’d just rattled off more names of my past flings than I could remember myself. But if I so much as cracked a smile right now, he’d probably break my jaw. I couldn’t charm my way out of this .

“You’re right,” I said. “She’s different because none of those women ever meant anything to me. She always has.”

I wanted to say that now, she meant everything. But I didn’t think he’d believe me.

And his next question proved why.

“Okay, good. So, are you planning on staying here?”

“I’m thinking about it. It’s not like they renewed my contract.”

Simon’s face hardened. “You see? That. Right there. If they had renewed your contract, you would’ve been out of here yesterday.”

I bit the inside of my lip. “I don’t think so. I would’ve still ...”

“Still what? You can’t even say it.”

“You’re blindsiding me with this, Simon. Rio and I haven’t even discussed any of this. ”

Simon let out a long breath, and the way his expression tightened made it painfully clear that every syllable of Rio and me in the same sentence sat like a bad taste in his mouth. I couldn’t imagine his reaction if he found out about that night years ago.

“She came out of a relationship I wasn’t too crazy about,” he said. “And I know she wants something solid. Good. Lasting. You’re not it.”

He gave me a look that said you get that? —two brows raised, a quick forward nod.

Rage burned through me. He killed it before I even had the chance to fight for it.

“First of all, you don’t get to tell her what to do,” I said, my voice rough. “Second, I’m thinking about a way where I can still play and be with her.”

“You’re thinking about a way ?” His voice dripped with disbelief.

“Going back to England and keeping her on a backburner here, yeah? Do you hear yourself, mate?” He paused for a second.

“She doesn’t want a half life.” He let out a sharp breath.

“Owen, I love you like a brother. And as such, I’m telling you—don’t practice relationships on my sister. She doesn’t deserve that.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

“You know what? I believe you.” His voice quieted. “Because you have no fucking idea what you’re doing. You just rolled with whatever felt right at the moment. But moments change—faster than you think.”

He speared me with his gaze. “And if this goes wrong in any way, we’re done.” And with that, he turned and left me there .

I realized then that even staying here, staying with Rio, meant that if things ever went wrong, I wouldn’t just lose her—I’d lose them both.

A second later, I heard his voice shift to something cheery as he rejoined the others for dessert.

Rio’s voice rang out as she came outside with Nicole.

“Where’s Owen?” she asked.

It was a simple question. Innocent.

But standing here, my chest still tight from Simon’s words, it felt like something else. Like she’d just unknowingly proved his point.