Page 33 of Tides Of Your Love (Riviera Shores #3)

Owen

I HAD PEELED THAT RED dress off her and let myself have Rio last night because I needed to feel something real. Something that wasn’t doubt, or fear, or the weight of everything I was on the brink of losing. I needed to feel her.

But Simon’s words—his anger, his disappointment, his ultimatum—were a boulder on my heart. And the guilt nearly had me keeling over in the morning. My knee was healing, or damn close to it, but the rest of me was a fucking mess.

It wasn’t just my career that hung in the balance. It was my best friend. The only real friend I’d ever had. And the only woman I ... loved.

I turned the thought over again. I loved Rio.

Always had, in some capacity. And now, because it was so different than anything I’d ever felt before for anyone, even her, I knew this was love—she consumed my every thought, every piece of my heart, my entire body.

If being in love meant being inside love, then I was deep in it with her, and I couldn’t even pinpoint when it started. Because maybe, in some way, I’d been in it with her all along. Since that very first moment.

But no matter how I looked at it, I was going to lose something.

For the first time in my life, I had more to lose than I knew how to handle.

And I was causing collateral damage all over.

Leaving her asleep, I sat down to breakfast with Walter.

He was nicer than usual, which was strange, but I didn’t question it. It helped. Especially since, outside of Simon and football, Walter was the only other constant in my life.

The view of the ocean on the way to my appointment settled in me.

Britain was an island, and I’d played in Mediterranean countries before, but I’d never been this close to the sea on a daily basis.

Here, it was everywhere. Right outside my balcony.

A few steps away for a jog. In the air, in my lungs, always there.

A reminder of how easy it was to take something for granted—until it was gone.

“I’m not paying by the hour, so you can stick to shorter sentences and tell me what you really think.” I leveled my gaze at the doctor, arms crossed as he flipped through the reports on his desk.

“Your scans look good.” He looked up. “Your physiotherapist says you’re working hard. With continued effort, you might be cleared for play.”

“Might be? I need percentages.”

“I can’t commit to those, but I’ll be happy to discuss it directly with Dr. Magnus. And Sir Alec if need be.” He went on to brag about two famous past patients .

Need a shovel for all the names you just dropped? I wanted to ask. Sir Alec owned Westbridge and one of the names he dropped had referred me here.

Standing on the sidewalk next to my parked Rover, I threw my head back and inhaled deeply.

Overall, this was good news. This was what I had worked for.

So why did I feel so fucking hollow?

I should have been relieved. And part of me was.

But another part—the twisted part—was almost glad that no team had reached out.

That no contract had landed on my lap. That, so far, I was spared making a decision.

As for my own team, I figured they didn’t need a thirty-seven has-been when they could sell my contract to a lower-level club and get a young, promising star for the same amount.

I’d kept my eyes on the literal ball for so long, that I lost sight of everything else. And for a moment, it felt like I had more. That it was possible to have more than I had ever dared to dream of, that I could let myself have more, and that ‘more’ would want me, too.

But in true Owen Wheaton fashion, I’d found a way to fuck it up. Because whatever I did—whoever I tried to protect—I’d end up disappointing someone. Rio. Walter. Simon. Definitely myself.

What the hell was I supposed to tell Rio when I still had no idea? And Walter?

Simon would be the only one glad to hear the hopeful news. And not for the right reasons.

So I decided to keep it to myself for now—not just the knee, but Simon’s ultimatum .

Because I loved Rio too much to put that weight on her shoulders. I knew she’d feel responsible if my friendship with Simon came to an end. And if that, in turn, damaged her relationship with him—I couldn’t bear it.

Because it wasn’t her fault, her responsibility.

It was all mine.

I wouldn’t ask her to choose between me and the people she loved.

So now, I had to keep a secret from her, too.

I had to, until I figured this out.

“If this goes wrong in any way ...” Simon’s words echoed in my ears all the way home.

The trouble was, I couldn’t tell right from wrong anymore.

MY PHONE BUZZED.

“Did you finish off the protein bars, or did Walter get to them first?” Rio texted.

A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. What’s it worth to you?”

I could almost hear her exasperated sigh. “Worth debating which flavors to bring this time, so you better make it up to me.”

The words sent a hum through my bloodstream, a flicker of warmth beneath the weight in my chest. She wasn’t thinking about Simon. About threats and warnings. About things I wasn’t telling her.

I tapped out a reply .

“I always do.”

What the hell was I doing?

I had no idea. Simon was right.

And that didn’t help. As it was, I had no idea what I’d do once Rio got home that evening. I wanted to act normal—as normal as the last few weeks had been. Now even that small piece of heaven felt tainted.

But when she stepped through the back door, her hug was the question, the answer, and the balm.

Brief but grounding. Arms around me. Her scent wrapping around me like it had every night. A quick touch of her lips, a hint of her taste before—

“Damn ungrateful slugs. I should salt them all,” Walter’s shuffling and muttering was heard from way too close, and a second later he appeared in the kitchen.

Rio managed to pull herself back from my arms on time.

I barely let her go.

“Oh, there you are.” Walter eyed the time on the oven clock like a man who had nowhere to be but still liked to keep track.

“Here I am,” Rio said with a smile. “But don’t get too used to me ‘cause I’m going to take a shower. I reek.”

I couldn’t repress a small smirk. She didn’t reek, her smell was intoxicating.

She headed upstairs, leaving me alone with Walter, who started grumbling about slugs again while crushing eggshells he kept especially to spread in his garden.

Maybe it was good that he kept me from going after her, because Simon’s metaphorical gaze over my shoulder still loomed .

“The doorbell,” Walter said.

“What?”

“The doorbell? Didn’t you hear it?”

I hadn’t noticed, too lost in the swirl of my thoughts, but at his words, I bolted toward the front door, hoping Simon’s shadow wouldn’t turn into him.

A pretty blonde with a mop of curls and a knowing smirk leaned against the doorframe, her blue eyes scanning me up and down.

“Ruby,” I said. She was familiar, and now that Rio had told me about her, I could see the girl she once was underneath. Now she was the kind of woman who made herself known the second she stepped into a room.

“Well, well, well,” she said, pushing herself off the frame. “The man, the myth, the football legend himself. Damn, you’re even better looking in real life.”

“Hi,” I said over a scoff, impressed she didn’t call it soccer.

She grinned, stepping past me without waiting for an invitation. “Relax, big guy. I’m not here for you.”

Walter, with a box of prunes in his hand, let out a chuckle. “I like this one.”

A chuckle and openly admitting he liked her? I should take notes from her, too.

“How are you, Walter? How are you two treating my Rio?” She threw herself onto a stool at the kitchen counter, her expression full of amusement.

At that moment, Rio came down the stairs. In a pair of denim cutoffs and a blue tee, she nearly took my breath away.

She skidded to a stop when she spotted Ruby. “Oh, shit. ”

“Yeah, oh, shit ,” Ruby echoed, narrowing her eyes playfully. “Why aren’t you dressed? And why do you look surprised to see me? It’s our regular night.”

“I ...” Rio bit her lip, then snuck a glance at me, realization dawning in her eyes. Her cheeks flushed. “It completely flew out of my head.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ruby said, not missing the glance and color change.

How Rio managed to keep a secret from her brother all these years was beyond me. At this moment, I was willing to bet that even Walter could read her like an open book.

“Well, I’m here, and you’re coming with me. Daphne and Evangeline are already at Shore Thing. Go get dressed.”

“Oh, it’s everyone tonight? I thought maybe it’d just be us.”

“I texted you,” Ruby said pointedly. “You said it was great.”

“Yeah. I love them.”

“Then get moving.”

Rio hesitated before heading back upstairs, throwing a final glance at me before disappearing up the stairs.

“So, Walter, which of your plants is your favorite these days? The purple Ice Plant you gave me flourishes in the back garden of the inn.”

The memory crept in before I could stop it. The Coral Bay Inn. Ruby’s family owned the place where Simon’s wedding was held.

Minutes later, Rio returned in a dress that made my throat go dry. Short. Fitted. Hugging curves that I’d memorized under my hands .

I forced myself to school my expression.

Ruby tossed her curls. “Alright, let’s go before Daph and Eve start texting.”

As Rio passed me, she let her fingers brush against mine in a fleeting, secret touch. One that sent a hot coil through my chest and from there down my body.

Then she was out the door.

And I stood there, probably looking like the trained chameleon I was—aloof. But inside I felt a twinge, like I was watching something slip right through my fingers.