Page 9 of Every Chance to Stay

A whistle made him look up, meeting Mateo’s amused face. “What?”

“You had a hell of a night.” Antonio turned towards the mirror pinned inside the door of Mateo’s locker.

His chest was littered with scratches and kiss marks. “Hah… I uh,” Antonio felt like a teen who got caught with a hickey. Mateo was staring at him expectantly and Antonio was at a loss for what to say.

“Good night or should I pretend I saw nothing?” Mateo’s expression slipped to concern.

Antonio shook his head. “No, no, nothing awkward.” He pulled on his uniform shirt, tucking it into his pants. “I decided to do some boating yesterday.”

“You mean sailing out and drinking yourself to a sunburn?” Mateo arched a brow, “That didn’t look like a sunburn unless you also got in a tussle with a mongoose.”

“Don’t even mention mongooses.” Antonio snorted, recalling Lucky’s words, “Last thing we need is tourists getting attacked by one. No, no injuries, just a rare encounter with an omega.”

Mateo followed him from the locker room to his office. “Someone’s being cryptic, come on Tonio, give me the details.” He closed the door behind them, eagerly taking a seat on the edge of Antonio’s desk.

“I met Lucky Wilde.” That drew an instant response. Mateo’s grey eyes went wide, jaw dropping.

“Lucky Wilde as in that Wilde family—?” Lucky teased about him being famous but there was no denying Lucky’s family were the real local celebrities.

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to keep the smile from his face. “Yeah, that Lucky Wilde.”

“Everything. I need to know everything.” Antonio laughed at Mateo’s excitement. It felt wonderful to share with someone. Not that he was even trying to keep it a secret, but it wasn’t like he could go around to the crew bragging about his night. He should discourage Mateo from staying late, but in moments like this, he was a little thankful Mateo was a workaholic.

“Misha’s going to send me an angry text for keeping you late.” Antonio teased, already dreading hearing from his friend’s spouse.

“Don’t care, spill.” Mateo crossed his arms and raised a brow expectantly.

Raising his hands in surrender, Antonio laughed. “I was intending to do as you said, soak up some sun and drink myself stupid but a distress call came over the radio. Not that the person sounded very distressed… Lucky’s boat broke down and he was stalled a ways from port.”

“Oh my god, were they filming something, did you meet our favorite shark man?” They’d spent a number of nights watching Teague Wilde educate the public on tiger sharks throughout the years.

“No, it was just Lucky. He was out swimming with orcas. When I saw him… Mateo it was like being struck by lightning.” Antonio didn’t care if he sounded besotted, he was. “He smells like saltwater taffy, the kind we made ourselves sick with as kids. And he has these curls; red and brown and gold all spun together like a sunset bleeding over water. With blue eyes! So blue I thought I would drown…”

“Mi amigo, your heart has been stolen by a siren.” Mateo shook his head in mock sadness.

“Not the worst thing.” He shrugged.

“So? What, you rescue the pretty princesa and he rewards you with a kiss?” Mateo pressed.

“No.” He snorted, “We talked a bit on the ride back, he entertained my inane questions about the local ray population and somehow that didn’t annoy him. In fact, he decided to invite me for drinks. We went to this little bar, ate and chatted and just… We didn’t want it to end. Before I knew it, we were home and he was kissing me.” His face felt hot.

“Which explains the scratches. A siren indeed, with claws and all.” Mateo’s laugh only made the flush spread down Antonio’s neck.

“He certainly sings like one…” He paused, “Actually, do you still have that video of your mother’s canaries?”

“My mother?” Mateo’s question was cut off as a siren blared through the station.

They both jumped. All mirth was gone from their faces. Before Mateo could snap into action, Antonio placed a hand on his friend’s chest. “You’re off the clock, Mateo. Go home.” When Mateo hesitated, Antonio shook him gently. “Go home to your spouse and send me a video of those little red canaries.”

With that, he rushed out to the crew, pleased as they poured into the rescue trucks. They moved just as he trained them. Over the radio, they took their orders to assist in the search of a tourist’s missing child who’d wandered off during a hike.

He could work up the courage to text Lucky later. For now, they had work to do.

7

Lucky

The first thing Lucky did after Antonio dropped him off at the marina was text his dad. The second thing he did was a happy dance in a circle, completely ignoring the people getting ready for a day on the water. He felt like he was floating.