Page 39 of Tides of Love

“No. Unless it scares you that I could be killed by a shark?” That earned him a laugh. “We are passionate about our work. I can’t even imagine wanting that to change.”

“Mm… Did you get all your signatures?” Antonio changed the subject gently.

“Yes. The entire crew signed, several promised to come to the town hall, schedules willing, and… and we’ll see.” Lucky sighed.

“We’ll see it through.” Antonio wrapped an arm around him. It felt like partnership.

The house is a flurry of activity ahead of the town hall. Jack dusted green glitter gel along the part between Lucky’s dutch braids while Lucky freehanded green hearts on Aurora’s cheek. Serena had found a color to match Aurora’s neon green braids and decorated her own panda buns with green ribbons that she shared with Jack. Joe wore a bright green headband and allowed Jack to dust his eyelids with duo chrome green and gold eyeshadow. Even Teague collected his copious curls and braids into a low ponytail held by a green ribbon and wore a green shirt with the Marine Center’s logo printed on the back.

“Ready?” Jack asked as he finished off Lucky’s hair.

“As I’ll ever be.” Lucky sighed, grateful when Jack wrapped him in a hug.

Teague moved the final batch of premade signs into the Center’s van with Joe, “Alright kids, time to move out.” They all piled into the vehicle, practically vibrating with energy the whole drive over.

Hulltown, the capital of Paradise, was alight with town hall attendees. Lucky took a moment to center himself, pressing his fists to his eyes and counting backwards from ten. The air in the van was warm and just a little too sticky for comfort. Wind from the bay cooled the sweat on his brow as he climbed out. His sandals smacked against the concrete.

“Lucky, look!” Jack shook his arm, pointing at the people milling about the town square.

In the flier, they asked supporters to show up wearing green. He hadn’t expected many people to listen. He had been wrong.

Attendees had green wrist bands, green shirts, green hair ties. Someone even had a green top hat. Lucky tipped his head back. He would not cry and mess up the painted hearts on his cheeks right before the meeting.

“You alright?” It was a different voice, not his brother or his friends, but Antonio who stepped up behind him. Strong hands settled on his shoulders, looking down at Lucky with a worried expression.

“No.” He leaned into Antonio’s chest, “But better now that you’re here.” He could have said fine. Could have offered casual reassurance and a false bravado in the face of the executives and district leaders already gathering on the stage. But this wasn’t for them. This was for Antonio who searched his face with dark eyes and squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.

“Good enough.” Antonio pressed a kiss to his forehead. He released Lucky, drawing attention to the men and women of the SAR squad who wore their team shirts and looked eager to be there. “Grab signs and start handing them out!”

“I want to make these tie wearing assholes uncomfortable.” Lucky grumbled.

“Lucky, you should move to the front.” Teague stepped up, nodding to Antonio, “This is your fight, kid.” His dad pinched his nose and gave a deep, rumbling laugh when Lucky batted his hand away. “Don’t let them intimidate you. The entire island is on your side, alright?”

“I’ll make them listen…” Lucky agreed, hugging his dad tightly. He caught Antonio’s hand in his, looking up the alpha as he stepped back from Teague. “Come with me? You don’t have to but…”

“Of course.” Antonio brought Lucky’s knuckles to his lips, “I’m behind you every step of the way, cariño.”

They pushed through the crowd, smiling and greeting people as they went. At the front, Lucky looked up at the old wooden stage. Through Paradise’s long history, meetings were held at this square. First, the captains who founded the island held the first votes and heard complaints from their crew. Then the island was split into districts and representatives were elected. The first laws were discussed right where the stage stood.

History was in full effect—the people had a complaint, and the representatives were gathered to listen and discuss. What happened would send out ripples into the future.

Lyrica Beach set a precedent. Lucky needed to overcome it.

He almost laughed when he saw his grandfather waving at him. The old man with his long grey beard and laugh lines gave him a thumbs up from the stage.

“My grandfather.” Lucky nudged Antonio, gesturing.

“The representative from Rosaria, right? I’ve spoken with him before.” Antonio squeezed his hand, offering his own wave to the man on stage.

“Right, I keep forgetting which of us is actually famous.” Lucky teased, bumping his hip into Antonio. “We can guarantee at least one vote against the development project. Esmeralda also tends to vote island first. Lyrica Beach, Topacio, Hulltown, Rubí and Sapphira beaches, Verde Cliffs… Those I am uncertain about.”

“Lyrica Beach has plenty of reasons to not want a new resort and general development project to pull bodies away from them. The others really are hit or miss.” Antonio shook his head, “Unfortunately, the Verde Cliffs representative is likely pro-resort.”

“Yeah, she’s pro-development in general.” Lucky shrugged.

Before they could discuss further, a bell was rung several times to quiet the crowd and bring attention to the front. The representative from Hulltown stood in front of a microphone stand, fiddling with the height. “Thank you all for coming to the town hall! This is the second one of the year, but I am thrilled to see a much larger number of attendees than the one at the start of the year. As you all know, I am Alexander Dove and I will be leading today’s session.”

He paused, looking over the crowd. “I see many of you have heard about the development plan for Playa del Tesoro. We have invited speakers from the Imperial Resort chain to speak on behalf of their company and assuage any fears.”