Mrs. Wells puts a hand to her chest. “Goodness! It’s a miracle you were found.”
Gio nods, swallowing hard. Everyone’s thoughts drift back to that day and the rescuers who were more interested in our gold than our survival, but Gio doesn’t tell that part of the story.
“We were only able to recover a small portion of the treasure, and of course, we lost the boat. By the time we made it back, I’d lost my apartment, and I’ve been too weak from surgery to find a new place yet. But I intend to sell the gold we found and buy a new boat so we can go back for the rest of the treasure.”
Mrs. Wells looks at Gio then stares at her lap for a moment, smoothing her skirt, before finally speaking. “Well, Mr. Romano—”
“Please, call me Gio.”
Mrs. Wells gives an uneasy smile. “Gio, while I can certainly understand the struggles you’ve had and appreciate your plans for the future, I’m not sure the Department of Social Services will consider a proposed treasure hunt a legitimate source of income. Plus, you don’t have a home yet, and they’ll want to see that. And what do you intend to do with Bella when you’re out at sea? We can submit the paperwork if you’d like, but I’m afraid they will most likely deny your request for custody.”
Gio looks like he’s just been slapped — shock and disappointment turn to anger as he digests her words. When he glances at Bella, her frown makes him even more upset. He stands up and starts pacing, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists as he fumes. Everyone watches him cautiously, all of us silently begging him not to lose his temper. A dozen angry responses pop into his head, but he grits his teeth and doesn’t let any of them come out.
Eventually, he sits back down on the couch. “Look, if I can get my shi— self together and get a house, get a normal job, then will you let me have Bella?”
Mrs. Wells blinks a few times and slowly says, “I think the DSS would look more favorably on that, yes, although a single man with an unstable history is still not an ideal candidate. Raising a child alone is a big responsibility.”
“Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do. I don’t need to be a treasure diver. I can be a desk jockey for a few years. No big deal. Bella is more important to me.”
I can tell I’m not the only one who feels the pain of Gio’s dream floating out of reach. On impulse, I jump in, trying to save it and my place in his life.
“You don’t have to give up diving, Gio, and you won’t be alone. I’ll be there to help, and I can take care of Bella when you’re traveling,” I blurt out. Everyone turns to gawk at me, but it only takes Gio a moment to recover from his shock and run with the idea.
“Yeah, that’s right. Coral was planning to move in with me.” The guys tense at this, but nobody contradicts him. I have a feeling they’ll be fighting about this later, though.
Mrs. Wells raises an eyebrow and looks me over, and so does Bella, both suddenly curious about me. “We’ll need to do a background check, of course, but I think having a partner to help you with parenting would be a benefit.”
Gio’s eyes widen, and he gulps, and the guys glance worriedly at each other. I don’t know what a background check is, but it obviously has them all nervous. They’re all silent for several moments, desperately trying to think of an excuse to avoid it.
“Why don’t you work on finding a place to live, and we’ll meet again when you’re ready to start the application process?” Mrs. Wells stands and heads for the door, and Bella follows. Gio scrambles after them.
“Wait! You’re leaving? Can’t you stay for a little while so Bella and I can visit?”
“Maybe we can set up another time for that… if Bella wants to.” Mrs. Wells gives her a concerned look. “The child’s best interest is always our first and foremost concern when making decisions like this, Mr. Romano.”
Gio’s face falls as if she had hit him. It takes him a few moments to lift it again. When he does, he stares at Bella, begging her with his eyes to give him a chance.
“It was good to see you again, Bell. I missed you more than you can imagine. Just know that I care about you and love you, okay?”
Bella tugs on her shirt and looks around the room, trying to avoid eye contact, but eventually her gaze lands on his face. She can’t help but be drawn in by his look of concern. “I missed you, too, Gio. I’m glad you’re okay.”
She reaches out and gives him a tight hug before quickly pulling away. When Mrs. Wells open the door, Bella darts out into the hallway, not looking back.
Chapter 13
As soon as Gio shuts the door, he slumps against it and slides down to the ground. “Shit. That was seven levels of messed up.”
Jude hovers over Gio, hands on his fists, face scrunched in anger. “What the hell were you thinking, telling her that Coral was going to move in with you? And now she wants a background check? They’re going to think she’s an illegal alien and try to deport her!”
“Yeah, she never said she was gonna move in with you, she just said she’d watch Bella for you!” Avery adds.
Liam is clearly upset, too, but he doesn’t say anything, just stands there scowling, his brain working to figure out a solution.
“Don’t yell at him! You should be mad at me, not Gio!” I say, kneeling down beside him and putting a hand on his leg.
I glance between him and the others. “I’m sorry. I was only trying to help, but I think I made things worse.”
“It’s not your fault, Coral. I appreciate what you did,” Gio says, and the others murmur in agreement, their anger dampened some.
Gio reaches out and pulls me into his lap. I flinch, worried about his incision, but he doesn’t seem to be in pain, so I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his head down, pressing his forehead to mine. He’s warm and sweaty, and his strong, masculine scent fills my nose. I breathe deep, savoring it.
After a few deep, shuttering breaths, Gio lifts his head and smiles at me then moves to get up. I climb out of his lap and stand. “One problem at a time, right guys? Today, we need to go sell some gold. We’ll worry about the rest of it later.”
I’m afraid that they won’t want to spend the day together now that I’ve upset them, but the guys get ready to leave, so I guess the plans are still on. Every time the guys fight, I’m terrified that what we have will come crashing down, but thankfully, they haven’t given up on our strange group yet.
“I’ve been researching gold buyers in the area and the current market value, so I know what to expect. I’d like to get quotes from a few different places before we sell,” Liam says as we pull out of the parking garage and onto the street.
There isn’t a handle to hold onto in Liam’s car, but Jude and Avery are pressed up against me in the backseat, so I don’t have room to slide around, and Liam drives a lot slower than Jude does.
“Ooo, can we get some tacos on the way? I’m starving.” Jude sticks his hand between the front seats and points at a place.
The others mumble their agreement, so Liam pulls into the parking lot. The building looks like dry sand, with a wavy, orange roof and patterned squares around the windows. The sign in front is a giant man’s face with eyes squinted above a wide smile. He’s wearing a large hat with a striped band around the middle and small, different-colored circles dangling from the brim. Tito’s Tacos is written across the top of the hat.
I follow the guys inside where fast music vibrates around the small space and the delicious smell of sizzling meat assaults my nose, along with other spicy scents. The room is crowded with tables full of people. A woman dressed all in black greets us with, “Table for five?”
Gio turns to us. “Hey, you guys wanna sit outside? It’s really nice, and I’m sick of being cooped up in that apartment all day.”
I nod along with the others, realizing that I do miss feeling the warm sunshine and the soft breeze. The woman grabs a stack of shiny, flat rectangles and leads us through the busy restaurant and out the back door to a round table with a metal pole in the center. Striped fabric
blooms out from the top of the pole, shielding us from some of the bright sun.
Groups of people sit at some of the other tables, and I tense, wondering what they’ll think of me with all these guys. I know now that it’s not normal for a human girl to have four mates, but is it okay to have several male friends? The guys don’t seem too worried about what other people are thinking, so I try not to let it bother me.
“Here’s your menus.” The woman hands each of us one of the rectangles. It’s covered in pictures of food I’ve never seen before. The guys are busy moaning and talking about how good everything looks and what they want to get, so I flip through it for a moment, reading some of the descriptions, trying to pick something. But I have no idea what most of it is, and panic starts to rise up in my chest.
Will I always feel so lost in this world? Picking out what to eat should be simple, so simple they guys don’t even check to see if I need help. I know they’re more than willing to help me, but I don’t want to rely on them for every little thing. Maybe I should just pick something and hope that it’s okay.
I jab my finger at a random item and try to read the description so I know what to ask for, but I don’t recognize most of the words. I’ve learned a lot of their language, but every day I realize how much more I still don’t know. Eventually, I slap the menu closed. I’ve lost my appetite, anyway.
Jude notices and says, “Did you find something that looks good? What are you going to get?”
I push the menu away with a scowl. “I’m not hungry.”
“What? The smell alone is enough to make my stomach growl. Their food is amazing, Coral. You gotta try something.”
I throw up my hands and speak louder than I intend to, drawing the eyes of the people around us. “I don’t know what to get! I don’t know any of these words! It’s like they’re not even English!”
Jude’s face splits in an unexpected smile, and he starts chuckling. I gawk at him. “You’re right, they’re not. Most of them are Spanish. It’s a different language. I’m sorry, Princess. I should’ve offered earlier. Would you like me to order something for you?”
“Yes, please.” I sigh and look up at him with gratitude, my frustration dissolving. “Do you know Spanish?”
He smiles and drapes his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. “Sure, I can say taco, burrito, enchilada, quesadilla — all the important words. But I’m thinking fish tacos might be your thing. I’ll get you a variety so you can decide what you like best.”
On the other side of me, Avery frowns and puts his hand on my leg under the table.
A short, thin, young man with bronze skin and dark hair shows up a moment later and glances curiously between me and the guys, wondering about us, even though Jude is still holding me like I belong to him. He sets a basket full of yellow triangles and a bowl of thick, red liquid on the table and says, “Hola, my name is Juan. I’ll be your waiter today. Are you ready to order?”
The guys take turns telling him what they want, and Jude orders for him and me.
“Margaritas are on special today. Can I bring you a round?” the waiter asks.
“Do you want to try a margarita, Coral? They’re really good.” Jude looks at me, and the others scowl at him.
“Does it have alcohol in it?”
Jude chuckles. “Yeah.”
“No, thank you.” I wrinkle my nose and shake my head, and the other guys laugh.
When the man walks away, he’s thinking that Jude is lucky to have a girl like me and stupid to bring me around all these other good-looking guys. When I chuckle, Jude quirks an eyebrow at me. “What’s so funny?”
“That man is trying to decide if I’m with you because I think you’re the best-looking,” I whisper, grinning.
“Ha! He better believe it! I am, right? I mean, who can compete with this fine physique?” Jude runs his hands playfully up and down his torso.
“You’re definitely not the best looking, but you are the only one rude enough to act like Coral belongs to you when we’re all out in public together,” Avery hisses at him.
“You’re just jealous cuz I made the first move. You should’ve been faster.” Jude kisses me on the cheek to rub it in.
“Don’t you think you should let Coral decide if, when, and by whom she wants to be claimed? Maybe she doesn’t want any of your hands all over her when she’s trying to enjoy her lunch.” Liam purses his lips and wrinkles his brow.
“I don’t really mind.” I shake my head, trying to get them to stop fighting.
Gio drops a fist on the table, rattling it. “Look, if we’re going to do this, whatever this is, we need to set some ground rules. We’re not going to go around fighting over her all the time. I say, when we’re out together, nobody touches her. We act like we’re just friends.”
I don’t like that idea, but I can see how it might be for the best. The last thing I want is for the guys to be fighting, or for me to have to choose one of them and risk hurting the others.
“What about when we’re in private?” Avery asks.
“Then we can do whatever we want and nobody gets mad, as long as Coral is okay with it. And if you want to take her out alone somewhere, you ask her and let her decide if she wants to go. Got it?” Gio’s face is serious enough that no one dares argue.
“What about our families? I’d like to introduce Coral to mine someday, and your sister already thinks she’s your girlfriend,” Jude says.
“Since Bella thinks Coral is my girlfriend, if she’s around, I need you guys to back off. I sure as hell don’t want my little sister to know we’re passing Coral around like a bag of potato chips. I’ll do the same if any of your family comes around and you’ve told them you’re seeing Coral.”
The guys seem to agree to Gio’s plan, although his menacing glare doesn’t give them much choice. By the time Juan returns, the tension has dissipated, and Jude is encouraging me to try the chips and salsa.
My eyes bulge when the waiter sets a steaming plate in front of me holding more food than I could eat in a week. Jude shows me how to pick up a taco and hold it sideways so I can take a bite. I have trouble pinching it closed, and half the insides fall out, but I enjoy the flavor, and everyone else is making a mess, too, so I don’t feel too self-conscious.
“What do you think, Coral? Do you like it?”
I nod around a bite of taco. “What did you call this again?”
“Fish tacos, or tacos de pescado, if you want to say it in Spanish.”
I repeat the words under my breath a few times, committing them to memory, feeling better about myself. I like fish tacos, and hamburgers, and French fries with ketchup. The next time I’m at a restaurant, I’ll just ask for one of those.
Back in the car, Liam drives us to a store with big, yellow letters across the front that say, “WE BUY GOLD.”
Liam lays a hand on my shoulder once I’m out of the car. “Coral, don’t say anything in here, okay? Leave the talking to me.”
My cheeks flame as I remember the trouble I started when I told our rescuers about the gold we had found. Obviously, Jude is worried I’ll say the wrong thing and get us into trouble again. He’s probably right. Every time I open my mouth, I say something that threatens everything I’ve gained.
I clutch Liam’s arm when another worry hits me. “Are the people in here dangerous?”
He shakes his head. “No, this is a reputable dealer. Everything should be just fine.”
I gulp and nod, hoping he’s right. I want to take his hand, but we agreed not to touch each other out in public, so instead, I just hover as close to him as I can, craving his presence.
The store is big and open, with bright lights shining on glass cases full of objects. The guys approach the counter and say hello to a big man with a thick, gray beard and heavy, gold jewelry. He reminds me of James Hendricks, the boat captain who rescued us but also threatened me and tried to steal our gold. His eyes widen greedily when Gio pulls the shiny, gold bar out of his bag. I tense and
can’t resist grabbing onto Liam, digging my nails into his skin.
“It’s okay, Coral. It’s not the same guy.”
I stare at the contents of the glass cases, trying to force myself to relax, as the guys start discussing weights and prices, numbers that mean nothing to me. I’m quickly distracted by all the beautiful jewelry in the case — rings and necklaces, bracelets and earrings — made of gold and silver and sparkling with different colored stones. I wander farther away from the guys as I follow the trail of twinkling gems.
“See something you like?” I’m so mesmerized by one particular ring that I jump when Avery comes up behind me. I point to the ring with five different colored stones in a row.
“Wow, it’s like a rainbow, isn’t it? Really pretty. Would you like it? I’ll buy it for you.”
My face pinches. “No, Avery. I don’t want you to spend all your money on me.” It’s bad enough the guys have to take care of me and teach me so much, I don’t want them to feel obligated to buy me things.
“Coral, once we sell this gold, I’ll have plenty of money, and so will you.”
I have no idea how much money the gold is worth, or what that money can buy, but it seems to me like I shouldn’t waste it on frivolous things like jewelry.
Avery doesn’t argue with me, but he does take a long, lingering look at the ring after I move away.
We visit two more places, talking to people about the gold, and afterwards, the guys decide to go back to the first store. When the transaction is complete, the guys are practically vibrating with excitement. They hustle out of the store, grinning like merlings who’ve caught their first fish.
“Holy shit, can you believe we’re walking out of here with a hundred grand each? It doesn’t even seem real!” Jude grabs me in a giant hug, eliciting a yelp and then a giggle.
When Jude puts me down, Gio reaches out and wraps his arms around me. “Coral, this is all thanks to you. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Because of this, I can have a chance at getting Bella.”
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