His eyes blinked open, and he looked at me like I was a ghost.
“Why in the world would you be sorry about either of those two?”
I turned the wheel a bit towards the buoys, the boat reacting well to my actions. “It’s just that I know this summer’s been kinda rough on you with losing your best friend and your wife and I feel partially responsible.”
“Oh Rylie,” Antonio said, “You are most definitely not responsible for any of that. It has been a tough summer. But it’s not your fault. Kyle was a murderer. I vouched for him, and he nearly killed you. And my wife, well, let’s say, it’s been over for a long time. This was just the last straw. Neither of us was happy.”
“But you don’t seem happy without her either,” I pushed.
Antonio looked down at his boots. “For the past ten years, I’ve known exactly what my life would look like. That all changed overnight. I’m not unhappy because I no longer have my wife.”
“Did she end up leaving you high and dry like you thought she would?” I asked.
“You remember our first fight?” Antonio smirked. “She actually didn’t. Couldn’t. The judge ordered everything be split 50-50.”
“That’s good. I’m glad it worked out as well as it could have.”
“Rylie, do you realize you’ve been expertly maneuvering the boat for the past five minutes?”
I looked out at the water in front of us. The buoys were to my right. I had done one of the drills Greg taught us on the first day without so much as a hiccup.
“I did it,” I squealed.
“Don’t get too excited. You still have control over this boat,” Antonio said, but the smile on his face beamed with what I thought might be pride.
“Now you don’t feel like an idiot, do you?”
Irritation swelled in my belly when the thought of Garrett and raven-hair came rushing back. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“Sorry. But the boat helps, right?”
“I guess so.” It did help me forget. “Let’s go back in the coves and see if anyone’s catching anything.”
Antonio nodded. “You know, it’s not your fault men are idiots. And it doesn’t make you an idiot for trusting the wrong men.”
“It does make me an idiot for consistently going for the cheaters though.”
“Maybe you have a type,” Antonio said.
I turned the wheel and the boat effortlessly carved through the water back into Muddy Water Cove. “Garrett and my ex, Troy, were about as opposite as you could get.”
“From what I hear, Garrett was a bit of a tool on the boat ramp when you met him.”
These guys were worse with gossip than women. “I guess so. But other than that—and today—he was probably one of the nicest guys I’d ever dated.”
“Multiple personalities?”
“Carmen.” I shook my head.
“What?” Antonio held up his hands and shrugged.
“Who don’t you talk to?” I asked.
“Basically, nobody. Everyone loves me.” The cocky Antonio peeked through but was quickly replaced again with the one who seemed to be more caring. “I’m a good listener if you ever need to talk.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I scanned the shoreline of the cove, but there weren’t any fishermen. “You and Nikki are close too, right?”
Antonio shifted his weight from one foot to another. “We are friends.”
“Do you know why she hates me so much?” I asked.
“You’re not exactly nice to her,” Antonio replied.
“I’m not the bad guy here. She started in on me the minute we met.”
“And you didn’t help the situation.”
I reflected on my behavior. I may not have been super warm to Nikki, but I hadn’t been an outright jerk like she had either.
“One of you will have to make the first move in a positive direction. And I’m thinking it’s not going to be Nikki.”
“I don’t understand though. She’s the one who got the full-time position. She’s the one everyone loves. And she’s the one who’s dating Luke.” The last part slipped out before I could stop it.
Antonio tried to keep his face neutral at my outburst. “If this is about a guy, I don’t want to hear about it. Nikki talks enough about Luke. It’s all Luke this and Luke that. Luke isn’t paying enough attention. Luke stares at other women. Luke is just dating me to make Rylie jealous.”
“Wait. What?” I pulled the throttle back into neutral, and the nose of the boat dipped towards the water sending Antonio into the console in front of him.
“I shouldn’t have said that last part.” He steadied himself back on his feet.
“Is that what she really thinks?”
“That’s what she says everyone thinks. His co-workers, his partner, even her parents.”
“That’s beyond ridiculous. Luke’s not the type to use someone.”
“He probably isn’t doing it intentionally, Rylie. Men usually don’t. But deep down, if that’s what he’s doing—and I’m not saying it is, but if it is—he knows.”
I yanked the throttle in the backward direction because we were drifting into the shore and watched as the backside of the boat pushed through the water, its struggle mirroring the one going through my head. It was as if I were trying to herd a million thoughts and feelings with a snow shovel.
“Look. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but Nikki is threatened by you. Jealous even.”
I scoffed. “What does she have to be jealous of?”
Antonio shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “You really don’t give yourself enough credit, you know?”
“Nikki is practically a model. A rich model. Everyone here loves her. She’s good at everything she does. There’s really no comparison.”
I pointed the boat back to the dock across the lake and slammed the throttle down. Even if Antonio wanted to say something, I wouldn’t be able to hear it in the wind.
Did Luke really still want something with me? Was I really even considering something with Luke when I hadn’t yet officially ended things with Garrett? And what about Antonio? His manly façade had dissolved on the water. There was something endearing and almost sexy about that. He
