Walter liked keeping his island as private as possible, but he also was aware that the shopkeepers needed to make a living. So he’d compromised and allowed small ships to bring in tourists to stay in the hotel and give the islanders a steady income while at the same time protecting Tesoro from being overrun with too many people.
When she first read about him and his stubborn refusal to welcome cruise ships, she had thought the older man was shortsighted, not letting his island progress. But looking at the village now, she could appreciate his decision. She imagined these tidy streets jam-packed with crowds of people—snapping pictures, drinking too much, dropping trash on the pretty streets—and actually shuddered at the mental image. Walter had been smart to protect this place.
Now, to answer Rico’s question, she hedged a little. “I read up on the island when I found out my father and brother had come here.”
He scowled at her and she was sorry to see that bringing up her family had instantly soured his mood. But better that than letting him know she’d been keeping tabs on him for years.
“I admit, I was surprised that your family chose to come here for a ‘job.’” Rico started walking again and Teresa kept pace. “It’s a small island—thieves are spotted more easily, and, as it turns out, caught more easily, as well.”
True, her father’s ego would be bruised for years over Rico actually catching him. Police departments all around the world had been trying and failing to do it for years.
But Rico was different. As tenacious as he was, she had known that coming into contact with him again would bring disaster down on the Corettis. Which was exactly why she had warned her family off. Rico King was nobody’s fool. His eyes were too sharp to miss anything and he wasn’t one of those wealthy types who only occasionally stepped in to keep an eye on what belonged to him. Rico was hands-on. He would know everything happening with his properties.
Especially since he’d been robbed himself, he was on a higher alert than most people would have been.
Still, she hadn’t been all that surprised when her father and brother had come to Tesoro.
“My father enjoys a challenge,” she said, and couldn’t help the small smile that curved her mouth. Whatever else Dominick Coretti was, he had always been a warm and loving father.
“He should try not stealing then,” Rico told her flatly. “Give himself a real challenge.”
“Don’t think I haven’t suggested it.” Teresa lifted her face into the wind and sighed as the cool air slid past. “But…”
“Once a thief, always a thief?”
Teresa let that statement go because it was pointless to argue with him about the Coretti family business. He would never understand the centuries-old legacy that Dominick was so determined to keep alive. Teresa’s worry was that her father wasn’t getting any younger and perhaps his skills weren’t as good as they had been once—though she would never suggest such a thing to him in person.
She didn’t want to see her family in prison, though. And heaven knew the Corettis had more than enough money to retire. It wasn’t, she thought, the actual stealing that her father loved so much as the adventure of having every day be a different one. Of finding a way into a heavily guarded estate. Of out-thinking security parameters and disabling electronic surveillance equipment. He liked pitting himself against an adversary, so thinking of a way to get her father to hang up his black gloves was going to be difficult.
That was a problem for the future, though. She only had a little more than two weeks left with Rico. She could spend that time arguing with him over the Coretti family business…or she could simply enjoy what she had while she had it.
“Oh, my.” She stopped dead in front of a shop window, drawing Rico to a stop, as well. “How beautiful.”
In the jewelry shop window, on a bed of black velvet, sat rings, bracelets, earrings and necklaces, all set with blue-green stones that Teresa had never seen before. They shone in the sunlight like pieces of the sea, trapped forever in settings of gold and silver. Pure avarice struck her and the Coretti legacy reared its ugly head as she curled her fingers into her palms to keep from trying to grab them all right through the glass. “They’re beautiful.”
“They are.” Rico stood beside her, but in the reflection of the glass, she saw that he was looking at her, not the jewelry. “They’re Tesoro topazes. The gemstone is found only on this island.”
“So jewel prospecting is a pretty good job on this island, then?”
He laughed shortly and she suddenly found his eyes even more appealing than the glittering stones and precious metals spread out in front of her. “Occasionally a hotel guest will stumble on a find while out for a hike. But the islanders know where to look for the best stones.”
“It would be fun,” she mused as her gaze swung back to the shop window. “Like a treasure hunt.”
“The jewelry you see here is Melinda’s work,” he said after Teresa spent another minute or two practically drooling on the glass.
“Melinda?” Teresa looked at him.
“She makes the jewelry and it’s sold here.”
“She’s incredibly talented,” Teresa murmured. “And I think I’m more than a little envious.”
“On the other hand,” Rico told her, capturing her hand in his again, “you are a chef and Melinda is a miserable cook. So for survival’s sake, I would choose your gifts over hers.”
A flush of pride and pleasure filled her and just for a second or two she allowed herself to fully enjoy the look in his eyes and the warmth of his hand in hers. But even as she watched, the gleam in his eyes faded slightly. So she spoke up and kept her tone light.
“Well, then,” Teresa said with a half smile. “Guess it would be pointless to buy her that lovely bracelet as a new-mom present. I mean, since she made it.”
“True.” He pulled her hand through the crook of his arm and steered her along the street after she gave one last look at the shop window. “When Sean and Melinda became engaged, he bought her a ring and only later found out that she had made it herself.”
Teresa laughed at the image and enjoyed the fact that just for now, they were smiling together. Taking a walk, enjoying the day, as if reality had taken the day off. It was almost as it had been five years ago. But, of course, it couldn’t last.
When Rico’s cell phone rang, she felt a quick flash of annoyance. Just when things were going so well. She stopped and waited as he glanced at the screen.