She looked at me with bewildered eyes and my heart almost broke. “We … need … I can’t do this without you.”
One of the medics spoke up. “We could use some medical glue to hold the wound together. It’d be temporary but—”
I needed to take control of the situation. Lola could run the risk of infection or worse if she didn’t get her leg stitched up. I turned to the crowd. “Give us some privacy, please.” I held up a finger. “Just a few minutes.” I glared at Lola. “I need to talk to my wife.”
Everyone looked like they were being sent to the principal’s office as they slowly filed out.
When we were alone, I turned to her. “Get your ass up on that examining table now.” Her eyes shot daggers, but she did as she was told.
I removed Uncle Seth’s do-rag, threw it on the table and dragged both hands through my hair, my heart pounding. My blood nearly boiled over with the inappropriateness of what I’d done to Lola. “This is all my fault! Jesus Christ, I should’ve never asked you to marry me. I should’ve let you do your job. I could’ve figured out a way to come up with the money.”
I paced the small room, my heart banging in my chest. I tried to take a breath but couldn’t fill my lungs. “What’s wrong with me? Why did I think I could make this work?” I looked at her leg and felt like throwing up. My sweet Lola was seriously injured. The medics had bandaged the wound, but blood had already seeped through it and was dripping onto the sheet. Lola did not look well at all. Her face was pale, and I wondered if her blood pressure had dropped. I needed to get Lola to a hospital. Fast. I could fix things. I was a mechanic. I could make this right.
But my emotions went out of control because the truth was I’d messed up bad.
“I’m a big, fat, fucking loser. I should’ve been there to help Uncle Seth with the shop years ago, and then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
I pointed to the crowd. “I’ve got the whole world thinking you and I are happily married and that we’re the perfect little tandem couple.” My mind nearly drowned in terror thinking of how bad the accident could’ve been. “I’ve seen fins cut right through people’s skulls. Look at you. You can barely walk. You’re lucky that fin didn’t amputate your leg.”
Lola stared at me, not saying a word but I knew my Lola. Her breathing sped up, and I knew her heart was pounding underneath her wetsuit. Her voice was tight when she spoke, her lips flat. “So that’s how it is, Justice?” She gestured her hands wildly. “You’re just going to walk away? Go right back out there and jump on your motorcycle and go?” She slammed her hand down on the examining table. “I fucking knew it! You can’t commit to anything. All you care about is yourself. I want this too. Don’t my feelings matter?” She slapped her forehead. “I was so estupido to think I could fall in love with my soul mate when I was twelve. You know what Justice? I really thought you and I were meant to be. I really thought you were the love of my life.”
“No, Lola. You don’t get to talk to me that way. I should have never talked you into this scam.” My heart rate sped up as I realized just what I’d done. I had talked her into being with me, forced my love on her. Forced sex on her. “You were doing just fine before I came along.” I clenched my fists at my sides and took a long, deep, steadying breath. “I think we need to call this whole thing off and after the hospital, we’ll head back to La Fortuna. And when we get back, we’ll get a—”
She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “A divorce? Great. Give me the papers and I’ll sign them right this second. You’re nothing but a wishy-washy—”
At that moment, Lola’s phone rang. “Caralho!” She dug around in her backpack, found the phone and jammed it against her ear. “Yes. I’m fine, papai.”
Great. Lola’s father must have seen her wipeout on TV. What followed was a frenetic conversation between Lola and her father, most of it in Portuguese.
Finally, Lola handed the phone to me. “My dad wants to talk to you.”
I grabbed the phone out of her hand and cleared my throat. “Hey, Mr. Cortes.”
“It’s Dominick. Stop making me sound like I’m eighty-five. Now tell me what the hell’s going on out there. Lola wants to finish. Let her go back in.”
Nice to talk to you again too.
I let out a heavy sigh. “She can’t. You haven’t seen her leg. She took a bad hit and—”
“Listen to me! You can’t let her down. Stop treating Lola like a baby because she’s not a baby anymore. That daughter of mine is stronger than you think.”
“No disrespect Mr.—I mean Dominick.” I glanced at Lola’s leg and my stomach clenched. “Her leg’s already swelling. I’m worried about infection.”
“Did the medics say that?”
“No.”
“Then you do what I’m telling you. You get yourself back out there and win this contest.” He paused and then went right on, his Brazilian accent becoming stronger with emotion. “This competition is about more than money to Lola. She’s a fighter. Don’t make her go home with her tail between her legs.”
“But you haven’t seen—”
“I’ve seen plenty of surfing injuries. Lola’s my daughter. I talked to her, and if she says she’s okay, you need to trust her. She’s ready to go back in.”
I paced the small room; the phone jammed against my ear. “She may be your daughter, but she’s my … my girlfriend. I mean … dammit Dominick, Lola’s my wife!”
He let out a sharp laugh. “Your wife? Or are you just planning on winning the contest and going back to whatever the hell you do out there in California? Don’t screw up, Justice. She loves you, you know.”
His words stopped me cold.
The past six years whizzed through my brain.
How had I spent them?
Riding my motorcycle, surfing, drinking beer with my buddies, having meaningless sex. Pretending I could forget this fiery blond Brazilian who had captured my heart when we were so young. I’d been treating my life like it didn’t matter. Like love didn’t matter. Like I’d be here fucking forever.
I’d missed out on all those years with Lola.
We could’ve worked the business together, surfed together, laughed, made love, even started a family …
The thought of losing Lola filled me with an overwhelming sadness. I couldn’t disappoint her again.
I glanced at Lola’s expectant face. She was right. We needed to stick together.
God, I loved her. I would do anything to hear her laugh again, to win the contest, to give her a happy life.
But she was hurt. Physically hurt.
I sat down wearily and placed my head in my hand. “I … I love her too. I’m sorry I put her through all this. I messed up. I’ve embarrassed her, and now she’s hurt.” I nearly let out a sob when I thought about all I’d done to hurt Lola. “I’ll come up with the money to save the shop somehow. I’ll make sure Lola’s got everything she needs.” I whispered into the phone. “I should’ve never left her.”
“Are you done?” he said. “Because Lola told me they could glue that wound back together. She’s strong, Justice. If you truly love her, you’ll take her back out there.” He let out a small laugh. “Besides, I can’t wait to see Devin’s face when my daughter and son-in-law win.”
Son-in-law.
My dad had always acted like he and my mom couldn’t wait to have their own lives.
Uncle Seth, who was like a second father to me, was gone.
And now Lola’s father, who had taught me to surf, was welcoming me as his son-in-law.
I choked back tears when I thought about how much I loved Lola. I would create one hell of a beautiful life for her. I would be a great father to our children. Dominick was right. I owed this to her.
And Lola was right. We were a team. This was a tandem contest. We needed each other to win.
As worried as I was about her health, I needed to give us this chance. Dominick knew his daughter. They’d spent years surfing dangerous waves together.
This was my chance to make everything up to Lola.
“Can I help it if I’m overly protective?” I glanced at Lola, and a small smile played upon her gorgeous pouty lips. I tapped my fingers on my leg. “Okay Dominick. If you insist …”
I moved to Lola’s side, and she kissed me so passionately that the phone went flying out of my hand. I kissed her sweet lips, pried myself away, picked up the phone and said, “Bye Dominick! We’ve got a contest to win.”
“I’ll be watching you annihilate that jerk on TV.”
Lola placed her fingers in her mouth and, just like when we were kids, let out a big old wolf whistle. “Let’s go!” I reached for the doorknob to fling it open and Bobbie fell right into the room, her ear still stuck to the door.
The rest of the crew piled into the room, and I gave brisk instructions to the medics. “Get her patched up. We’ve got some serious butt to kick.”
Lola sat up straight on the table with a new enthusiasm, her face flush with excitement. She clapped her hands together and just like the twelve-year-old girl I’d fallen in love with, she chanted, “We’re going to win, we’re going to win, we’re going to win!” She addressed the medics as they held her leg still, concentrating on applying the medical glue. “Hurry up, guys.” She clapped her hands again. “We’re going to win!”
Bobbie jumped up and down and shimmied. “Hurry. You’ve got ten minutes before you forfeit.”
The medics worked furiously to apply the medical glue, and then they wrapped Lola’s leg tightly in bandages. “It’ll feel sore,” one medic said. He smiled broadly. “You’ve got spunk kid. Go get ‘em!”
I bent over and looked into Lola’s eyes. “I’m going to help you off the table.” I placed my arms around her and helped her down. “Walk around and see how it feels.”
I eased her off the table, and she limped, but I saw that fire in her eyes as she moved. Lola was a competitor. Together we would win.
“How’s it feel?” I said.
“Fantastic!” She raised her arms in the air. “Let’s do this.” She extended her arm. “Come on Justice, let’s show ‘em what we got.”
“Go kill ‘em,” said the other medic. He wagged a finger in her face. “Then I want you getting this stitched up proper like.”
Lola held up a finger to me and said, “Hang on a sec. I’ve got to tell Bobbie something.” And she leaned over and whispered in Bobbie’s ear. A broad grin spread across the young girl’s face, and she pushed her eyeglasses up her nose.
We walked out into the bright California sunshine, Lola limping alongside me.
The crowd broke into crazed applause as the announcer’s voice came to life. “If this isn’t the contest of the century folks. Will you look at who’s joining us for the finals? Justice and Lola Hamilton are back. And it looks like Lola’s got a heck of a limp. Lola, you okay there?” Lola gave a little salute. “She says she’s fine, folks. I think this calls for a good old Knight’s Ferry welcome.” He cranked the music, an upbeat dance ditty from The Beach Boys filled the airwaves. “Who will walk away with the grand prize? The Stonebreakers or the Hamiltons? This is going to be one helluva show folks. Get ready to rumble!”
We stood at the water’s edge, and Devin strode past us, Kristin trotting after him. “It’s your funeral, Justice.” They entered the wave pool and paddled like crazy, Devin’s muscles flexing with every stroke.
Papaw touched my arm. “Proud of you son.” He looked at his hands. “You might be needing this.” He handed me Uncle Seth’s do-rag, and I placed it over my head. “You got this, kiddo.”
Thirty-Six
Lola
Justice and I stood at the edge of the wave pool, and I stared into his sexy blue eyes.
The world stopped.
I heard the faint harmonizing vocals of The Beach Boys in the background and the wild applause of the crowd. Out of the corner of my eyes, everyone in the stands blurred and I felt the trickle of cool water tickle my toes.
He held my hand, gazed into my eyes and love flowed from my heart to his. “I love you, Lola.”
My throat constricted. He’d said those words so many times on our trip, but I never said them back. Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and I blinked them away. “I … I love you too.”
He grabbed the back of my head and pulled me hard into his kiss. Justice tasted delicious, like seawater and sex. Once again our kiss was broadcast on the jumbotron, and the crowd went wild. “Go, Lola and Justice!”
When we broke our kiss, we smiled at each other, and the smile he gave me was the same lopsided grin I remembered from the first time we’d met.
He held up his fist, and I held up mine. We bumped fists and then entered the wave pool.
I didn’t want to admit how much my leg hurt but it fucking throbbed. To hell with injuries. My papai had taught me to be a badass. Sometimes the pain was along for the ride.
I loved Justice. I loved how protective he was of me. He was only trying to keep me safe but if—when—we won the contest, life would be so much different. Justice would save the shop, and I’d quit the bank. But most importantly, I wanted to rub that annoying smirk off of Devin’s face.
The Beach Boys music faded to a low timbre, and the announcer said, “Get your cameras ready, folks because today at the Knight’s Ferry Wave Pool history is in the making.”
We sat in the lineup and Justice hugged me, his arms encircling my body, his breath hot on my neck. “You okay, babe?”
“If you ask me that one more time I’m going to knock you senseless.”
He squeezed my knee, and I felt the muscles in his body tense. I leaned against his muscular chest. A montage of our days together flooded back—Justice dancing the shimmy, Justice doing his crazy ridiculous worm on the dance floor, Justice forcing me to run another mile. Justice slapping my ass as he fucked me.
I think the endorphins surging through my body from the injury were making me loopy, but I had never felt so confident and ready to take on the world.
Devin and Kristin caught the first wave. Devin glared at Justice and mouthed the word, “loser.”
“Let’s kick his ass,” I said through clenched teeth.
Devin and Kristin got into position for their first lift. “What are they doing?” Justice said.
I watched as Devin lifted Kristin up and held her in a reverse knee stand. That was one of the easier moves. Kristin bent into a dramatic backbend and then, as the crowd gasped, he flipped her twice like a baton as Devin’s videographers caught every gorgeous move.
The announcer yelled, “Check this out, folks. Sweet move! It looks like Devin and Kristin are adding their own flavor to the finals. Let’s see what the judges do with this.”
The next wave came through, and Justice inhaled. “Remember what we talked about. One-leg shoulder stand.”
We paddled, stood up, and Justice said, “Here we go.” He hoisted me to his shoulders. But when I stood up for the move that would require me to stand on one of his shoulders, pain shot through my leg. Focus! Lift your bum leg and point your toes. The water rushed underneath us, and I forced myself to concentrate. Justice’s strong hands gripped my foot, and I gracefully arched my back, spreading my arms wide.
“Lola Hamilton’s one heck of an athlete,” the announcer said. “I hope the cameras are catching every second of this Cinderella story. What a comeback.”
A huge grin spread across my face as we rode the perfect wave. We ended our ride, and Justice gingerly eased me down. “Easy there, babe. Watch your leg.”
I laughed. “I know you love me, but quit treating me like a porcelain doll.”
“Plenty of spunk left, I see.” Justice kissed my cheek quickly. “Let’s get back out there and put this thing to bed.”
We paddled out to the lineup where Devin and Kristin sat. “I can beat you two with one hand tied behind my back,” Devin said.
“Stop being a jerk,” Kristin said.
Devin threw his arms around Kristin, yanked her
head around and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m never a jerk.”
She pushed him away. “Don’t kiss me!” Kristin pressed her lips together and said to Devin, “I’m not feeling so good. Maybe we should—”
“Win?” He patted her thigh. His devious smile was directed at Justice. “Don’t worry Kristin. We’ve got plenty of money. Who cares about that hundred grand? We’re winners. And after today, the whole world will see.”
The wave picked up, and Kristin’s face took on a tense look. “Come on, babe, let’s go.”
As we watched, Justice said, “Kristin looked sick to her stomach when he kissed her. What’s up with those two?”
I’d tell Justice about my confrontation with Devin later. Right now we had a trophy to win.
The announcer’s voice became animated. “Holy Toledo, the Stonebreaker’s are going for a high-scoring scorpion.”
The crowd broke into whoops, and I glanced up at the jumbotron to see Devin, cool as you please, steady his body, lift Kristin onto his shoulders, and pick her up in a flawless scorpion. Kristin’s thin, shapely legs curled over her head and the applause from the crowd was deafening. But then something went wrong.
Justice’s breath caught, and he exhaled all at once into my neck. “She’s gonna fall.”
Kristin’s legs, perfectly curled in a near backbend, did this herky-jerky thing as Devin hoisted her over his head.
“I don’t know about this, folks,” the announcer’s voice boomed. “It looks like the Stonebreakers might …”
And then Kristin completely lost her balance, her body jerking violently to the right. I think I even heard Devin yell out a few curse words above the din of the crowd.
The announcer’s voice said, “Holy heartbreak, Batman! The Stonebreakers are down.” The crowd let out a collective gasp as Devin and Kristin plunged into the wave pool, sending up ferocious spumes of water. Justice and I gawked as Devin’s head popped up, his face angry and red, his fists slapping the water in rage.
Justice sucked in his breath. “This is our chance, babe.” He gripped my leg. “Let’s do this thing.”
Riptide of Romance Page 24
