Island Affair (Keys to Love #1)(15)
Behind him, the sandy beach and wide-open ocean created an inspiring backdrop. Sunlight glistened across the water in wavy ribbons. Off to the right, an old wooden walking pier jutted out into the water, and a friendly coed sand volleyball match was in full swing nearby. Shouts of victory accompanied the smack of hands punching the ball through the air.
Luis twisted the cap to break the seal on her water bottle but didn’t remove it.
“There you go,” he said, setting the drink closer to her. “You good?”
When he sat back on his bench, his unwrapped sandwich dwarfed in his big hands, she realized he was making sure she was ready to enjoy her meal before he started on his own.
“You are a wonderfully considerate person, you know that?” she told him.
The serious expression she was quickly coming to know as his default morphed into a confused frown. “That’s a bad thing?”
“Not at all. Simply an observation. And a compliment.”
His thick shoulders rose and fell in an easygoing shrug. “Any good manners or behavior on my part stems from my parents’ strict rules, and my mom’s chancleta.”
Sara chuckled as Luis mimicked the age-old threat of Hispanic mamás everywhere—a slipper clutched in hand, waving it in the air, ready to fling at the perpetuator of mischief if needed.
“My Mamá Alicia had a chancla, too,” she shared. “Granted, I never experienced a chancletazo from her, but I was around when that slipper found its mark if one of her sons misbehaved.”
Luis raised his brows and nodded as he took a bite, in obvious commiseration.
“And Mamá Alicia is?” he asked, once he’d swallowed.
“My nanny growing up. Well, more like a second mom, really.”
A wistful sigh blew through Sara’s lips as she recalled the woman who’d been there for pretty much every important moment. Especially the most life-changing ones.
“She was an incredible person,” Sara murmured.
“Was?”
“She passed several years ago. A brain aneurysm.” Sara ducked her head, blinking away the tears that still formed when she thought about that call from Pedro, Mamá Alicia’s youngest son. The mental battle Sara had gone through, working to not let the subsequent grief become another trigger. Something her mother had worried about as well.
Luis’s warm hand covered hers on the table, startling Sara out of her sad memories.
“It’s never easy when a loved one dies. I’m sorry for your loss.”
His earnest tone was a balm easing her sorrow. Quieting the rush of loss cresting through her. More than likely this was a skill or gift he relied upon to calm victims when responding to emergencies at work. Now his tender, sympathetic nature soothed her.
“I bet you’re great at your job,” she blurted out. “Like firefighter of the month all the time, right?”
He pulled his hand back, a grimace chasing away the kindness from his tanned face. Silly, but now that it was gone, she realized she liked the comforting weight of his hand over hers. The light brush of his thumb across her skin.
“I’m not sure my captain always agrees. What makes you think that?” he asked.
“For being such a tough guy, you’ve got a compassionate, protective nature. It’s nice.”
An embarrassed flush climbed his cheeks. His gaze shifted away, tracking a car that passed behind her.
That small vulnerability, his honest humility, made him all the more likable.
Not for the first time, Sara considered herself lucky for running into Luis Navarro. After her string of crappy dating experiences in recent years, Luis was a refreshing reminder that there were still some good fish in the proverbial sea.
Useful info for when, more like if, she decided to eventually dip a fishing pole in the water again. After this debacle with Ric, concentrating on work seemed like a safer bet.
On that thought, Sara picked up half of her Cuban mix and angled it against the other half to better show off the ingredients inside. Melted Swiss cheese blended with rows of dark roast pork and lighter ham. Green dill pickles and a slathering of yellow mustard added a dash of color in between the doughy white Cuban bread. Leaning away from the table, she ducked down, eyeing her food. At the same time, she reached for her cell and thumbed the screen to activate the camera app.
“You’re missing out on a tasty meal,” Luis said, before taking another he-man-sized bite.
Sara cut her gaze over to him, marveling at the fact that in just a few bites nearly a quarter of his sandwich was already gone.
“I’m taking my time,” she answered. “The better to savor it. Unlike someone else I know.”
A full-mouthed humph answered her.
The typical tough guy grunt had her smiling. Pleasantly surprised at the sense of ease she’d found with him.
There’d been a moment, back in his truck, when he chided her about eating her food, that had sent a trickle of unease dribbling down her spine. Just as quickly, she realized his focus was on simply enjoying the moment, not her actual lack of food consumption. There was no need to let her personal issues color his words.
Even before Ric had dropped his no-show bombshell, she’d been feeling the stress of a week with her family. Second-guessing her decision to introduce Ric to everyone. The two of them hadn’t been clicking for a while. Probably because she had ignored the fact that he was more her parents’ type than hers. More suitable as part of a power couple, rather than capable of making a real, honest connection with someone.