“There were two boats in the harbor,” she pointed out. “I mean, besides the local fishing boats.”
He nodded, tucked her arm through his and started walking again. “Sometimes there are more hotel guests coming in from St. Thomas than usual.”
“No cruise ships are allowed to stop here, right?”
He glanced at her. “How did you know that?”
Well, because when she found out that Rico had bought land on Tesoro with the intention of building a hotel, she’d spent a lot of time researching the island. She’d wanted at least to know what he was doing and where he would be living—even if she couldn’t be with him. Which was how she had known that Melinda’s grandfather owned the island outright. And that it was one of the bigger privately held islands in the Caribbean.
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?”