If We Never Met

by Barbara Freethy

  "That would be lovely, but she's been struggling a little, so who knows?" Gianna paused, giving her a thoughtful look. "I'd love to know how you're doing, Keira, with everything that's going on, beyond the two-word text you sent saying: I'm fine."

  "I'm fine," she reiterated.

  Hannah gave a scoffing laugh. "No way you're fine."

  "Is there anything we can do to fight the lies that woman is telling about you?" Chloe asked. "I'm not usually on social media, but I could get on there and post something."

  "We all could," Gianna said.

  "No. I don't want any of you to do anything. It will blow over eventually, and the people I care about know the lies aren't true. I didn't break up Nikki and Dante, and I only met Nikki once a long time ago. I didn't betray my girlfriend."

  "Of course you didn't. You would never do that," Gianna declared. "The three of us know that better than anyone."

  She looked around her circle of friends and smiled, thinking of how many years they'd known each other, loved each other, supported each other. These women would always have her back, and she would have theirs. "Thanks," she said. "To be totally honest, though, there is something between Dante and me. There's an attraction, a chemistry."

  "Really?" Gianna asked, a new light in her eyes.

  "But," she added hastily, "it's not going anywhere. Dante is only in town for another two weeks. We're just going to be…friends."

  "Kissing friends?" Hannah asked.

  "Maybe," she conceded. "Let's not make a big thing about it. We're just going to have fun and that's it. And now that you know that, I hope you will not act weird around him when he comes on the boat with us later. I invited him. I hope that's okay."

  "It's more than okay," Gianna said. "And we'll be good."

  "I know you and Chloe will be good…" She gave Hannah a pointed look.

  "I'll be good, too," Hannah said dryly.

  "And I'm afraid I won't be there, so I'm going to expect a full report at some point," Chloe said. "I also want to say, Keira, that you should have some fun. Even when you think a relationship might last forever, it doesn't always make it." She cleared her throat. "Sorry, I took that a little too dark."

  "I vote for fun, too," Gianna said. "I spent way too much time trying to figure out Mr. Right, even accepting a few engagement rings along the way because I kept thinking I just wanted to get married. But all those guys were wrong. When I saw Zach again, I knew that I'd been trying to force something that wasn't there."

  "I have no words of wisdom," Hannah put in. "I just think Dante is hot and you're hot and you could be really hot together."

  She grinned. "I can always trust you to keep it simple."

  "Maybe he could be your plus one for the wedding," Hannah added, a sparkle in her eyes.

  "Stop obsessing over my plus one," she ordered. "But I'll think about it. I don't know where things are going to go with us."

  "I know," Hannah said.

  She made a face at Hannah. "You don't know everything."

  "I know this. Dante is walking toward us."

  She whirled around in surprise, seeing Dante make his way down the right-field line. After what he'd told her the night before, she hadn't expected to see him before the boat trip. But here he was, looking incredibly sexy in faded jeans and a dark-orange T-shirt, his thick brown hair blowing in the warm breeze. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest, her mind flashing back to the beautiful memories they'd made the night before.

  She moved away from her friends to greet him. "I can't believe you're here," she said. "I thought you were going to meet us at the boat."

  He smiled as he gazed into her eyes. "I didn't want to waste time that I could spend with you."

  Her heart sped up at his husky words. "What about the baseball?"

  "I think I can handle it. As long as you're here."

  "I'm here," she said.

  "I want to kiss you. But…"

  She sucked in a quick breath. "But?" she echoed.

  "There are a lot of people looking at us."

  She glanced over her shoulders, seeing her friends gazing at them with unapologetic curiosity. "We could give them something to see."

  He grinned. "I thought you'd want to keep our relationship private."

  "Our relationship has never been private." She put her hands on his shoulders as she stole a much-needed kiss. "There. It's done."

  "For now," he promised.

  "For now," she agreed.

  They stared at each other for a long minute, with the air sizzling between them, but a sudden cheer broke the trance they seemed to be in.

  She turned toward the field as a fly ball headed straight for Hailey. She caught it and another cheer broke out. "That's Hailey," she said. As Hailey ran toward the dugout, she shouted, "Good catch, Hailey."

  Hailey looked over at her with a big smile on her face as her team got ready to hit.

  When she turned back to Dante, she saw a smile play around the corners of his mouth. "What?"

  "Making the last out of the inning when you're on defense is always the best feeling."

  "I bet. So, this isn't bringing only bad memories?"

  "Surprisingly not. Her face was so full of joy. I remember that feeling."

  "I'm sure you felt it a lot, considering how good you are at the game."

  "Baseball is still a game of percentages. The best hitters in the league get out seventy percent of the time, and I try to raise that to a hundred percent of the time if I can."

  "Hmm, I never thought of it that way. There's more failure than success."

  "That's why the success is so sweet. It's a difficult game. But when you win, it feels amazing."

  "I'd love to see you play."

  His smile dimmed. "Maybe you will. Who knows?"

  "I know," she said confidently. "I have faith in you."

  "If I could will my arm to work, I would, but it's not that simple. It's not about desire."

  "I understand, Dante. You have a real injury to deal with. But you're working hard, and you have a great rehab facility and an excellent doctor. I think you'll make it back."

  "Hopefully. But I didn't come here to talk about my game. Why don't you introduce me to your friends? I know Hannah, but not the other two."

  "Okay." They walked down the sideline, joining up with Hannah, Chloe, Gianna, and also Zach, who had just arrived. She introduced him to everyone, but there wasn't time for prying questions as Hailey came up to bat.

  They cheered her on, but after two swings and two misses, Hailey hit a weak ball to the pitcher and was thrown out at first. Her smile turned into a dejected frown as she walked back to the dugout, and no amount of cheering and support seemed to change that.

  "She's so hard on herself," Gianna murmured.

  "I keep telling her it's just a game. She's here to have fun," Zach put in. "But that almost makes her angrier."

  "I agree," Gianna said. "Last game, I said nice try, and she almost bit my head off."

  "I hated when anyone said that to me," Dante said, drawing all eyes to him.

  "Really?" Gianna asked curiously. "Why?"

  "Because I was disappointed in myself. I couldn't hear what anyone else had to say. I just knew that I'd failed, and it pissed me off." He cleared his throat. "But your little girl is not me, so…"

  "No, that makes sense," Zach said with a nod. "I never felt that way when I was playing sports. I just figured I'd do better the next time, even if that wasn't true. I guess I wasn't hard on myself at all." He gave Dante a thoughtful look. "How did your parents handle you?"

  "Oh, don't go by my parents," Dante replied. "My mom would just serve me up a big bowl of pasta after a game. That was her go-to solution for everything bad that happened. My dad never showed up to see me play, so he had no idea what was going on, nor did he care. But you should keep on supporting Hailey. She'll appreciate it even if she can't show it."

  "Leo, stop eating the dirt," Chloe said suddenly, interrupting their convers
ation to grab her son off the ground. He had dirt smeared across his mouth. "Anyone have a fix for this problem?"

  "Not me," Dante said with a laugh. "I never ate dirt."

  "I think we're going to head home," Chloe said. "I have a gift for Hailey in my car."

  "I'll come with you to get it," Gianna said.

  As they left, Zach moved closer to Dante and started talking about baseball and kids.

  Hannah slid next to her and gave her a little smile. "Nice kiss, but a little G-rated."

  "We're in public."

  "True. But I can still see that you are so into him."

  "I am," she admitted. "For however long it lasts."

  "Live in the moment."

  "That's what I'm going to do."

  As the inning ended, Jake came over to the fence, motioning for Zach and Dante to come over. A moment later, to her amazement, Dante gave her a wry smile and a shrug as he headed toward the dugout. "I'm going to coach first base," he said.

  "Have fun."

  As Dante moved to the field, Zach rejoined them. "Dante said he could give Hailey some tips later on her swing."

  She was surprised again. "That's great."

  "He seems like a nice guy."

  "Keira definitely thinks so," Hannah said with a laugh.

  She made a face at her friend. "You be quiet."

  "When am I ever quiet?"

  She didn't bother to answer, her attention moving to Dante. As each girl hit and reached first base, he had a little chat with them. She had no idea what he was saying, but the girls seemed to be completely captivated. How could she blame them? She was completely captivated, too.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dante couldn't believe he'd gotten talked into coaching, but it was actually fun. The kids were eager to learn. They listened to whatever he said, and they laughed and smiled so easily. Even Hailey, who definitely had an intensity that reminded him of himself, relaxed when he talked to her. And after the game, with an empty field, he found himself helping Hailey and her friend Megan with some hitting.

  With Jake pitching and Zach shagging balls, he coached each girl on her stance and talked about watching the ball and not getting too tense. Within fifteen minutes, their success at connecting with the ball went up about ninety percent. Most of the families had left by the time they finished, but Gianna and Keira were still sitting in the stands. He walked over to join them as Jake and Zach got the equipment together.

  "Nice job, Coach," Keira teased.

  "Thanks for doing that," Gianna added, as she got off the bench. "I've never seen Hailey hit so well."

  "Hopefully it sticks," he said.

  "I'm going to help Hailey get her things together. You're coming out on the boat with us, right?" Gianna asked. "I'd love to get to know you better."

  "Yes. I'm looking forward to it."

  "Good," Gianna said with a smile.

  As Gianna left, he looked at Keira, and even though he'd just told Gianna he was looking forward to the boat party, he was really more interested in getting Keira alone. "How long is this boat trip?"

  "Several hours. There will be plenty of food and drinks." Her smile grew more tentative. "Are you having second thoughts?"

  "No, just wishing we could be alone."

  Her dark-brown eyes sparkled at that comment. "Maybe we can be alone later."

  "I hope so."

  "I'd bail on the boat, but it's Hailey's birthday."

  "I get it. And it sounds like fun."

  "It will be fun, I promise. How was your rehab today?"

  "It went well, a shorter session this morning, but I felt good about it." He paused as another team began to arrive at the field. "I guess we should go. Do you have your car? I walked here."

  "You did? That's a good walk from the inn."

  "It's a beautiful day."

  "And no one accosted you?"

  "Nope. No one waiting outside rehab or the inn. Maybe the press is over us. It's a little surprising, but I'll take it." As they walked toward the parking lot, he added, "By the way, I had breakfast with Mark Langley this morning."

  She stopped abruptly. "What did he say?"

  "Not a lot, but I did tell him I'd witnessed an argument between him and a woman. He did not tell me her name. He made some vague reference to her being an old friend going through some issues in her life."

  "Anything else?"

  "He wanted to know if I'd mentioned her to you. I said I had. I hope that wasn't the wrong answer, but I'm curious to see if it will compel him to speak to your mother or you about Mandy."

  "Maybe it will."

  "He knows you're suspicious of him, Keira. He said he'd like to get to know you better because he's very interested in continuing his friendship with your mom. I suggested he talk to you."

  "Okay. But I'm a little worried that now he has time to make something up."

  "It's a possibility, but he also knows that he has to say something. Maybe that will give you another clue to pursue or will ease your mind. He also mentioned that his wife passed away a few years ago."

  "That's interesting. I couldn't find anything on her, although I have to admit I didn't look that hard. I was focusing on him and Mandy. Did he say anything else about her?"

  "Only that his son blamed him for the divorce and that he and his son are not close."

  "I wonder why Richard blamed him for the divorce."

  "He didn't say."

  "Did you mention the fire?"

  "I didn't want to go that far. Did you talk to your mom about Mandy?"

  "I didn't get a chance. She had an early breakfast with a good friend of hers, and then Mark took her to the farmers' market. They're going to spend the day together. But the three of us are supposed to have dinner together tomorrow night, so I need to find time for a discussion very soon."

  As they reached the parking lot, he was distracted by the squeal of tires and a van pulling into the lot.

  "Dammit," he said, as two male photographers jumped out of a car. They raced forward, snapping photos with each step.

  "Should we run?" Keira asked.

  "No," he said, as he looked into her eyes. "Let's not run."

  She gave him a searching look. "Okay. Whatever you think."

  He hoped her trust in him wasn't misplaced.

  Questions were shouted out at them as a dozen more photos were snapped.

  "Here's the deal," Dante said, ending the barrage of questions. "My breakup with Nikki Voltari had nothing to do with Keira. Nikki and I simply want different things from life. Keira did not steal me away from Nikki. She was never friends with Nikki, and she has done nothing wrong. She's a really good person who simply got caught up in the drama that Nikki created to increase her followers." He raised a hand as more questions were shot at them. "I just have one more thing to say. I'm here in Whisper Lake to rehab my shoulder. The center here is one of the best in the country. I plan to be back in Miami when my rehab is over, and I can get back to my team. My goal is to be as fit as I ever was, but that will depend on the work I do here, work that I can't do with you all chasing me around. That's it. That's the whole story. You can take a million more pictures, but there's nothing else to say."

  As he urged Keira toward her car, one of the photogs said, "We hope you get back on the mound, Dante."

  "I hope so, too."

  He jumped into the passenger seat while Keira got behind the wheel. She started the car and drove out of the lot. They both watched the mirrors as they left, but no one was following.

  Keira turned to look at him as she came to a stoplight. "Thanks for saying that about me."

  "I told the truth. I'm not sure they believed it."

  "I don't care. You said it. That's what matters to me."

  He wanted to tell her that she was what mattered to him, but the light turned green, and she turned her gaze back to the road. There would be time to tell her. However, as they drove toward the harbor, he knew that time was not his friend. And there would be o
ther things he had to tell her—like goodbye. But he wasn't going to think about that.

  The afternoon flew by as they cruised around the lake, stopping to swim and innertube, as well as explore some of the hidden coves with the water a beautiful turquoise blue. Adam and Brodie took turns driving the boat with Chelsea, Hannah, and Jake hanging out up front. Keira was at the back of the boat with Dante, Gianna, and Zach as well as Hailey and her friend, Megan. At the moment, Dante and Zach were getting the girls onto the innertube for another ride. She smiled as she watched Dante help Hailey adjust her life jacket. He was good with kids. In fact, he was good with everyone. It felt like he'd been part of her group of friends for years instead of a little over a week, and that put an ache in her heart. Because he would be gone soon, and moments like this would just be a memory.

  She pushed that painful thought out of her head. She would be sad later. Today, she would just enjoy being with him.

  "I like him," Gianna said, breaking into her reverie as she sat down on the bench next to her. "Dante fits right in."

  "I was thinking the same thing," she admitted.

  "Hailey talked about him in the car. She's a big fan, by the way. She said he told her that when people say nice try, they're just showing their support. Hopefully, she'll remember that the next time I forget and tell her that I'm proud of her for trying her best. Dante seemed to really understand Hailey's mindset."

  "He did," she muttered, distracted as Dante stripped off his shirt, his muscled chest glistening in the sunlight.

  "Oh, my," Gianna said with a laugh as she waved a hand in front of her face. "It's getting hotter by the minute."

  "It sure is," she said with a grin.

  "Do you want a drink to cool off? I made some strawberry lemonade. It won't be as good as a cold shower, but you can always jump in the lake."

  "Sure. And I'm fine."

  "Tell that to the flush on your face."

  "That's from the sun."

  Gianna laughed, then got up to get the lemonade.

  As she glanced back at Dante, she had to silently admit that he was bringing the heat to her face, too. Her body tingled with memories from the night before, the taste of his mouth, the feel and weight of his body on hers, the rough edges of his impatient fingers, the way they'd come together with wild impatience and almost desperate hunger. She couldn't remember ever feeling like that. Maybe she was making it better than it was. Maybe she'd need to be with him again to find out for sure.