If We Never Met

by Barbara Freethy

  She closed her eyes, wanting to hold them back, wanting to just linger in this moment, to enjoy being with Dante. She concentrated on the weighty feel of his arm on her waist as he rolled up next to her, his lips nuzzling the corner of her ear, a spot she'd never thought was so sensitive until Dante had found it.

  "Do you want to go to sleep?" he murmured.

  She smiled at the husky note in his voice and slowly opened her eyes. "No. I was just trying to catch my breath."

  "Breathing is highly overrated," he said with a satisfied smile. "Especially when your mouth is on mine. I can't seem to get enough."

  "Maybe that's why I feel so light-headed."

  "I feel it, too."

  "Do you?" she couldn't help questioning. "Because I've never felt like this before. You're really good at all of this."

  "We're good together, Keira. Sorry for grabbing you when you walked in the door. I just… I'd missed you all day."

  "Don't apologize. I liked it—all of it."

  "Me, too. How was your night tonight?"

  "It was really good. Everyone has their dress and they're happy."

  "Including Hannah?"

  "Most of all. She tried on her gown, and she looked absolutely perfect. I thought she might cry. I thought I might cry. But somehow we managed to hold it together."

  "It all worked out."

  "It did. You were right, Dante. It wasn't about the dress. It was about me. I was letting the gown become the target of all my frustration and indecision about my career choices. Once I really looked at it and I pictured Hannah wearing it, I realized I'd been trying to fix something that wasn't even broken."

  "You must be relieved."

  "I am. The wedding is on Saturday, with the rehearsal dinner on Friday and the Fourth of July on Wednesday. I didn't want to be worrying about the dress up until the last minute."

  "Now you can worry about other things," he teased.

  She smiled. "I'm really not such a big worrier, but the past week has been stressful. Not just the wedding, but Mark and my mom, all my business stuff."

  "Did your mom talk to Langley? Did she find out why he didn't come to dinner?"

  "She said he apologized again, and that they were going to get together tomorrow evening for a long chat. She did not want to bring up the fire or Mandy on the phone, so that conversation will happen when they meet—maybe. I'm not sure she'll ever bring it up."

  "She needs to."

  Her gaze narrowed at the suddenly tense look on Dante's face. "Why? Did something happen?"

  "Yes. When I left the rehab center today, Mark was with a security guard in the parking garage. Someone had scratched his car with a key or some other hard object."

  "Are you serious? Was it Mandy?"

  "Mark said he thought it was kids. He also told me that the security camera didn't cover his spot. I saw the camera, and he was lying about that. I believe he knows exactly who keyed his car. He said they're adding a new security gate to the garage entrance. But my gut tells me this wasn't a random act of vandalism."

  "It had to be Mandy. Why won't he admit that? Why not go to the police if she's harassing him?"

  "There has to be a significant reason."

  "Like maybe Mark did something to cause that fire," she suggested. "Maybe he is in some way responsible for the death of the nanny."

  "He was out of town."

  "That's what the reports said. But Mandy is blaming him for the death of her sister. I have to question why. Is she crazy? Or did he have something to do with it?"

  "Short of asking him flat out, I have no idea how we'll figure that out."

  "Maybe that's what I'll do. I'll lay it all on the line. I'll tell him I'm worried that this woman has shown up at the inn and at my mom's house and if she did key his car, then she could be dangerous."

  "Want company when you do that?"

  "I wouldn't say no," she told him.

  "Then we'll do it together. I think we make a good team."

  She tensed at his words. "Speaking of teams, you still need to tell me about what Grayson said. If you want to."

  "Of course I want to. As I mentioned on the phone, it went better than I expected. I'm actually ahead of schedule. Grayson wants me to finish out this week of therapy, but then I'm free to go back to Miami and work with the team PT for another few weeks as I make my way back into the pitching rotation."

  "That's great, Dante. The best news. Why aren't you jumping up and down on the bed right now?"

  "I'd rather jump with you. Next round," he said with a grin. "But seriously, I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. There's still work to do, and I have no idea how long it will take to find some of my pitches, but I can start looking for them in a few weeks."

  "I'm so happy for you. This is what you wanted—a complete recovery."

  "It is what I wanted, but I'm very aware that it cuts our time short, Keira." His voice took on a sober note. "That's why I'm not jumping up and down. It's a mix of good news and bad."

  She nodded, trying not to show any of the disappointment she was feeling. "We both knew it was coming."

  "Unfortunately, sooner than we thought, but we still have the rest of this week."

  "When are you leaving?"

  "Probably Saturday morning."

  Her heart sank. "Wow. Saturday. That is fast."

  "Until then, I want to spend every minute I have away from rehab with you."

  She wanted to spend that time with him, too, but she had multiple jobs and a wedding coming up. There wouldn't be that many minutes to give to him. Maybe she should end things now. Because seeing him for five more days and living through an endless circle of heartbreaking emotion seemed like a very bad idea. She would be a wreck at the end of it.

  Although, to be honest, she'd probably be a wreck, even if tonight was the last night. She'd made the mistake of getting emotionally involved with a man who was leaving.

  "Keira," he said, his gaze darkening. "It's not going to be easy for me to say goodbye, either."

  "But you have to. You have to go back to your life and live out your dream. Being a ballplayer is who you are."

  He frowned a little at her words. "It is," he agreed.

  There seemed to be a new ambivalence to his statement. Or maybe she was just imagining that.

  "Did you tell your coach?" she asked.

  "Yes, I let everyone know."

  "They must be thrilled."

  "They are. I just wish you could go with me."

  "I don't think I'd do well in Miami. Too hot and humid. My hair would frizz right up," she said lightly. "And I have so much here: my mom, my businesses, and my friends."

  "I understand. I wish they had a baseball team here."

  She gave him a sad smile. "Me, too."

  His fingers ran down her arm, drawing a little shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. "Can you stay the night?"

  She hesitated for just a second, torn between wanting to stay with him and wanting to protect her heart. But it was too late for that. "I can stay, even though I shouldn't. This is going to be hard."

  He cupped her face with his hand and gave her a long, tender kiss. "Let's be in the moment as long as we can."

  She was going to try her best, but this time their kiss felt bittersweet.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Dante woke up Tuesday morning to an unsettling quiet and a very cool other side of the bed. He abruptly sat up. There was no sign of Keira in the adjoining bathroom, and her clothes were gone. He fell back against the pillows with a frustrated groan. He knew he shouldn't have closed his eyes last night. He'd stayed up longer than Keira, but the long day had eventually caught up to him, and he'd drifted off, hoping that they could talk more in the morning, because the second time they'd made love had felt like goodbye, and that had bothered him more than he could put into words.

  But there was no conversation to have now. Keira had left, and he didn't know when he would see her again. He hoped she hadn'
t decided to call it quits because he was leaving earlier than expected, because they still had five days to be together—to talk, to laugh, to have incredible, mind-blowing sex. Who would want to give up five days of that kind of pleasure?

  He knew the answer. Keira probably thought it would be easier if it were just over now. He'd seen that thought float through her eyes last night, right after he'd told her his news. He'd managed to persuade her to stay, to keep enjoying the moment they were in, but he had a feeling that moment was over.

  He blew out a breath as he stared up at the ceiling. It wasn't going to be easy to leave her. That was a new feeling for him. He'd never had a problem leaving a woman, a relationship, a city, his family... He'd always looked ahead instead of back. That probably wasn't a trait to brag about, but it was the truth. He'd always put his dream ahead of everything else, and it had paid off. Every move he'd made had been a good one, a step closer to ultimate success. But this time felt different.

  The past two months had come with a lot of self-analysis and fear for the future. He'd had to face the possibility his career might be over, and even though the injury was now just going to be a blip on his record, a short time away from the big stage of his life, he had changed because of it.

  He had been forced to think about a life without the game he loved, and it had been terrifying. He loved being a pitcher. He loved baseball. He loved the guys on his team and the fans who came out to cheer them on. He'd been forced to imagine a life where he didn't get to go out and pitch, where he didn't hear the roar of a crowd or feel the pressure of a game on the line, and his future had seemed bleak until he met Keira. She had wrapped him up in her smiles and her arms and her body. She'd brought him back to life, made him realize that what he did for a living wasn't all that he was.

  He could talk to Keira in a way he'd never talked to anyone else. They'd gotten deep so fast and so easily. He knew her, and she knew him. It hadn't all been serious. They'd laughed a lot. In fact, being with Keira had brought simple joys back into his life. She'd opened up a new world to him, one where he was just one of a gang of fun, friendly people, who lived and loved without being on a stage, without running from the tabloids, without needing to be better all the time. It had been an incredible break.

  But that's all it had been—a break. His life was in Miami, and Keira's life was here. They couldn't be together. Unless…

  Could he find a way? But what way? Could they do long distance? Could he come back to Whisper Lake in the off-season? Would that be enough?

  The baseball season was March to the end of October. That didn't leave many months for any other kind of life. And he wasn't close to retirement, not if his arm was truly back to normal. He could play another six to eight years.

  And what about Keira's dreams?

  Even if she were willing to follow him to Miami, how could he let her do that? She needed to think about putting herself first. If she was going to move anywhere, she should go to New York. She was too good not to do what she was meant to do. But she put other people before herself.

  They really were opposites. He'd always put himself first, and she never had. Maybe they needed to rub off on each other. He needed to think more about other people, and she needed to think less.

  He sighed once more as his brain grappled with unsolvable problems. Finally, he got out of bed and hit the shower. He needed to get to rehab and keep working on his recovery. At least it looked like his arm could be fixed. He didn't know about anything else. But he did know that he wasn't ready to end it with Keira; he just needed to convince her that five more happy days were worth whatever else might be coming.

  Keira started getting texts from Dante shortly after lunchtime, but she didn't reply. She didn't know what she wanted to say. He wanted to get together for dinner. He wanted to take her out. And yesterday she would have said yes in a heartbeat, but now…she was torn. She liked him way too much, and she sensed a world of hurt coming her way. Why make everything worse by drawing out their goodbye? And it would be worse, because every day she fell a little more in love with him.

  It was crazy. They hadn't known each other very long, but she couldn't deny her feelings. She'd dated enough men in her life to know what she wanted, and Dante checked off a lot of boxes, except the big one. He didn't live in Whisper Lake. He didn't have a life in this town. He'd asked her before if that was a deal breaker. She hadn't said it was, but maybe she hadn't been honest with herself.

  She looked up as the door opened and two teenagers walked in. She gave them a smile as they asked where the sale rack was. She waved them toward the back corner of the store.

  A woman came in next, wearing a very stylish dress with stiletto heels and dark sunglasses. The jewelry around her neck was stunning and eye-catching. She was definitely not a local.

  She came up to the counter and removed her glasses. "Keira Blake?"

  "Yes. Can I help you?"

  "I'm Margot Devane. I've emailed you several times. My client, Jessica Stillman, is very interested in your work."

  "Of course. I'm sorry. It's been a busy week. Ms. Stillman wants a dress for an awards show in October. Is that right?"

  "She does. But now she's doing a movie festival in Rome in September where she'll have several events that need very special outfits. She'd like to discuss everything with you as soon as possible. She loved Chelsea Cole's dress. She feels that you're someone who will give her something original."

  "I'm so happy to hear that."

  "Good. Because this is an incredible opportunity. I'll be honest with you. I've tried to have her work with designers in LA where I'm located, and she has turned everyone down. She wants you, and she sent me here to tell you that she won't take no for an answer. She'd like you to come to LA as soon as possible for a meeting."

  "Uh." She was a little overwhelmed by Margot's words. "I have a lot going on this week. I have a wedding on Saturday, and I have my businesses to run."

  "Are you saying you don't want to meet her?"

  She licked her lips. What the hell was she thinking? "No, I'm not saying that. I would love to meet her, but it would have to be next week at the earliest. If she wants to talk before then, we could do a video chat."

  "No, she wants to get to know you in person. Why don't we try for next Monday?"

  "Next Monday?" she echoed. "That might be a little soon."

  "Working with Jessica will be incredibly lucrative for you. I really don't understand your hesitation. She's one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood right now."

  "I know, and I am very honored—really. I just have some family issues."

  "All right, but I'll need an answer by Friday." Margot handed her a card. "I look forward to setting up your trip. It's my job to get Jessica what she wants, and she wants you. Let's make this work for both of us."

  She picked up the card. "I'll let you know by Friday. Thanks for the offer."

  "You can thank me when you get to LA."

  She let out a breath as Margot left and stared at the card in her hand. She felt like she'd just been handed a ticket to something amazing. The other people who had emailed her after the awards show had either not responded back to her email or had dropped out after all the bad press she'd received, but Jessica either hadn't seen that press or didn't care. Dressing her for several events could be huge. But this ticket to something amazing would require her to make some tough decisions about her future.

  She'd been feeling overwhelmed for the past year. She couldn't add one more thing to her plate without getting rid of something. But what?

  A wave of panic ran through her. Her gut was churning. It was just too much. She was already feeling emotional about losing Dante. Now, she had to make a life-changing decision about her career. She didn't want to do that. She wanted to dive into bed and pull the covers over her head.

  There was also no guarantee Jessica would hire her even if she did fly to Los Angeles and talk to her. She could be put through a series of test designs and in t
he end, Jessica might decide not to use her and then all that time would be wasted. It was a risk. But wasn't it just the risk she wanted? This could be the beginning of her own design business, one that went beyond her friends.

  As the teenage girls brought clothes up to the counter, she put down the card and focused on what she had to do right now. It was actually a relief. She knew how to sell clothes in her boutique and make customers happy. The rest she still had to figure out.

  Dante was annoyed that Keira hadn't texted him back by the end of the day. She was clearly avoiding him, and he didn't know what to do about it. Should he give her space? Or should he try to force her into talking to him? If he gave her space, he might never see her again. On the other hand, if he pushed too hard, he might reach the same result. She might just tell him to his face that she was done.

  He paced in front of the window as the clock struck five. He definitely needed to get out of his room at the inn, because the bed just reminded him of Keira and the night they'd spent together.

  Restless, he decided to go downstairs and check out Lizzie's daily happy hour.

  As he stepped into the hall, he saw someone coming out of Mark Langley's room. To his shock, it was the red-haired woman. She froze when she saw him, a guilty look flashing across her face.

  "Hello," he said.

  She gave him a nod and then hurried toward the stairs. He realized as she disappeared that she hadn't shut Mark's door. He moved down the hall and knocked on the door. With no answer, he pushed it open, about to say hello when he realized that Mark wasn't there, and the room looked like it had been ransacked.

  There was writing on the wall—three words: YOU WILL PAY.

  Damn! He backed out of the room, careful not to touch anything, and jogged down the stairs to the lobby. He saw Lizzie in the dining room, talking to one of the other guests. He walked in and hovered nearby until she gave him a questioning look.