"Here you go," Gianna said a moment later, handing her a cold glass of lemonade.
She took a grateful drink, dragging her gaze away from Dante as Chelsea sat down with her and Gianna.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to you since the awards show," Chelsea said. "I told everyone you made my dress. I hope you're getting calls."
"I've had several stylists reach out."
"That's great."
"We'll see. One person already changed her mind after Nikki posted her lies about me online."
"Are you serious?" Gianna said. "That's terrible. Can't you sue her or something?"
"That's the last thing I want to do. I just want her to stop talking and move on with her life."
"Can Dante get her to stop talking?" Chelsea asked.
"He broke up with her. It wasn't the other way around. Nikki is pissed. She's going to do what she thinks is best for her brand. It's fine."
"It's not fine," Chelsea said. "Maybe I can do something."
"What can you do?" Gianna asked with interest.
"I have contacts in the fashion world. If she wants to make it difficult for you, maybe I should make it difficult for her," Chelsea replied, a fierce look in her eyes.
"Oh, I don't want you to do anything like that," she said quickly. "I appreciate the defense, but it's not necessary. It was one stylist. Hopefully, the others won't bail. Nikki can't know everyone, right?"
"She's pretty popular," Gianna muttered. "Maybe you should consider Chelsea's offer."
"I don't even have to take Nikki down," Chelsea added. "I can just talk you up."
"You already did that by wearing my dress. And to be honest, Dante volunteered to do the same thing. But I don't want people to reach out to me because they're doing someone a favor. Besides, I'm really busy right now with the wedding dresses, and the shop, and the realty business. I don't need any more design work right now."
"I just hate that she's getting away with this," Chelsea said.
"I hate it, too," Gianna said.
"What does everyone hate?" Adam Cole asked as he joined the group. Adam had on a T-shirt and board shorts, looking more relaxed than she'd seen him in a long time.
"More like who do we hate," Chelsea told her brother. "And it's Nikki Voltari, the supermodel spreading rumors about Keira."
"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," Adam said. "Sorry, Keira."
"Thanks. It will all die down, I'm sure. Let's not talk about it anymore. I just want to enjoy the day."
"Then I better speed this boat up," he said with a grin. "I know how much you like to go fast."
"I do, but this is Hailey's party."
"And the girls are done tubing, so we can take off on a faster ride," he said.
"If we're going faster, I'm moving up front," Gianna said.
"Me, too," Chelsea agreed.
Dante came over to her as her friends moved away. "Your nose is starting to burn," he said.
"I just put on more sunscreen," she said. "You're very tan."
"I live in Miami."
"You must go on boats a lot."
"A fair amount, but this is one of the best parties I've been to in a while."
"I find that difficult to believe since you're at a kid's birthday party."
"With you," he said with a smile, leaning in to give her a quick kiss. "Hmm. You taste like strawberries."
She held up the glass in her hand. "Strawberry lemonade. Want a sip?"
"I'd rather taste your lips."
She cleared her throat, seeing Hailey and Megan moving in their direction. "Let's keep this G-rated."
"Until later?"
She saw the promise in his eyes. "Yes."
"Then you better give me a drink."
She handed him the glass. "You can finish it."
"Thanks." He swigged it down in two long gulps. Then he grabbed her hand as the boat suddenly took off. "Whoa."
"Adam said he was going to give us a faster ride," she told him. "He knows I like to go fast."
He smiled. "I think you like to go slow, too."
"G-rated," she reminded him.
He laughed. "Got it."
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of laughter, stories, drinks, food, and finally birthday cake. It was after seven when they finally docked at the harbor and got off the boat. She felt relaxed and happy but also eager to spend some time alone with Dante. She drove him back to the inn and pulled into the parking lot.
Dante looked over at her. "You're coming in, right?"
"I don't think you can stop me," she said with a laugh.
He leaned over, cupped the back of her neck, and pulled her in for a kiss. She didn't know if he meant it to be brief, but once her mouth was under his, she wanted more. They kissed for long minutes until they were steaming up the car.
"Let's go inside," he said breathlessly. "Race you."
"I don't think I can beat you in a foot race," she said, as she jumped out of the car. But she jogged alongside him as they ran up the steps to the porch.
He got to the door first. "I won. That means you have to pay up."
"We didn't make a bet."
"I made one in my head. It involves you getting naked."
"Sh-sh," she said, socking him in the arm.
"No one is around. So, are you going to pay up?"
"I just might."
Dante opened the door, and they hurried inside. She hoped Lizzie wouldn't be at the front desk, because that would only slow them down. Unfortunately, Lizzie was there, and she wasn't alone. There was a tall, handsome man standing in front of the check-in counter, wearing worn jeans, ripped at the knee, and a navy-blue T-shirt with a beer logo. His light-brown hair was on the long side, and his blue eyes seemed very familiar.
Chapter Nineteen
"Micah? What the hell are you doing here?" Dante asked.
Micah? Dante's brother?
"Nice to see you, too," Micah said with a laugh. "Who's your friend? Or do I even need to ask?" Micah stepped forward, a curious gleam in his eyes. "You must be Keira."
"I am. How did you know?"
"Your face is all over the internet."
"Right. I almost forgot," she mumbled.
"What are you doing here, Micah?" Dante asked again.
"I wanted to see how you were doing. So, here I am. I've gotten myself a room, thanks to Lizzie."
"He was in luck," Lizzie said. "I had a cancellation."
"How long are you staying? I have rehab Monday through Saturday. I'm really busy," Dante said.
"Don't worry. I have to leave Monday morning, but I thought I'd check in on you and see what Whisper Lake is all about."
At his words, Keira realized that any thought of getting naked with Dante had just been blocked by his brother's arrival. She felt an absurd sense of disappointment. But she wasn't going to stand in the way of their brotherly reunion. "You guys should catch up," she said. "Lizzie, do you have time to have a drink with me?"
"I do," Lizzie replied. "I'm actually glad you stopped in. I want to hear about the birthday party."
"Hey, you don't have to go, Keira," Micah said. "If I'm interrupting something, I can go find some food on my own."
"No, don't be silly. You and Dante should go out. It's a Saturday night. The town is hopping. If you want to see Whisper Lake, this is a great time." She turned to Dante. "We'll talk another time."
"We will," he promised. Turning back to his brother, he added, "Do you want to drop your bag off?"
"Sounds good. I'll be back in a few minutes."
As Micah went upstairs, Lizzie cleared her throat. "I'll pour us some wine. Want to meet me on the patio, Keira?"
"Sure. I'll be right there."
Left alone, Dante gave her a rueful smile. "Sorry about this."
"Don't apologize."
"I had no idea Micah was going to show up here."
"He's worried about you. It's nice that he came."
"Yeah, but I had a lot of plans for tonight
, and none of them included him. As soon as he's gone…"
"Give me a call," she finished.
He sighed. "Sometimes I want to kill my brother."
She smiled. "Just enjoy it. Have fun with Micah. We can get together next week. We have time."
He frowned at her words. "Not as much as I'd like."
"We agreed not to think about the future too much, or we'll miss what we have right now."
"What I have right now is an annoying little brother in town."
Despite his statement, she could hear the love in his voice. Dante needed his family. It was nice that one of his brothers had showed up to support him. As Micah came downstairs, she gave him a quick kiss and then headed out to the patio.
Lizzie was waiting with a bottle of wine and a cheese tray.
She shook her head in amazement. "Did you just whip that up?"
Lizzie laughed. "No, I put it out for happy hour earlier, but hardly anyone was around today, so I had a lot left over. How was the boat party?"
"Very, very fun. We missed you and Justin."
"I was sad not to make it, but Shay was off today, and Justin had to fly back to San Francisco for a few days." Lizzie paused. "Did you take Dante on the boat?"
"I did. He got along really well with everyone."
"Why wouldn't he? He's a nice guy."
"He is a good guy," she agreed.
"And you two are…"
"Having fun and not over-analyzing."
"Sounds good. Too bad his brother showed up, huh? The look on your faces… I know that's not what you planned for the evening."
She flushed at the knowing gleam in Lizzie's eyes. "It definitely was not, but I'm glad his brother came to see him. He could probably use some family support."
"How's everything else going with you? Is your mom still seeing Mr. Langley?"
"Yes," she said with a sigh. "They were planning to spend the day together and God knows what they're doing now."
Lizzie laughed. "I can't imagine my parents dating anyone."
"You're lucky that they're still happily married to each other."
"Thirty-eight years and going strong."
"That's amazing."
"It is. I hope Justin and I go the distance. Of course, we have to get married first."
"Have you set a date yet—one that will stick? First, it was going to be this summer, then you were talking about fall…"
"Now, maybe spring," Lizzie said with a helpless shrug. "We want to do it when Justin has time to relax, and I can be away from the inn. We want to take a long honeymoon. Anyway, we'll see what happens. We're not in a hurry. But I will let you know as soon as I know. I'll want you to make my dress."
"You might want to wait and see how happy Hannah is before you decide that."
"Why? What are you talking about? I already saw Hannah's dress, and it's beautiful."
"It's not quite right, and I'm running out of time to fix it. I should probably be doing that now."
"It's Saturday night. You can take a break and tackle it in the morning."
"I know."
"By the way, getting back to Mr. Langley," Lizzie began. "He had a visitor today. She got really agitated when I said he wasn't here."
She sat up straighter. "Did she have red hair?"
Lizzie looked at her in surprise. "She did. Why? Do you know her?"
"No, but Dante told me that Mark had an argument with a red-haired woman a few days ago. He was curious about it, and so am I. Did she give you her name?"
"No. She asked for his room number. I didn't give it to her. I said I'd leave him a message, and she thought about that. Then she said she'd like to write him a note, so I gave her paper and a pen, and she went into the living room and took about fifteen minutes to write her message."
"Do you know what it said?"
"No. I wouldn't read his private message. I put it in an envelope and slid it under his door." Lizzie paused. "But the woman did say something odd to me."
"What was that?"
"She said Mark seems like a nice guy, but people should be careful around him."
"That doesn't sound good."
Lizzie shrugged. "Maybe she's a jilted lover."
"Maybe." She didn't like that this woman was hanging around and trying to talk to Mark. She didn't like the warning she'd left, either. She needed to speak to her mother, but she had to do it when her mom wasn't with Mark. Hopefully, she'd be able to get her alone later tonight or tomorrow morning.
"I thought you were lonely, bored, and depressed," Micah said as he sipped his beer. "I was wrong. Let's talk about Keira."
Dante set his beer down, thinking it was ironic that they were talking about Keira at Micky's Bar and Grill, where it all started. "Keira is…amazing."
Micah raised a brow. "Amazing, huh? That's an impressive adjective for you."
"She's an impressive woman."
"Is it true then? She broke up you and Nikki?"
"No. Nikki and I were done a long time ago. I just didn't have the energy to break up with her until she showed up here in town and manipulated the press and reminded me exactly who she was."
"She was hot."
"She was a lot of other things, too. Actually, that's not true. She was basically one-dimensional. It was all about being a celebrity, an influencer. Everything was a photo opportunity. She was never really with me, even when she was with me. She just wanted me in her pictures."
"I'm sure it was more than that."
"It wasn't. What I can't stand is how she spun our breakup into some kind of crazy betrayal. She even pretended that Keira was her friend. They met once for ten minutes like eight years ago. Nikki didn't even remember her until Keira mentioned it."
"But you do like Keira. Nikki must have picked up on that."
"Maybe she did. I don't know. I just want her to move on and for the tabloids to leave me alone."
"You generate a lot of clicks, Dante. I wouldn't expect this to end anytime soon."
He shrugged. "I talked to the reporters today. We'll see if they are happy enough with what I said to leave us alone."
"What did you say?"
"I defended Keira. I told them I was here to rehab, and my plan was to be back to my team when I was done. Whether they believe it or not, I don't know, but I had to say it."
"Is that the plan? Is your shoulder going to be ready for the pressure you want to put on it?"
"I sure as hell hope so. I don't know who I am without the game. It's been a part of me since I was six years old."
"Well, to me, you'll still be a pain in the ass."
"Nice," he said dryly.
Micah leaned forward, his gaze turning more serious. "You know what I've always admired about you, Dante?"
"What?"
"You never quit, even when the odds are long. You push on. This is just another challenge for you. You'll figure your way through it. You always do."
He appreciated his brother's words. "I won't give up, but ultimately my body has to be as strong as my desire."
"What does the doctor say?"
"That he'll be able to tell me more when he sees me next week. Until then, I just have to do the work to get better. Now, tell me what's going on with you and the food truck."
Micah sighed. "That's a conversation for another time. Did you know that Dad is hooking up with Valentina?"
"Valentina from next door?" he asked in shock. Valentina had been friends with his mother.
"Yes. I saw her leaving his condo early one morning. He said she was there to drop something off, but I don't think that was the truth. She was all flushed and there was a guilty look in her eyes."
"Damn. Why did you have to put that picture in my head? I don't want to think of Valentina being flushed and guilty."
"Because I wanted to get it out of my head," Micah returned. "It's better that he's dating her than some girl who's our age, right?"
"I'd prefer if he wasn't dating anyone." He realized as he finished the stat
ement that he was sounding a lot like Keira. "Although, Dad has a right to be happy."
"Sure," Micah agreed. "But I like Valentina. She made us so many cookies after Mom died. In the long run, I don't think Dad will make her happy. He just doesn't seem to have the ability to see beyond himself."
"No, he doesn't. Valentina should know that about him. Or maybe he's different with her."
"Possibly. I just have to say that I'm glad I had you, Danny, and Paul around. Because growing up with him alone would have been horrible."
"We were lucky to have each other."
"You know you still have us, right? Because you've been pushing us away since you got hurt."
"I know," he admitted. "I just haven't felt like I could talk about anything."
"You don't have to talk. Just let us be there for you."
"I'm doing better now. Not just the arm, but mentally. I even watched a kid's softball game today."
Micah raised a brow. "Seriously? You went to a ballgame?"
"Yes. I thought the memories would make me feel worse. They'd remind me of what I might be losing, but they didn't. They just reminded me of good times." He paused. "I can't really explain it."
"The game was always your escape. Now your escape might be cut off. It's not surprising that would bother you, but it sounds like you've got a handle on it." Micah gave him a speculative look. "Does your new outlook have anything to do with Keira?"
"Possibly. But enough about me. Are you seeing anyone? What about that girl—Carly? Is she still around?"
Micah let out another sigh. "That relationship died about the same time as the food truck."
"Then we better get another round of beers," he said, motioning for the waitress.
Chapter Twenty
Keira got up early on Sunday, dropped her mother at church, and then headed to her boutique. Her mother's friend, Lois, would bring her home after their Sunday brunch, so she had a few hours on her own. After that, she hoped to speak to her mother before Mark came over to cook them all dinner. She needed them to have a heart-to-heart conversation that was long overdue.
If We Never Met Page 18
