If We Never Met (Whisper Lake #5) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,10
she believe you if you told her the truth?"
"That I'd bought fish tacos for a woman after pretending to be her date and then rescued her from her real date?"
"Good point. That story does sound??ishy."
He grinned at her words. "Exactly."
"Has she dealt with this kind of thing before, photos of you with another woman?"
"No. We haven't been seeing each other that long."
"How long is long?"
"Two months before I got injured. Since then, we haven't seen much of each other." Was that relief that entered her gaze?
"I guess that isn't long enough to build complete trust in each other," Keira said. "But if you have a good relationship, I'm sure she'd believe you."
"Nikki knows how the media can spin a picture, so she'd probably believe me. I just didn't want to deal with all that. So, I ran."
"You were fast. I didn't even see where you went."
"I ducked around the bar, went in and out of a few other places, and then ended up at a coffeehouse for the last hour where I got to hear bad guitar and even worse poems."
Her smile blossomed across her face once more. "It's open mic night at the Java Blast."
"There was one guy who played the sax who was good, but everyone else should have saved their performance for the shower or their living room."
"I think it's brave when people take the stage and put themselves out there."
"Have you ever done it?"
"No way. I am good at a lot of things, but not music or poetry." She gave him a speculative look. "Do you have more talents than being able to throw a baseball?"
Before he could answer, a loud burst of laughter drew their attention to the living room. "I'm keeping you from your friends," he said.
She frowned as the older woman continued to laugh and the man sitting next to her on the couch put his hand on her shoulder.
"No way. No touching," Keira muttered.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry. I need to interrupt that."
"Interrupt what?"
"Whatever that man is attempting to do with my mother." She stomped into the living room.
Her comment intrigued him, so once again he opted to follow her rather than go to his room. Keira had told him that her mom was ill, but this woman looked vibrant and happy. Keira, on the other hand, looked like a storm cloud about to burst.
"Mom," Keira said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"What about, dear?" her mother asked.
"Why don't we go to the other room?"
"That would be rude. Why don't you introduce me to this handsome man you've been talking to?"
Keira followed her mother's gaze to him. "Oh, this is Dante."
"Hello, Dante, I'm Ruth," the woman said. "Keira's mother."
"You two look like sisters."
"And you're quite charming. This is my friend, Mark Langley."
When he looked more closely at the older man, he realized the man was staying in the room next to his. "Dante DeAngelis," he said, extending his hand. "I think we're neighbors."
"Yes, I saw you this morning," Mark replied with a friendly nod.
"Mark is the administrator of the new rehab center," Lizzie put in.
"Then I'll probably see you again. I'm rehabbing my arm and shoulder there for a few weeks."
"That's excellent. We'll take good care of you."
"Why don't you both sit down?" Lizzie suggested. "Can I get you some wine, Dante?"
"Actually, I'm going to head upstairs."
"Oh, don't run off," Ruth protested. "Tell us about yourself. How long will you be staying in Whisper Lake?"
"A few weeks, depending on my rehab progress," he answered.
"And then you'll be going where?"
"Miami. I play baseball there."
"Oh, that's interesting," her mom said. "Are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"He already said no, Mom," Keira interjected. "In fact, we should go, too. I can drive you home and save Mr. Langley a trip across town."
"No. I'm going to stay and chat with Mark. I'll meet you at home," Ruth said firmly.
Keira blew out a frustrated breath.
He didn't know why Keira was acting so crazy about her mom being out with Mark Langley, but clearly there was something going on he didn't understand.
"I'll make sure she's not out too late," Mark said quietly, giving Keira a reassuring look, but she didn't look at all reassured.
"You go on, dear," Ruth said, waving Keira toward the door.
"All right. I'll see you at home," Keira said.
As she left the room, he followed her into the entry. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
"That man is wrong."
"Why?"
"Because I don't trust him," she said in an angry, hushed voice.