If We Never Met (Whisper Lake #5) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,56

how cutthroat fashion was, how much power certain magazines or fashion houses or celebrities could wield over the industry. I think I'm talented enough to compete. But I don't know if I can make it. It's a big risk."

"How will you know unless you go for it?"

"I probably won't know. But going for it involves giving up other things that have been sustaining my mom and me, like the real-estate business and the boutique."

"Can you delegate?"

"Yes, but will things work as well as they do now if I'm not overseeing them? And then there's my mom. She's getting better. But is she truly capable of living independently? It's been a long time since she didn't have me looking out for her. Plus, I have immediate commitments, like Hannah's dress. I can't think about the future right now. I don't think I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm too wrapped up in the mess of the moment."

"I disagree. I think we just got to the heart of your problem."

"We did?"

"Yes." He rested his arms on the table as he gazed at her. "When you finish Hannah's dress, you will have to think about the future. But that's the problem—by not wanting to think about the future, you're actually thinking about it."

Her brows drew together as she considered his words. "That's convoluted but makes some sense."

"Maybe you can't finish the dress, because it's the last barrier before having to deal with your future plans."

Her eyes widened. "Wow. You might have just saved me a lot of money in therapy."

"Just throwing out an idea."

"I wish I could say you were wrong, but maybe you're not."

"Since I'm on a roll…"

"What?" she asked warily.

"Maybe your obsession with Mark Langley is because you subconsciously don't want your mom to be independent. If she's dating, if she has a man in her life who can also take care of her, you've just lost another one of your reasons for staying exactly where you are."

He thought he'd nailed it, but he also thought he'd probably pushed it a little too far. There was a gleam of anger in her eyes now.

"That would be a terrible thing for me to—break up my mom and Mark, because I need a reason to stay here."

"I said subconsciously, not deliberately."

She frowned as she let out a long breath. "I know what you said, and to be honest, I have questioned my motives. I do have some self-awareness. That's why I stopped digging. But since you're the one who saw Mark fighting with some woman, I feel compelled to do a little more research."

"You're right. I got carried away with my brainstorm. I'm really not qualified to analyze anyone."

"You made some good points," she conceded. "I liked your baseball story, hearing how you got past your fear. Maybe I can do something with that. I guess it's always easier to see through someone else's problems."

"Definitely easier," he admitted, pausing as the doorbell rang. "That must be the pizza." He pulled out his wallet. "I'll get it."

"No. I don't want anyone to see you here. I'll get it, and I already paid online."

"At least, let me do the tip," he said, handing her a ten.

"That's too much."

He shrugged. "We'll make someone's night."

As she left, he blew out a breath, knowing he'd gotten too far into her personal business, but he hadn't been able to stop himself, which was so unusual. But then everything about Keira made him want to be more and do more than he usually did. He'd also needed conversation to distract himself from wanting to kiss her again. Unfortunately, every time they stopped talking, the urge came right back. He probably should leave right after they ate, but he really didn't want to. And he rarely did things he didn't want to do.

Keira checked the peephole before answering the door, relieved to see it was Deke, a nineteen-year-old kid, who had delivered more pizzas to her than she cared to count. Deke was the son of the owner, Marian Dillard, and was currently going to school in Denver.

"Hey, Deke, are you back for the summer?" she asked. "I heard you're loving Denver."

"It has more action than here. What are you doing at this house? Having a party?"

"Waiting for a delivery. It's going to go on the market soon."

"Looks cool. Hey, I saw your picture online. Are you seeing Dante DeAngelis?"

"He's in town rehabbing his shoulder." She gave a more roundabout answer than she wanted to, but it was hard to lie when