If We Never Met (Whisper Lake #5) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,57
Dante was sitting in the kitchen.
"I heard. His girlfriend says you broke 'em up."
"You can't believe everything you read online."
"But you know Dante, right? Is he going to be back this season? He's a fantastic pitcher."
"I'm not sure. Sorry." She took the pizza out of his hands and handed him the ten.
"Thanks," he said, his eyes widening when he saw the tip. "Glad I decided to bring this order out. The tourists have been stingy this week. If you see Dante, tell him I'm one of his biggest fans. I can't wait for him to be back on the mound."
"I will."
She took the pizza into the kitchen. Dante looked up from his phone. "That smells good."
"I hope you like it. By the way, our delivery boy said to tell you that he's your biggest fan, and he hopes you'll be back on the mound soon."
"He knew I was here?"
"No, but he saw our photos online, so he thought I might see you." She paused. "Maybe you should move your rental car into the garage. I'm sure the paparazzi know what it looks like, even if the pizza guy didn't."
"Good call."
"I'll open the garage door."
As Dante left the house, she walked into the garage and raised the door. While she was waiting for him, her mind went back to the conversation they'd had before the pizza arrived. She had to admit that Dante's analysis of her problems had struck a nerve. Maybe Hannah's wedding dress wasn't the real issue. Maybe it was about far more than that.
But since she couldn't do anything about the dress at this moment, she'd let that idea sit for a bit. Right now, she just wanted to eat and forget about the rest of the world and the future, even if that future was only an hour from now.
Keira couldn't believe how many times she smiled or laughed as she shared pizza with Dante. He seemed more relaxed than he had on any other occasion, and he was a really good storyteller. She liked that he told stories that didn't always show him doing something amazing.
There was no doubt he had a cocky confidence when it came to baseball, but he also had a self-deprecating charm that was pretty irresistible. In fact, she found her thoughts wandering throughout their meal, thinking about the curve of his mouth, the fullness of his lips, the light in his eyes when he smiled, the tenor of his voice when he talked about the things and the people that mattered to him.
She was a fool to think she could say goodbye to this guy and not hurt at least a little. But she was trying to stay in the present and not think about the future.
"Okay, that's enough stories from me," Dante said.
"You've had so many interesting experiences."
"It's been a ride."
"The ride is not over."
For the first time, a shadow moved through his gaze. "I hope not."
"I'm sorry. We weren't going to talk about tomorrow."
"It's never far from my mind, but we'll leave those thoughts for another day. Tell me what it was like to grow up here."
"It was wonderful. It was a carefree life. The town was a lot smaller. We rode our bikes everywhere. I had good friends. I knew everyone. Of course, when I was a teenager, I thought the town was way too small. I wanted more adventure and excitement. I wanted to see what was on the other side of the mountains."
"You must have found all that in New York."
"I did. It was amazing to go to school there and get my first job. It was a completely different world. I was going to plays, comedy clubs, and bars. It was a lot of fun. But sometimes I missed the lake and the mountains, having people know me when I walked into a store. New York was like being in a race all the time. Everything was fast. It was invigorating, but it was also tiring. I was working long hours for very little money, living with roommates in a tiny one-bedroom apartment."
"You must have stories from those days."
"Some of the designers and models I worked with were truly crazy. And I can't tell you how many times I had to run around town trying to track down someone's favorite food so they could make it through a photo shoot without being unhappy. There were a lot of divas."
"We have divas in baseball, too. Not me, of course."