If We Never Met by Barbara Freethy

Chapter Five

"Finally,"Nikki said, a mix of relief and anger in her tone. "Why haven't you called or texted me back, Dante? I've been worried about you."

"I'm sorry." He figured she'd rather have an apology than an explanation. "How are you?"

"I'm—I don't know how I am. I feel like we're so far apart."

He'd been feeling that way, too, not just because they'd been physically apart for the last six weeks, but because they didn't seem to have much to talk about anymore. That was probably his fault. He was so caught up in his injuries and his health that he just hadn't been able to be interested in anything or anyone else. "I just need to get through the next three weeks," he said. "Then I'll have a better idea where I stand."

"I know it's been difficult for you, but you'll be back to normal soon. Life will be even better than it was before."

Her optimism should have been reassuring, but instead it grated on his nerves. "We'll see."

"One silver lining in all of this is that you'll have some time off this summer. Linc Adams has invited us to come on a five-day cruise on a super yacht in the Bahamas the first weekend in August. It will be amazing."

Linc Adams was a popular actor who'd recently starred in a series of action-adventure films. Nikki had had a walk-on part in his newest film, playing her supermodel self. He'd met Linc once and they'd gotten along, mostly because Linc was a big baseball fan.

"I can't make any plans right now," he said.

"Why not? You're not going to be playing until at least September, right? Isn't that the earliest date?"

"I don't know. I have no dates. I have to see how rehab goes, but even if I can't play, I'll still need to join my team at some point."

"Just to sit in the dugout? I'm sure the coach would give you time off." The irritation in her voice rose with every word. "Why not take advantage of this opportunity to spend more time with me this summer?"

"I can't decide anything at this moment," he repeated, feeling his own frustration level rising.

"Well, our relationship can't just be about you."

"I know that. Let me just get through the next three weeks."

"Fine. But I'm going to tell Linc that we're tentatively in, just so we don't lose our spot. What about JT's birthday party next weekend? Can you come down to LA?"

"No, I'm in the rehab center six days a week."

"He's one of my best friends. And the party will be over the top at a Malibu mansion."

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not giving you the answers you want, but I can't take time off rehab for a party. Let's talk about you," he added, hoping to change the subject. "How are you doing? Do you have any travel coming up?"

"I'm staying in LA until mid-July. I want to be in town for the movie premiere. Of course, I'd love you to be there for that, too."

Nikki had so many plans, none of which he wanted to commit to. And he knew she would quickly tire of him saying no. Nikki was a tall, gorgeous blonde. Whenever she walked into a room, she got everyone's attention.

He'd been happy to get hers when they'd met in February. While he'd dated models before, Nikki was probably the most famous. She had a huge social media following and was on everyone's VIP guest list. She'd told him the first time they'd met that they would look good together, and he hadn't argued.

But while they might photograph well, they didn't have a lot in common. Nikki had been born into money and into a world where she was always celebrated. She needed that from the man in her life, too. And his injury had been a huge inconvenience for her. He'd been irritated with her for weeks, but he hadn't wanted to deal with their relationship in the middle of everything else. It had been easy to avoid having a difficult conversation, because they hadn't been together, but that time was coming soon. He just didn't want to get into it all now, when he needed to focus on rehab.

"Dante?"

Her sharp voice pierced his reverie. "Sorry, what?"

"Even when you're talking to me, you seem distant."

"I'm tired. Why don't we talk another time?"

"All right. But it's difficult to find a day when you aren't tired."

"I can't argue with you on that. Maybe we should think about taking a break," he said shortly.

"No, no," she said quickly. "We don't need a break. Everything will be fine when you're done with rehab. We'll talk later, when you're not exhausted. Bye, Dante."

She disconnected the call before he could get another word in. He blew out a breath, knowing the hard conversation still needed to be had, but he was fine to leave it for another day.

Keira had to wait ten minutes for Mark Langley to finish up a meeting, and every one of those minutes increased her dislike and distrust of him. He'd set this time to meet. It irked her that he thought she had ten minutes to just waste away in his outer office. She could be at the store right now or looking at a contract that Brenda had sent through for a rental property they were managing. Or she could be designing Hannah's wedding dress. But instead, she was waiting, and she'd never been particularly patient.

Finally, his office door opened, and he gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry," he said. "We had a minor emergency with some equipment that seems to have gone missing between Denver and Whisper Lake."

She got to her feet. "That doesn't sound good."

"We managed to find it. Please come in."

"I don't have a lot of time, but I would like to go over some properties you might be interested in."

"Perfect." He turned to his assistant, a woman named Andrea, who had been nice enough to make her some tea while she was waiting. "Will you hold my calls, Andrea? And thanks again for coming in on a Saturday. If you can stay until one, that would be helpful."

"Of course, Mr. Langley," Andrea replied.

Mark waved Keira into his office, which was a luxurious executive suite with large windows overlooking the lake, an enormous oak desk with a brown leather chair, as well as a seating area with a small table and four chairs. He showed her to the table.

She was happy to be joining him there rather than sitting across from him at his desk, where he would be in the power position.

"I've found several properties that I think you might be interested in," she said, pushing a file folder across the table. "Two of the properties are two-bedroom single-family homes. I also found a three-bedroom house and a luxury one-bedroom condo with a loft near the heart of downtown. You can walk to everything." It was also the farthest one from her mother.

"I'm not sure how big of a place I need, but I would think two bedrooms at the least, maybe three. I can turn one into an office."

"Of course. Do you anticipate having a lot of guests? Perhaps family and friends will be coming to visit? My mother said you have a son."

"Yes, I do," he said, his tone somewhat heavy. "But I don’t think he'll be visiting. We don't see much of each other."

"That's too bad."

"He has his own life. He's studying to be a veterinarian. I'm very proud of him, although, sometimes, I have a difficult time accepting that he's grown up."

"My mother has the same trouble. Where does your son live?"

"Los Angeles."

"I know you went to high school in Denver with my mom. Do you still have family there?"

"No. My parents have passed away, and my sister moved to New York a long time ago. Perhaps I don't need more than two bedrooms, although this one looks nice." He tapped his finger on the photo of the three-bedroom home. "It's in your neighborhood, isn't it?"

"About three blocks away, but I think it's overpriced for the square footage."

Mark gave her a thoughtful look. "Is that it? Or do you also think it's too close to your mother?"

She hadn't been expecting such a direct question. "Uh, no. You can live wherever you want."

"You seemed bothered by the fact that I was with your mom last night."

"I was surprised. I thought she was at home watching a movie. She doesn't go out much and never with people I don't know."

"But she knows me."

"She didn't recognize you when she first saw you," she countered.

"I took her by surprise, and I've changed a bit. I used to have dark-brown hair."

"That's what she said." She paused. "I don't know how much my mom told you about her life—"

"She told me she was in an accident and that she had a brain injury. It sounds like you have done an amazing job getting her back to health."

"It has been a long road. I'm protective of her."

"As you should be." He met her gaze. "I hope as you get to know me, you'll be able to trust me."

"I hope so, too." He seemed like he was being direct and honest. Was that just part of his game? Or was she being ridiculously suspicious?

A knock came at the door, and then Andrea popped her head into the office. "I'm sorry, Mr. Langley, but you have a call, and she won't take no for an answer. She wouldn't give me her name, but she said it was urgent. She seemed quite upset, almost hysterical."

"All right. I'll pick it up." He got to his feet, an apology in his gaze. "I'll take a look at these and get back to you, Keira."

"Sure, take your time. If you're interested in seeing any of them, I'll set up a showing," she said as she stood up.

"I will do that. I wish we could talk more, but I have to get this."

"Please, go ahead." She headed to the door as he answered his phone.

She lingered just long enough to hear him say, "Mandy, why on earth are you calling me here?" He paused, then said, "No, you listen. This stops now." The anger in his voice was unmistakable.

She wished she could hear more, but Andrea was giving her a speculative look, so she pulled the door shut behind her and left the office suite.

Mark had definitely gone from friendly and sincere to extremely pissed off with the woman on the phone.

Why? Who was Mandy?

Mark had almost persuaded her that her suspicions were unnecessary, but now alarm bells were going off again. She needed to find out more about Mark.

As she moved through the lobby, she couldn't help noticing that Dante was gone, which was just as well, or she might have been tempted to tell him about her latest encounter with Mark, and she didn't need to do that. She'd already gotten him more involved in her life than he needed to be.