Page 3 of If We Never Met

"And yet you find time to date," he mused.

"Actually, I don't date very often, but my friends have been pressuring me to get out there. Hannah, in particular, would love for me to have a plus one at her wedding," she said candidly. "That's why I got on the app last week and then you popped up." She frowned. "You don't look exactly like your photo, though."

"Better or worse?" he asked curiously.

"Better."

"That's good."

"Tell me about yourself. You haven't said too much. I know you're changing careers and you're giving up being an attorney to become a writer. I think that's great. I admire people who go after their dreams."

"I admire that, too," he said soberly. Talking about dreams just reminded him how close he was to losing his.

"Danny?" she queried with concern. "You suddenly look serious."

"Sorry. Just thinking about dreams."

"It's something I think about, too. Sometimes they can come true and sometimes they just stay dreams."

Now she was the one who looked solemn. "You mentioned your mother was in an accident, and that's why you came back from New York. How is she doing now?"

"She's much better. She had a head injury, and it was a long road back, but she's been improving every year. I'm starting to feel like she's going to be okay."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Me, too. The days after her accident were the scariest days of my life, and that is an understatement."

He was surprised at how easily they'd fallen into a personal conversation with so much depth. It certainly wasn't his usual first-date conversation, but he was enjoying it. "Was your father able to help?"

"No. My dad died before I was a year old. I don't even remember him. We lived with my grandmother during most of my childhood. Unfortunately, she passed away when I was fourteen, and then it was just my mother and me." She sipped her wine. "I'm talking too much. What about you? Are you an only child or do you have siblings?"

"I have three brothers."

She arched a brow in surprise. "That's a lot of testosterone in one family."

"You could say that."

"Where are you in the line-up?"

"I'm the second oldest."

"So, a middle child."

"Yes."

"Did your parents keep trying for a girl?"

"My mom always wanted a daughter, but she never got one."

"Are your parents alive and well?"

"No. Like you, I grew up with mostly one parent and some grandparents. My mom died when I was twelve."

"I'm sorry. How did she die?"

He was actually surprised by the question. Most people stopped talking when he brought up an uncomfortable subject like his mother's death. But Keira was gazing at him with genuine, compassionate interest.

"She had cancer. It was aggressive and fast. One minute she was baking cookies and volunteering at school, the next minute she was in a hospital bed in our living room. I hated coming home and seeing her there. It felt so wrong. Even after she passed away, I went into the house through the back door for at least another year, so I wouldn't have to remember…" He shook his head and cleared his throat. "That was too much information." He couldn't believe he'd shared such a personal story with her.

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