Page 55 of If We Never Met

"I didn't. I had no idea that Nikki had alerted the press. She just asked me to have a drink with her. I thought we'd chat. I'd explain that there was nothing going on with me and Dante. But she ambushed me, and she set Dante up as well."

"But you all went along with her?"

"There didn't seem to be another option, not with all those cameras focused on us." She paused, seeing something else in Hannah's gaze. "What aren't you telling me?"

"The photos were fine, but this afternoon Nikki went on social media to announce she'd broken up with Dante. She said that while she'd thought you were a friend, she'd learned that you were trying to steal Dante from her. She had a little tear dripping down her beautiful face."

"What?" she asked in shock. "None of that is true. Dante said he broke up with her right after I left, but it had nothing to do with me. They've been on the rocks for a while. They hadn't even seen each other in six weeks."

"I believe you, but Dante hasn't said anything publicly to refute Nikki's statements."

"I'm sure he doesn't want to feed the fire."

"He might need to respond, because you're the one getting consumed by that fire. He should defend you, Keira. She's dragging your name through the mud."

"I don't care what Nikki says."

"You should. You have a reputation, too."

"People in Whisper Lake know me. What the rest of the world thinks doesn't matter."

"What about your design business? That could be global. You have to protect yourself."

Hannah had a point, but she still didn't see any option but silence. "There's nothing I can say. I don't have a platform like Nikki does."

"Dante has a platform. You should talk to him about it."

"I'm trying not to talk to him at all," she muttered.

"Why?"

"Because talking to him is what got me into this mess."

Hannah gave her a sharp, searching look. "What happens now that he's not attached?"

"Nothing happens. He's still just passing through town. If we run into each other, we'll be friendly and polite, but that's it."

"Oh, come on. You kissed him. He kissed you. You passedjust friendsdays ago."

"There's not going to be any more kissing."

"Well, that sucks. Your reputation is being shredded online, and you're not even getting the perks of this situation. If you're going to get reamed for allegedly stealing Dante from Nikki, why don't you just have some fun?"

"I can't."

"Why not? You're so serious all the time."

"It's not that I don't want to have fun." She paused and let out a sigh. "I like him too much already. I don't want to say goodbye to him now. Sleeping with him will only make it harder."

Hannah gave her a sympathetic smile. "That's true. You do tend to get emotionally involved. What can I do?"

"Go back in time and tell me I don’t need a date for your wedding, so I won't go online and try to find one and then mistake Dante for my real but boring date."

"That part was not on me."

"It all started with you. And by the way, I am not bringing a plus one to your wedding, so you'll just have to deal with the awkward seating assignments. In fact, I'm happy to sit at the bar."

"Don't worry about that. It was never about the seating. I just didn't want you to feel like the odd man out."

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