Page 116 of If We Never Met

He put his hand against her mouth to stop her. "I did come by. Don't think of the alternative."

"It's impossible not to. I could have died."

"But you didn't. You're okay." He brushed the hair off her face and kissed her again. "I was terrified when I pulled up and saw the fire. And then seeing you trapped under all that rubble—"

This time she was the one who put her fingers against his lips. "We both need to stop thinking about the bad stuff that didn't happen."

"You're right." His gaze narrowed as she shivered. "Are you cold?"

"Probably just a little shocked."

He wrapped both arms around her, bringing her into his chest. As he did so, she couldn't help but notice the wince of pain that ran across his face. She pulled back to give him a searching look. "You hurt your arm, didn't you?"

"No, it's fine."

"I don't believe you. I knew you shouldn't have moved that beam. It was too heavy. All the progress you've made—"

"Stop. I don't care about my arm."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't," he said firmly. "I care about you, Keira. I'm in love with you. I would have cut off my right arm to save you."

She stared at him in amazement, feeling too rattled to believe him.

"I'm in love with you," he repeated. "I ran into your mom earlier, and she told me that I needed to tell you how I feel, so I'm telling you."

"It's too soon for love."

"No, it's not. I love you, Keira, and if my arm never works again, I don't care, because you are more important to me than baseball."

She shook her head in bemusement. "How can that be?"

"It just is. You have to believe me. Everything snapped into place when I saw your house on fire. Baseball is not the most important thing in my life anymore; you are. I'm hoping you feel the same way, even though you haven't said anything, which is strange, because you usually talk a lot."

She smiled, overwhelmed with so many feelings she didn't know where to start. So, she began with what was most important. "I'm in love with you, too, Dante. I've been trying to fight it, telling myself this was just a fun fling. But it was more than that."

"A lot more," he agreed.

"But being in love doesn't change our problems with geography and responsibilities."

"We're going to have to find a way to work that out. I want to be with you, Keira, and I usually get what I want," he added with a small smile.

"I like your confidence, as misplaced as it might be."

"We have to try to make things work." He paused as Adam came toward them.

"Are you two all right?" Adam asked with concern.

"Yes," she said. "I just hurt my foot, but otherwise I'm okay."

"Tell me what happened."

She repeated what she'd already told Dante, noting Adam's expression growing harsher by the minute.

"We'll find Mandy," Adam assured her when she was done. "I promise you that. I honestly thought she was out of town. I should have made sure you and your mother had protection."

"You couldn't have known Mandy would go from vandalizing a hotel room to setting our house on fire, Adam."

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