Page 27 of If We Never Met

"Hey, I'm sorry," Jake said, giving him an apologetic look. "I shouldn't have mentioned the injury."

He shook his head, angry at himself for making Jake feel awkward. "It's not a secret. Don't worry about it."

"I told Jake to be cool," Hannah put in. "He is not usually a fan-boy, but he makes an exception for baseball."

"I'm not a fan-boy," Jake told Hannah. "I just like the game."

"I know. I watched you play a lot of games in high school. You were obsessed." Hannah looked at him. "Jake was really good."

"I was average," Jake corrected.

"You two went to high school together?" He wanted to move the conversation away from baseball.

"Yes. We loved each other and then we hated each other," Hannah said. "That's the short version. It took us about twelve years to get back to the love part."

He saw a hint of that love in the glance they now exchanged.

"Which I was really happy to see," Keira interjected. "I had a front-row seat to their love-hate relationship in high school, as well as the past year. I was tremendously relieved when they decided to stop fighting each other."

"What turned it all around?" he asked curiously.

"I did a lot of groveling," Jake joked.

"Not any more than you needed to do," Hannah said pointedly. "The truth is, Dante, we both had to grow up and realize we weren't the people we used to be. We also had some family baggage to deal with. When we finally got honest with each other, we were able to see past the hurt and the anger." She held up her left hand, a sparkling diamond on her third finger. "Now, we're engaged, and I'm getting married in less than two weeks." Hannah smiled at Keira. "And I'll be wearing a Keira Blake original."

"I hope you'll be wearing it. I still need to finish your dress," Keira grumbled.

"It's already done. You just won't let it go."

"It's not perfect yet, and for you, it has to be perfect."

Hannah shook her head in bemusement. "I honestly don't know what's wrong with it, but I will trust you, because you're the designer." She turned back to him. "Did you know that Keira designed the dress Chelsea will be wearing on the awards show tonight?"

"I heard something about that."

"I'm sure you're going to get a lot of calls for work after Chelsea walks down the red carpet," Hannah added to Keira. "This could be a big starter for you."

"We'll see. Let's talk about something else," Keira said. "Did you work today, Hannah?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I had to cover Rose's shift." Hannah looked at him. "I'm a nurse. The hospital is getting busy as the tourists arrive in town, although summer is never as bad as winter. The snowboarders and skiers break a lot of bones and pull a lot of muscles."

"I'll bet."

"Are you a winter sports guy?" Hannah asked.

"No. I've been snowboarding a few times, but I've never gotten past the medium hills. I bet you're all very good at winter sports, considering where you live."

"Keira is the best."

He turned to Keira. "You're a pro, huh?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but I grew up on these mountains. And I like speed. I was always a very responsible kid, but when I skied, I let myself go. I even did some downhill racing, but I had a bad fall when I was a teenager, and my mom was so freaked out about how I could have killed myself that I backed off the circuit."

He wondered how many other sacrifices Keira had made for her mom. It certainly seemed like more than a few. He was a little surprised she liked speed and racing, although maybe he shouldn't be. Keira clearly had a zest and an energy to participate in life. She wasn't a spectator. She was definitely a doer. She had multiple businesses, she was the family caretaker, and she was very involved with her friends.

The conversation shifted as Lizzie and Justin joined them for dinner, and there was an easy comfort among everyone in the group. Lizzie talked about the inn. Justin mentioned his new office center that was apparently being designed by an architect, who was also a friend. Jake spoke about his adventure sports business while Hannah threw shade at just about everyone.

He liked all of them, more than he would have imagined, and he found himself being drawn into their conversation but in subtle ways. No one asked him about his stats or his injury or anything to do with baseball. That might be because he'd made Jake and Hannah uncomfortable, but he found himself sharing information about his family, growing up in San Francisco, even his old dog, Rosie, who had shagged baseballs for him.

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