Page 30 of If We Never Met

"He worked for a package delivery service for thirty years. He retired last year."

"He must be proud of you."

"I don't know. Maybe. He doesn't say much. But last year when I won the World Series, he texted me, and he said he was impressed. That was it."

"Well, that's something."

"It was the first time he ever really said anything particularly complimentary. He was usually more ready to point out our mistakes than celebrate our successes. He's basically just a terrible communicator."

"Has he been supportive since your injury?"

"He's texted me. But he's a negative person, and I don't need that energy right now. I'm sure he thinks I'm done."

"I hope your brothers are more positive."

"They are, but I actually haven't talked much to anyone. I went to Colorado for the surgery and stayed in Denver for six weeks. I haven't been around my family, my friends, or my teammates, which is fine. No one knows what to say, and I don't really want them to say anything, because I don't need reassurances from people who have no idea if I will recover or not. I need results. I need my arm to work again, the way it did before." He paused, blowing out a breath. "I don't know how we got on this subject."

"I'm not sure, either, but it's nice to hear about your life, Dante. I feel like this is the first time you've really opened up."

"It must be Justin's very strong margaritas."

She laughed. "They are strong, aren't they?"

"They got me talking. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Your friends mentioned a couple of times at dinner how you have so many businesses going that they're worried you're not pursuing your real dream."

"Well, they don't understand the big picture."

"Which is what?"

"I don't live in an ideal world; I live in the real world. Money and responsibilities factor into my decisions."

"Desire factors in, too. If you don't have it, you can't force it."

She frowned, giving him an annoyed look. "What does that mean?"

"If you're not going after the design business, maybe it's not really what you want."

"It is what I want," she argued. "It's what I've always wanted. I've been sketching and sewing since I was eight. I love creating clothes. I love dressing someone so that they feel their best, their most confident, their most creative, but it's a difficult business, and it's not easy to succeed. I'm sure you'd say, well, being a Major League Baseball player isn't easy, either. But it's not the same."

"I know it's not the same. I'm not judging you, Keira."

"It feels like you are."

"Or maybe I just said what you were thinking, and you didn't like it. I struck a nerve."

"You don't know me, Dante. You don't know what I want. Don't try to fix me." She got to her feet. "I'm going inside."

He stood up. "Wait. I'm sorry. You're right. It's your business, not mine."

"You just don't know what I've been through, what I'm still going through."

"Can I apologize again?"

She drew in a breath and let it out. "It's all right. I guess you hit a sore spot. I have a lot of balls in the air, and no one understands the pressure I'm under. It's not so easy to just go for what I want. I have to consider other people, too."

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