Page 83 of If We Never Met

Micah? Dante's brother?

"Nice to see you, too," Micah said with a laugh. "Who's your friend? Or do I even need to ask?" Micah stepped forward, a curious gleam in his eyes. "You must be Keira."

"I am. How did you know?"

"Your face is all over the internet."

"Right. I almost forgot," she mumbled.

"What are you doing here, Micah?" Dante asked again.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. So, here I am. I've gotten myself a room, thanks to Lizzie."

"He was in luck," Lizzie said. "I had a cancellation."

"How long are you staying? I have rehab Monday through Saturday. I'm really busy," Dante said.

"Don't worry. I have to leave Monday morning, but I thought I'd check in on you and see what Whisper Lake is all about."

At his words, Keira realized that any thought of getting naked with Dante had just been blocked by his brother's arrival. She felt an absurd sense of disappointment. But she wasn't going to stand in the way of their brotherly reunion. "You guys should catch up," she said. "Lizzie, do you have time to have a drink with me?"

"I do," Lizzie replied. "I'm actually glad you stopped in. I want to hear about the birthday party."

"Hey, you don't have to go, Keira," Micah said. "If I'm interrupting something, I can go find some food on my own."

"No, don't be silly. You and Dante should go out. It's a Saturday night. The town is hopping. If you want to see Whisper Lake, this is a great time." She turned to Dante. "We'll talk another time."

"We will," he promised. Turning back to his brother, he added, "Do you want to drop your bag off?"

"Sounds good. I'll be back in a few minutes."

As Micah went upstairs, Lizzie cleared her throat. "I'll pour us some wine. Want to meet me on the patio, Keira?"

"Sure. I'll be right there."

Left alone, Dante gave her a rueful smile. "Sorry about this."

"Don't apologize."

"I had no idea Micah was going to show up here."

"He's worried about you. It's nice that he came."

"Yeah, but I had a lot of plans for tonight, and none of them included him. As soon as he's gone…"

"Give me a call," she finished.

He sighed. "Sometimes I want to kill my brother."

She smiled. "Just enjoy it. Have fun with Micah. We can get together next week. We have time."

He frowned at her words. "Not as much as I'd like."

"We agreed not to think about the future too much, or we'll miss what we have right now."

"What I have right now is an annoying little brother in town."

Despite his statement, she could hear the love in his voice. Dante needed his family. It was nice that one of his brothers had showed up to support him. As Micah came downstairs, she gave him a quick kiss and then headed out to the patio.

---