My Favorite Souvenir(22)

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Growing some balls. Now move over a mic before the next song starts.”





Chapter 7




* * *



Hazel



I couldn’t stop staring at Milo.

He had the most amazing voice. It was raspy and deep, and the moment he started to sing, it felt like he’d wrapped it around me like a warm blanket. He sang Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now,” which was a duet, though he didn’t need anyone to sing with him at all.

I stood at the microphone for a long time just watching him, in awe of how effortless his singing sounded and how comfortable he was standing there. When he got to the chorus, he looked over and smiled at me and pointed to my mic. I joined him, though luckily no one could hear.

When the song ended, we got a standing ovation. Well, let’s be real. Milo got a standing ovation. He waved to the crowd and offered me his hand as he stepped off the stage. Our eyes locked.

“Thank you for saving my ass,” I said.

“No, Mads. Thank you for saving mine.”

? ? ?

I woke up with a huge smile on my face the morning after Milo’s performance.

My mood only got better as we checked out of the hotel in Steamboat and packed into our rental car, headed to the next leg of our adventure.

“Where are we going now, Mr. Hooker?”

“You know the answer to that question.”

“Wherever the wind takes us?”

He pointed at me. “Bingo.”

“Does the wind have any inkling of where it wants to push us?” I chuckled.

He put his seatbelt on. “The wind was thinking maybe we could slowly make our way southeast and then up north, eventually. I assume you want to end up in Connecticut when this is all over.”

The thought of going back to reality made me a little uneasy, even if it was a little ways away.

“That sounds perfect. The Southeast is one part of the country I’m pretty unfamiliar with. I’d love to see Texas…New Orleans.”

We hit the open road, and seven hours later, we found ourselves in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

What a beautiful place. The mountainous terrain, the architecture. There was a peacefulness here that was instantly welcoming.

I rolled down the window to breathe in the clean air. “I used to sing that song ‘Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe’,” I told Milo.

“I believe it’s San Jose.” He glanced over at me. “Do you know the way to San Jose…”

“Same difference.” I winked. “By the way, did I give you PTSD just now when I mentioned my singing?”

Milo grinned. “Maybe a little.”

I bounced in my seat. “I am not leaving this place without some funky cowboy boots. Can we go shopping tomorrow?”

“Sure. We should actually get a souvenir from every place we stop.”

“Well, crap.” I pouted. “We didn’t get anything from Steamboat.”

He winked. “We did, actually.”

“What?”

“I got my balls back. I’d lost them, and now I have them again.”

I slapped his leg. “Well, that’s true.”

“Actually, I did pick something up,” he said. “A souvenir.”

I perked up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He took it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

It was a little Snoopy pin that said Steamboat on it. Snoopy wore a hat, sweater, and skis.

“This is adorable. Where did you get it?”

“I actually found it. When I said I picked something up, I meant off the ground. It looks vintage, doesn’t it?”

Rubbing my finger over it, I said, “It’s precious. Can I keep it?”

“Of course.”

I happily pinned Snoopy to my jacket.

We finally arrived at our destination, a beautiful hotel and spa that had a stunning view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The sun was just starting to set, and the scenery here was a stunning sight to behold.

After we checked in, as we were walking to the elevators, we noticed the hotel workers setting up some type of event in one of the function rooms. The décor was especially flamboyant, with bright yellow linens, and it sparked my curiosity.

“I wonder what’s happening in there.”

“Maybe a wedding,” Milo said.

“Could be. But did you see all that yellow? And the giant disco ball they were putting up? Also, there weren’t any flowers. I feel like it might be something else.”

Milo’s expression spelled trouble.

“What?” I asked.

“Feel like getting dressed up tonight and crashing it?”

“Are you serious?”

“Sure.” He shrugged. “Why not. It will give us a good chance to put our recently acquired imposter skills to use.”

“So, the Hookers are going to a party, and we don’t even know what it’s for?”

“Does it really matter? Have any of the destinations we’ve hit mattered? It’s the experience, the thrill of the unknown. It’s never the destination.”

He had a point. Crashing some mystery party sounded kind of fun.

“You’re so right.” I nodded. “Let’s do it.”