My Favorite Souvenir(34)

“I totally agree. I might have thought the same thing, that it was all baloney. But what happened today seemed real as could be. And that’s beautiful.”

“Thank you for going along with my crazy idea to go in there. Otherwise, it might never have happened.”

He reached toward me. I took his hand, and our fingers intertwined. I knew it wasn’t meant to lead to anything. It was just a kind gesture, his thanks for my support. But the contact sent shockwaves through my body.

I instinctively let go. “Well…no need to thank me,” I said. “That’s what I’m here for, to go along with your crazy ideas. Some of them just happen to lead to beautiful things.” I smiled. “Speaking of which, any idea where we’re headed next?”

“Let’s see what we feel like tomorrow. I think hanging out here another day might be fun. I’m nowhere near done with seeing this city. You?”

I nodded. “I don’t think I’m ready to leave yet either.”

“Good.” Milo got up. “Hang on. Be right back.” He headed for the bathroom.

I turned on the TV and settled into the couch. Milo took a while to come back.

When he returned, I did a double take. His face was green—just like mine. He’d put on my face mask.

“What did you do?”

“I wanted to see what all the hype was about.”

I cackled. “And?”

“I can no longer feel my cheeks. How can this be good?”

“It’s busy doing its job, sucking out all of the clogged pores.”

He returned to his seat at the other end of the sofa. “That’s not its only job, though, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you think putting that shit all over your face makes me want to kiss you any less, you’re wrong. Nice try, though.”

Well, good thing my face was covered in mud, because I’m sure I was turning red underneath.

We were both quiet for a while after that. Eventually I took a deep breath. “You said you were keeping your distance because using sex to get over a relationship wasn’t healthy, and I agree with you. But did you ever wonder…what if? What if you met the right person at the wrong time? All along, the two of us have been thinking we met to help each other move on. But what if we met for another reason?”

I watched Milo’s Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Like what?”

“Maybe…we met because…” I laughed nervously. “This is probably stupid, but what if the reason we met wasn’t just to help each other move on, but because we’re supposed to be together?”

My gaze caught with Milo’s, and we shared the most intimate moment. It felt like we were in a tunnel, just the two of us. I couldn’t see or hear anything but him.

“I would love for that to be true. You’re an amazing woman, Maddie, on the inside and the outside, and I’m freaking crazy about you. But can you honestly tell me you didn’t think about your ex at all today?”

The hopeful smile I’d been wearing wilted, and I shut my eyes. I shook my head. “I get it. I haven’t fully ended the last chapter of my life, so it’s not the right time to start writing a new story.”

He nodded. “That doesn’t mean what you said isn’t true, though. Maybe we are supposed to be together. I think it’s very possible to meet the right person at the wrong time. In fact, that would be just my damn luck.” He looked away for a while and then turned back. “I have an idea.”

“What?”

“What if we book this hotel for three months from today? We’ll both go back home and fall into our lives. Ninety days from today, if you’re not thinking about him anymore, get your ass on a plane and meet me right here.” He tapped his hand on the couch. “Right here, just like tonight—except maybe without the green shit on our faces and a fuck of a lot less clothes.”

I smiled and felt the mud mask on my face crack. “I love that idea.”

“Good.” Milo reached out and weaved his fingers with mine. “Then we have a deal.”

? ? ?

The next morning, Milo was gone when I woke up. Panic came over me when I opened the bedroom door and found the living room empty. I walked around the room feeling really damn anxious until I saw his bag tucked away behind the couch. I let out a big sigh of relief and went to splash some water on my face to calm down. I’d just finished brushing my teeth in the bathroom when the sound of the door clanking open and closed in the other room caught my attention.

“Milo?” I called.

“Yes, dear.”

I smiled and finished my morning routine. When I walked out, I found Milo with his feet propped up on the coffee table and a giant cup of coffee in his hand. He leaned forward and lifted a second cup. “For you, sis.”

“Thank you.” I plopped down on the couch and tucked my legs underneath me. Peeling back the plastic tab on the cup, I said, “You were up early this morning.”

He nodded. “I had a few things on my mind that I needed to get done.”

I sipped. “Like what?”

Milo pulled some folded-up papers out of his back pocket. “Well, for starters, I talked to the front desk about extending our room for another night. They said no problem. I also got us tickets to the hop-on-hop-off tour bus. You know the big, red double decker you see around town?”