My Favorite Souvenir(41)

Wyatt seemed to ponder that. “Well, sometimes there’s no way to mend a broken heart by yourself. But you can give it to someone else. Then it heals slowly, because that person helps you forget about the damage.” He winked.

Milo and I exchanged a quick look.

Wyatt waved his hand. “Well, I suppose I should’ve guessed you two weren’t romantic, given that you asked for two rooms. But I wasn’t gonna pry. Bernadine used to like to sleep in her own room after we did the deed. Said my fartin’ kept her up all night. I thought maybe y’all had your reasons, too.”

We had a good laugh at that.

I smiled at Milo. “We may not be together romantically. But I feel really lucky to have his friendship and to be here with him right now.”

Before Milo had a chance to respond, Wyatt got up from his seat. Our attention turned to him as he walked over to a set of apothecary drawers.

He opened one before taking out something encased in glass. “See this lock of hair?”

I tilted my head. “Yeah?”

“It belonged to Shirley Temple. She was before your time. Ever hear of her, though?”

I remembered my grandmother talking about her. It came up once when I asked why non-alcoholic drinks were called Shirley Temples.

“Oh. Yeah. Cute little actress, right?” I said. “But why do you have her hair?”

“I had a crush on her when I was a boy. My father took me to a meet and greet two states away. And well, when she leaned in, I snipped off a piece of her hair.”

What? I knew this man was crazy—in a good way. But this news might have taken the cake.

I wasn’t sure what to say. “Wow. That’s…cool?”

“Or creepy,” Milo whispered.

Genuinely curious, I asked, “How did Shirley react?”

Wyatt flashed a wicked grin. “She didn’t know.”

My eyes widened. “What? How did she not know you cut a piece of her hair off?”

“Had a pair of those kiddie scissors stuck between my fingers when I went in for a hug. Made my move nice and quick.” He winked. “It was all innocent fun.”

“It’s all innocent fun until someone gets arrested, yeah,” Milo said.

“I have some other hair samples in the drawer if you want to see ’em?”

Milo and I looked at each other. I could tell he was just as freaked out as I was.

I pretended to yawn. “I’m feeling kind of tired, actually. Think I should turn in.”

? ? ?

There was one bathroom down the hall from our bedrooms. I took a shower, which was badly needed after our long day. The water pressure was good and the temperature hot.

As I settled into bed, Milo peeked his head inside my room.

“Just checking on you. You still feeling okay here?”

I sat up a little. “Well, Mr. Hooker, I think this detour definitely takes the cake.”

“I couldn’t agree more. At least the rooms are nice. The sheets smell good.”

I was certain his sheets smelled amazing—because they now likely smelled like him.

“Last chance, Mads. I’ll sneak us out of here right now if you’re not comfortable.”

I honestly loved how protective Milo seemed, how considerate he was about whether or not I was happy.

“This bed is really comfortable. I’m good. I might have nightmares about stuffed mice, but I’m good.”

There was a moment of silence, and I wondered if he was thinking about our moment earlier, when he’d put his hand on my face. It was the closest we’d come to crossing the line. Well, aside from that striptease I’d given him.

Even though I knew there was no point in fantasizing about his touch, I couldn’t help it.

After he left, I fell asleep quickly. Today had been an active day, so that was no surprise.

But sometime later, something woke me in the middle of the night. When I opened my eyes, I could’ve sworn I saw the door to my bedroom move. Was someone leaving my room?

What the hell?

Was it Milo?

Old Man Wyatt?

Am I hallucinating?

Not knowing was starting to freak me out. So, I got out of bed and went to Milo’s room.

He turned at the sound of the door opening.

“What’s up?” he asked groggily.

“Did you just come into my room?”

“Can’t come into your room if I’m asleep. You woke me up. Anyway, why would you think I was in your room?”

“I could’ve sworn someone was in there. I saw my door close.”

“Not me, babe.”

His calling me babe made me tingle inside.

Snap out of it, Hazel.

“Okay. Well, sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay. Try to get some sleep and not worry,” he said. “I’m right next door if you need me.”

Back in my room, I spent the next several minutes tossing and turning.

Milo must have heard my bed creaking, because no more than ten seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

“Mads, can I come in?”

I straightened in the bed. “Yes.”

Milo entered, and I sat up against the headboard as he took a spot on the corner of my bed.

“How did you know I needed company, Milo?”