My Favorite Souvenir(63)

Not yet.

Not like this.

“So…can we spend some time together?” she asked hesitantly.

I raked my hand through my hair and blew out a deep breath. “Yeah. We need to be careful, though. I don’t want Brady to find out and screw things up for you, if…” I just couldn’t bring myself to finish the damn sentence.

Hazel smiled sadly. “You’re even thinking of me first when it comes to this.” She reached out and touched my cheek. “It takes a special heart to be able to do that. I hope you know that.”

Here she was telling me what a good heart I had, and just her simple touch on my cheek made me want to press her up against the wall and kiss the living shit out of her.

“Trust me.” I nuzzled into her cheek. “My heart isn’t thinking about my friend at this moment.”

The spark that had always been there between us began to burn inside of me again. Looking into Hazel’s eyes, I saw the change in her, too. Which meant I needed to get the hell out of here. My head wasn’t clear, and I didn’t want to fuck things up if I was going to stick around for a while.

I took her hand from my cheek and held it in mine. Squeezing, I said, “I should go.”

She nodded. “When can I see you again?”

“Tomorrow afternoon I’m supposed to be playing cards with Brady and a friend we went to college with while we watch the Giants game.”

“Could I see you after that, maybe? Monday I have a photo shoot that’s going to go all day, and then I have a private maternity shoot in the evening. I don’t want to wait until Tuesday. I could come to your hotel after you get back?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s a New York hotel room. The room is basically a bed.”

“Does it have a lobby bar? Maybe we could have drinks? Or if not, go somewhere nearby?”

“I don’t want you traveling into the city at night.”

“I do it all the time.”

“Maybe. But not because of me. I’ll come to Connecticut.”

“How about my house? I could show you my wall of smiles.”

As long as we kept things confined to the living room, I figured that would be okay. Plus, I didn’t want to be walking around where we could run into any people she and Brady might know. “I’d like that.”

I tilted my head toward the door. “I’ll text you tomorrow when I leave the city.”

We looked at each other awkwardly. The last time we’d said goodbye in private, we’d mauled each other. But there was nothing wrong with a hug. Friends hug. So I took a step forward and brought her into an embrace. Hazel wrapped her arms around me and squeezed hard, not letting go.

I finally forced the separation. Pulling back, I nodded one last time. “Have a good night, Ma…” I corrected myself. “Hazel.”

She smiled sadly. “You, too, Mi…Matteo.”





Chapter 20




* * *



Matteo



I felt like a damn traitor.

“What the hell are you doing? Memorizing the things? Do you want a card or not?”

I blinked a few times and found Brady staring at me. “Huh?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re lucky I’m a good friend, or you’d be walking out of here with only the lint in your pockets. You usually kick my ass at poker. What the hell is up with you today?”

Trevor stood from the card table. He pointed to Brady. “You want a beer?” He pivoted and pointed his finger in my direction. “You want a beer?”

That made me smile. Trevor Two Times. “I guess you caught a buzz, huh? I guess you caught a buzz?”

Brady smirked. “He drank, like, eight already. He drank, like, eight already.”

Trevor flipped the table the bird. “Dicks. I’m only getting myself a beer.”

Eddie, Brady’s neighbor and the fourth in our card game this afternoon, stood. “I have to run downstairs and put whatever gross concoction my wife made into the oven so she can burn it when she comes home. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Brady stretched his arms over his head. We’d been playing a few hours, since the first game started at one. “So what did you wind up doing last night?” he asked.

Ugh. I was going to have to start writing down my lies so I could remember them all. “I just walked down to a bar near my hotel and had a few drinks.”

He sipped his half-empty beer. “Out cruising? You could’ve taken Kimber home with you the other night if you were looking for a hookup.”

I shrugged. “Wasn’t feeling it.”

“Yeah. She’s a gorgeous model who was into you, doesn’t want a commitment, and lives halfway across the country. I can see why she wouldn’t be the perfect candidate for a hookup,” he said sarcastically. “Have you talked to that girl you’re hung up on yet?”

Shit. “Uh, yeah. Just for a few minutes.”

“She still jerking you around?”

I shook my head, feeling defensive of Hazel. “She’s not jerking me around. She just came out of something, and she’s not sure if it’s over.”

Brady finished off his beer and set it on the table. “Oh, that’s over.”