My Favorite Souvenir(78)

Groggy-eyed, Hazel walked over to greet them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan.”

“As it is you.” My father smiled.

Dad was a much easier sell than my mother. In Mom’s eyes, no one was good enough for her son. It had taken her a long time to warm up to Zoe. Other than that relationship, I’d rarely brought women to meet my parents.

“Well, we certainly didn’t expect to be interrupting your time with your guest. I’d planned to cook you a nice brunch. But I suppose this might be an unwelcome surprise. Should we go?”

My stomach growled at the mere mention of food. “Pretty sure the brunch plans can stand. I’m starving.”

My father laughed. “If Hazel doesn’t mind two old geezers joining you, then?”

“Not at all. I would love that.” She smiled.

I had to give her credit for even smiling. This couldn’t have been easy to wake up to.

My parents started taking out the groceries they’d bought. Within minutes, the smell of coffee filled the air. Shortly thereafter, the sound of bacon sizzling was music to my ears. Things were getting better by the minute.

Hazel had wanted real. You couldn’t get more real than my parents showing up at the door on day one.

Once brunch was served, the four of us crammed around my tiny kitchen table, although I did at least have four seats.

“So, Hazel, what do you do?” my mother asked.

“I’m a photographer back in Connecticut.”

“You have an established business there?”

“Yes.”

“So, you likely wouldn’t be moving out this direction?”

“I haven’t really thought too deeply about that.”

“I could never see Matteo settling in Connecticut. He’s always needed to be where the action is—if he’s even in one place for long at all.”

“Stop scaring her, Mom,” I said, shoveling bacon into my mouth.

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just rare that I get to meet anyone you’re spending time with.” She took a sip of her coffee. “I noticed the two separate beds, though.”

“Marianne…” my father scolded.

“It’s okay,” Hazel said.

It is? Because it doesn’t seem fucking okay to me.

Mom’s brow lifted. “I’m now wondering if you really are a dear friend—as he said—and nothing more? I’m sorry to pry, I’m just genuinely curious, and my son tells me nothing.”

“We’re taking things slowly,” she said.

“Well, I find that very impressive in this day and age.”

“Mom, Hazel’s being a good sport and answering shit because she’s polite, but I’m about to not be if you don’t stop. My sex life is none of your business.”

Everyone went quiet for a moment. It was Hazel who finally broke the ice.

“Or lack thereof,” she mumbled.

My brows pulled together. At first I had no idea what the heck she was talking about. Then I started to laugh, and Hazel did, too. Maybe we’d needed the levity, or maybe we’d both just finally lost it, but once we started, we couldn’t stop. We fell into a fit of laughter.

At one point, when we were finally starting to slow down, Hazel snorted, and that just cracked us up all over again. Tears streamed down our faces. My father seemed amused, but my mom definitely didn’t look too pleased.

When I was finally able to speak, I reached over and patted my mother’s hand. “Hazel makes me happy, Mom. That’s all you need to know.”

A little while later, we agreed to meet my parents for dinner at a restaurant they loved nearby, and they left to see if they could check into their hotel early. Hazel and I were finally alone. I washed the dishes while she dried, and after, she said she needed to check her work email, so I took a quick shower before turning the bathroom over to her.

When she emerged wearing the T-shirt I’d left on the hook on the door with her hair wrapped in a towel, I couldn’t stop staring at her. She looked gorgeous.

“What?” She rubbed her cheek. “Did I miss some moisturizer on my face or something?

I shook my head. “I just like to look at you.”

Her face softened, and she walked over and took a seat on my lap. Wrapping both arms around my neck, she rubbed her nose to mine.

“I’m so glad I’m here with you, Matteo.”

“Even with my meddling mom asking you if we’re sleeping together?”

She smiled. “Especially with her here. I get to know even more about you than I expected.”

I cupped her cheeks in my hands. “Thank you for handling the surprise drop-in so well. And for the record, what I said to my mom was the absolute truth. You make me happy. And right now, I think that’s all any of us needs to know. We have a lot of background noise, but let’s try to focus on us while you’re here.”

She smiled and nodded. “I like the sound of that.”

I knew it was a slippery slope being with her in my little apartment. But when her eyes dropped to my lips, I couldn’t help myself. “Come closer,” I said.

Hazel’s lips parted, and she moved within an inch or two of my face. Her voice was breathy. “Here?”

I slid my hand around to her neck and pulled her to me, planting my lips over hers. Neither of us wasted any time as our tongues eagerly collided. Hazel had been sitting sideways on my lap, and she shifted to straddle me. Her breasts pushed against my chest, and it felt like we couldn’t get close enough. I tilted my head and deepened the kiss, grabbing her ass with two hands and tugging her even closer. Hazel moaned into my mouth when she landed right on top of my raging hard on. Not unlike its owner, my dick had revved from zero to ninety in the span of thirty seconds from touching this woman.