My Favorite Souveni- Penelope Ward , Vi Keeland Page 0,100
absolutely had to get up. And of course, it was one of those rare mornings where some sun peeked into the window. Why wasn’t it one of the usual cloudy, rainy days here in Seattle instead?
We were tired because we’d spent a good majority of the night making up for all the moments we’d ever held back. And now I wished we’d given in a lot sooner—like back in Vail on night one. Because we’d really missed out.
“I’m so sore in the best way.” She smiled.
“I hope I wasn’t too hard on you last night.”
She shook her head. “It was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
After we fell into a long kiss, I wanted to make sure she knew where I stood before she got on the plane.
I looped my fingers with hers. “Listen, Hazel. I need to say this…”
A look of concern crossed her face. “Okay…”
“I don’t know what the next several weeks are going to hold for us. But I don’t want you to think that my giving you space in any way means I’m not here for you if you really need me. I’m here, okay?”
“Thank you for clarifying that. I don’t know if I can go without talking to you for that long.”
“But I do think it’s best if we try not to communicate.”
When she looked down, I used my hand to lift her chin. “ Listen, I want to be your ride or die, okay? So badly. But there’s only one thing I want more than that. And that’s for you to be happy, to live the life you truly want—whether that’s with me or someone else. Don’t let Brady manipulate you into thinking you owe him anything. Just be true to yourself and what you want. Listen to your heart.” I took her hand and placed it on my chest. “But mine? It will continue to beat for you until New Orleans.”
Chapter 29
* * *
Hazel
The flight home to Connecticut was long and painful. I just wanted to be back in Matteo’s arms. Leaving him felt so unnatural and premature, like we’d been ripped apart.
When the Uber dropped me off in front of my house, I was shocked to see Brady’s car parked outside. I had finally responded to his texts at the airport, letting him know I’d be home today. So he must have taken it upon himself to meet me here. I couldn’t say this was a pleasant surprise.
I should have had him give me his key back when he ended things, but stupidly I hadn’t thought to do that. His being in my house right now without me felt like a violation.
My heart pounded. I was unprepared to see him. I wondered if he’d be able to tell just by looking at me. I was covered in Matteo.
When I opened the door, I feigned a smile at the sight of him. “Hey. This is a surprise.”
He took a few steps toward me. “Yeah, it must be.”
“How come you didn’t tell me you planned to stop by?”
When he didn’t try to hug me, I knew something was off.
“Did you have a nice trip?” he asked coldly.
“Yeah.”
With each second, I became more weirded out by his vibe.
I became especially alarmed when I entered my kitchen and noticed photos lined up in a row on my counter. Not just any photos—the photos I’d taken of Matteo.
I broke out in a cold sweat. “What…what is all this?”
Brady folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me that. I came here to talk to you because you haven’t been responding to any of my messages. I’ve felt awful ever since the night of my birthday, and I wanted to apologize in person. Your camera was on the living room table, so I thought I’d snap a few pictures of myself like we used to do with each other’s phones. You remember how we used to do that, right, Hazel? I’d leave my phone out while I went to the bathroom for a minute, and the following day I’d find a nice surprise of fifteen different pictures of you smiling, sticking your tongue out, and making cross-eyes. You always looked so happy in those photos. But that’s not what I got this time, is it?”
Brady seemed to be waiting for an actual answer, but I didn’t have one. I must’ve looked like a deer caught in the headlights. After a minute of staring intensely at me, he walked over to one