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* * *MatteoI 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.”
My brows furrowed. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, even if she doesn’t wind up with you, if she’s out there falling for another guy, whatever she had with the first guy wasn’t going to last anyway.”
If he only knew...
Brady had never been philosophical, but he did have a point. If you’re truly in love with someone, your heart should be full, and there wouldn’t be room to let another person in. “I guess…”
“Did you fool around with this girl?”
I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. “No. It wasn’t like that.”
“So it’s not about great sex then?”
I shook my head. I definitely needed to extricate myself from this somehow—change the subject. Then it dawned on me, I could turn the tables. My own morbid curiosity wanted to know what had gone down with the Greek woman who caused Brady to call off his wedding, and this was the perfect opportunity to toss out a question and get the heat off of me at the same time.