My Favorite Souvenir Read online

  The manager looked back and forth between Fake Milo and me. “We’ll have to take a hundred-dollar deposit for incidentals on each room since you don’t have a credit card.”

  I smiled. “Of course.”

  She nodded to her employee. “Check them in. It’s fine.”

  The man next to me still had his mouth hanging open. So I dug into my purse, being careful not to show my wallet, which was supposed to have been stolen, and scooped out all of the cash.

  “How much are the rooms?” I asked the clerk.

  “Let’s see. With tax, they come to three-hundred-and-forty-two dollars each, for the two nights, and then we have to collect the hundred-dollar deposit.”

  Shit. I didn’t think I had that much cash. I counted the money in my hand and slid it over in front of Fake Milo. “Can you spot me forty dollars? You know I’m good for it, bro.”

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

  After we paid and got the room keys, we walked side by side to the elevator bank in silence. It wasn’t until we were alone and the elevator doors slid shut that Milo turned to me. “What the hell just happened?”

  I laughed. “We just got rooms, that’s what happened.”

  He shook his head. “But who are you?”

  “I noticed you standing near the concierge desk and eavesdropping while she called the guests who hadn’t arrived yet.” I reached forward and took the man’s hand, opening it to display blue ink. “You wrote down the names of the guests. I thought it was odd, so I followed you to the front desk to see what you were up to. When you made up that bogus story about losing your wallet so you could justify not having any ID, I knew you were full of shit.” I shrugged. “When the woman said there were two rooms on the reservation, I saw an opening and took it.”

  “How did you know I’d go along with it?”

  I smiled. “I didn’t. But that’s what made it so much fun!” I covered my chest with my hand. “My heart feels like it’s trying to ricochet out of my ribcage at this moment. It’s been a long time since I did anything risky like that.”

  His eyes roamed my face. I got the feeling he still wasn’t sure what to make of me, even though I’d just explained what I’d done. He looked down at my lips, which were still curved in an excited smile.

  “Why is that?”

  My forehead wrinkled. “Why is what?”

  “Why’s it been a long time since you’ve done anything risky? It looks to me like you enjoyed it.”

  I blinked a few times, not having expected a question that would tug at my heartstrings, and my smile fell. “I don’t know. I guess I kind of turned into a different person over the last few years.”

  Fake Milo’s eyes locked with mine. We’d gone from pulling off a crazy stunt and laughing, to an odd seriousness. His eyes flickered to my lips and back once again. “That’s a shame. You have a great smile.”

  Warmth spread through me, and I couldn’t seem to unlock my eyes from the stranger’s—at least until the elevator dinged and the doors opened on the third floor.

  “This is us,” he said. “Rooms 320 and 321.”

  “Oh. Right. Okay.” I stepped out and followed the signs to our rooms. Since we were, of course, family, they’d put us right next to each other. We stood a few feet apart as we opened our respective doors. As my lock unlatched and I turned the handle to go inside, something dawned on me.

  “I almost forgot! I owe you forty dollars for the room.”

  He smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “No, don’t be silly. I just didn’t have enough cash and didn’t want to hand the woman a credit card when we weren’t supposed to have ID. I’ll just throw my bag in the room and go downstairs to find an ATM. They must have one somewhere.”

  “I thought you couldn’t wait to take a hot bath, or was that part of the act?”

  I laughed. “No, it actually wasn’t. I wasn’t lying when I said I spent the entire day at the airport. A hot bath sounds pretty amazing right about now. But I can grab your cash first. It won’t take me long.”

  Fake Milo scratched at the stubble on his chin. “I’ll tell you what. I’m going to take a quick shower and then go downstairs to the bar for a drink. Take your bath. You can find me there afterward to give me the money.”

  “Okay.”

  We looked at each other for a moment.

  “Alright, well, enjoy your soak, sis.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Milo. I’ll see you later.”

  Chapter 2

  * * *

  Hazel

  “Hey.”

  After my bath, I found Milo exactly where he’d said he’d be…at the bar.

  He pivoted on his stool and flashed a smile. “What’s up, Hooker?”

  “Excuse me?”

  He chuckled. “It’s our last name, Madeline.”

  I smiled. “Oh. I suppose it is.”

  He sipped his beer from the bottle. “I think you look more like a Maddie than a Madeline, though.”

  I laughed. “I’m glad you didn’t say I looked like a Hooker.”

  Milo pointed his eyes to the empty seat next to him. “Join me for a drink?”

  “Oh…no. I, uh, just came to give you the money I owe you.” I dug the cash from my purse and extended it to him.

  He waved me off. “Use it to buy the next round.”

  I supposed one drink couldn’t hurt. My neck was killing me. I didn’t like to fly, and an entire day of waiting at the airport had made me tense, not to mention the stress of not knowing where I was going to sleep tonight. Maybe a drink would help me loosen the knot.

  I nodded. “Sure. Why not.”

  Milo motioned to the bartender while I settled into the seat next to him.

  “Ed. This is my sister, Maddie. Maddie, this is Ed.”

  The bartender reached over to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you, Maddie.”

  “You, too.”

  “What can I get for you?”

  “Umm. I’ll take a vodka and cranberry, with lime, please.”

  Ed rapped his knuckles against the bar. “Coming right up.” He looked to my left. “You want another Coors Light, Milo?”

  “Sure thing. Thanks, Ed.”

  I laughed as the bartender walked away. “Is your name really Milo or are you getting into character?”

  He shrugged. “I sort of like Milo better. Thought maybe I’d change mine. So I’m trying it on for size.”

  I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not. “Whatever you say.”

  “So, Mads, what’s your excuse for not having a hotel room tonight?”

  I sighed. “It’s a long story.”

  He lifted his shirt sleeve and twisted his arm to look at his watch. “Just what I thought.”

  “What?”

  He shrugged. “I have plenty of time for a long story.”

  I chuckled. “Well, to keep from boring you to death, I’ll give you the abbreviated version anyway.” I paused to think about how to explain and decided not to sugarcoat things. “I’m here on what was supposed to be my destination wedding and honeymoon. My ex-fiancé called off the wedding a couple of months ago. Our tickets and hotel were non-refundable, so I opted to make use of them and get out of town for a few days. Lately he’s started making contact with me again, telling me he’s missed me. So I figured it would be a perfect time to come do some soul searching. But two days into my ten-day trip, I realized it was a bad idea and decided to go home. Only I didn’t check the weather before I checked out this morning. So I wound up sitting in the airport all day, and by the time they canceled my flight and I realized everything in the area was sold out, my hotel had already given my room to someone else.”

  Milo’s brows rose. “Whoa. That’s a pretty shitty story.”

  I laughed. “Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.”

  “Sorry.” He chuckled.

  The bartender brought over my drink. “You want to start a tab?”

  “Put hers on my tab, Ed.”

  “
Oh, no, that’s okay. I’m just going to have this one, so I’ll pay for it.”

  “I insist.” He winked at me. “Mom wouldn’t like me letting my little sister pay.”

  I placed the forty dollars I owed him in front of him on the bar. “Thank you. At least take the money I owe you for the room.”

  Fake Milo nodded. “So what happened?”

  Why did I seem to keep getting lost in conversation with this man? “What happened, what?”

  “You said your fiancé called off the wedding. Was he always an asshole and you just figured it out now, or is there more to the story?”

  “That’s sort of a personal question, isn’t it?”

  He shrugged. “I’m your brother. You can tell me anything. Plus, I’m thinking I might need to go kick his ass for hurting you—defend my sister’s honor and all.”

  I liked Fake Milo. He had a dry sense of humor. But there wasn’t an easy answer as to what had led to the demise of my engagement. Though it looked like the man next to me was waiting for one.

  “No need to kick his ass. I actually take part of the blame.”

  His eyes widened. “Say what? You take part of the blame for that asshole canceling the wedding?”

  “Well, not for how he handled it, but perhaps for what led to it.”

  “What could possibly give him an excuse to cancel a wedding? If you’re not sure, you don’t propose.”

  How to explain…

  “Well, when he first met me, I was a free spirit, fun-loving—the total opposite of him. But you know, opposites attract, right? Even though he was more straight-laced, he was attracted to my wild personality. But over the years, I lost my way. I became…more like him. And I think despite a mutual respect for each other, he woke up one day and realized he needed to step back before he made a lifelong commitment to someone who wasn’t the same person anymore.”

  “How long were you engaged?”

  “A year.”

  Milo frowned. “That’s fucking bullshit, and you know it, right? There’s no reason to lead someone on until right before a wedding.” He took a drink of his beer and slammed the bottle down. “Anyway, you think there was more to it? Like maybe he was fucking someone else and felt guilty? Not that he would’ve had any reason to do that if he had you at home.”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t think he would do something like that. I mean, there have been times when I wondered about a couple of his female co-workers. A group of people from his office go out a lot together after work. They drink a little too much. But I don’t think he ever did more than flirt with them.”

  Rehashing anything having to do with Brady was starting to make me feel sick to my stomach.

  “How did he tell you…that he didn’t want to get married?” Milo asked.

  “He just said he wasn’t sure it was the right decision anymore. He kept things very vague. It was all so sudden. Even though I probably should’ve seen it coming, I didn’t. I truly believed he loved me, even if our relationship might have changed since the beginning. Like I said, I don’t really blame him for his change of heart.”

  “Well, you should blame him for how he handled things. That’s messed up to let you plan a wedding and then pull that shit.”

  “It definitely seemed like it hurt him to have to do it. I don’t think it was an easy decision. He’d probably known about it for a while but was just reluctant to tell me. He was very apologetic.”

  “Christ! As he should be.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah.”

  “But you know what?”

  “What?”

  He paused. “He’s an idiot. He’ll regret it someday.”

  My cheeks felt hot, and our eyes locked for a few moments.

  “Well, that’s very nice of you to say. You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you actually were my brother,” I said in a low voice. “You’re awfully protective of someone you don’t even know.”

  He turned to the bartender. “Ed, can you get my sister here another drink?”

  Holding out my palms, I said, “I’m not sure I should have another.”

  “Trust me. You’re gonna need it.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I’m about to set you straight. You might need something to take the edge off.”

  I squinted. “Is that right?”

  “Yes.”

  Ed placed another vodka cranberry in front of me.

  Milo grinned. “Drink up.”

  I took a long sip. The alcohol burned my throat. “So what is it that I need to be intoxicated in order to hear?”

  Milo leaned in. “This guy of yours, he’s gonna come back, begging you to give him another chance.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I just do, okay? Men are fucking dumb, and he’s going to realize his mistake and try to get you back.”

  His tone gave me an inkling that maybe he’d learned that firsthand.

  “Speaking from personal experience?” I asked.

  “As a matter of fact, yes. The same thing happened with my brother. It was a little different than your situation, because he actually cheated on my sister-in-law with a co-worker. She forgave him, took him back, and he thanked her by doing it again, that time with a different co-worker. My brother has always been a dick, even when we were kids. I love him, but he’s just a dick. People don’t change, Maddie. They don’t. And if this guy could let you go so easily once, he will fuck up again. He doesn’t deserve you.”

  A part of me wanted to believe he was wrong. “Well, I can’t help it if I’m still holding out hope that I didn’t waste the past few years of my life.”

  Milo shrugged. “People make bad investments all the time. You chalk it up to a mistake and move on. You don’t linger over a dead horse just because you rode the shit out of it.” He paused. “Maybe that’s not the best terminology. But anyway, dead horse? You step over it and move on. You know what happens if you try to wake that dead horse?”

  “What?”

  “It bites you in the ass.”

  I chuckled. “Okay. I get your point. But you know, moving on from a relationship that’s lasted several years is easier said than done. But I do thank you for your advice.”

  He winked. “That’s what big brothers are for.” He sipped his beer. “Anyway, tell me why you think you’re so boring.”

  I stared down into my glass. “I don’t even recognize myself anymore, Milo.”

  “Aside from the fact that you’re impersonating a Hooker, what do you mean by that?”

  That made me laugh. “For the record, we’re both impersonating Hookers, and it’s a long story.”

  He pretended to look down at his watch again. “Once again, I got time. In case you haven’t checked the weather recently, neither of us is going anywhere anytime soon.”

  “I suppose that’s true.”

  He smiled. “So, talk to me.”

  I let out a long sigh. “Okay, well, to understand me, you’d have to know that my parents were hippies.”

  He crossed his arms. “Peace and love—nice.”

  I nodded. “We moved around a lot when I was growing up. I always resented it—you know, having to change schools and everything. But as I got older, I became accustomed to the lifestyle. After college, I basically turned into my parents.”

  “You became a hippie?”

  “Not exactly. But I was never in one place. I’m a photographer. Years ago, right out of school, I worked for a music magazine and traveled the country shooting various bands. I’ve definitely seen my share of tour buses. And let me tell you, back then this girl liked to party right along with everyone else. It was fun for a long time, until—”

  He finished my sentence. “Until it wasn’t.”

  “Yeah, exactly. It hit me at a certain point that I was definitely becoming my parents, and while that had suited me just fine in my early twenties, it was starting to get old.”

  “So you quit that job?”

 
“Not immediately. I met my ex-fiancé at a concert, ironically.”

  Milo nodded. “The day the music died…”

  That made me laugh again. Or maybe it was the alcohol.

  “He was everything I wasn’t: conservative with roots. And for the first time in my life, I started to believe I wanted that type of a life instead of the one I had. I think I was really in search of a feeling of safety more than anything else.”

  He leaned back and made himself more comfortable in his seat. “I can understand that.”

  “His parents have been married for thirty-five years, and he still goes to his childhood home every Sunday night for a family dinner. I had no real home base, so I decided to quit my job to be with him.”

  “You stopped taking pictures?”

  “No. He helped me open a private studio. It’s become a thriving school-photography business. I’m the school photo queen of my town.”

  “Riveting. Do you put those fake blue and pink laser beams in the backgrounds of your photos?”

  “Of course not! That’s so eighties. I think my mom had a school photo like that, though.”

  “I think everyone’s mom probably did. Don’t forget the profile face floating in the upper corner of the picture.” He laughed.

  “I can proudly say that my photos are a lot classier than that.”

  “In all seriousness, good for you for finding a way to profit from your talents.”

  I shrugged. “School photography is far from creative, but it pays the bills and helps maintain the cushy life I’ve become accustomed to.”

  He seemed to see right through me. “But sometimes you want to trade cushy for dirty again, don’t you?”

  The way he said dirty sent a chill down my spine. I loved the way it sounded coming out of this guy’s mouth.

  I could feel how red my face must have turned. “God, we’ve spent this entire time talking about me. I haven’t even asked you what the hell you’re doing in Vail.”

  “I’m from here, actually. Grew up in Vail.”

  That surprised me. “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “So why are you staying at a hotel?”

  “I don’t live here anymore. I was just visiting my parents and some friends. They live on the outskirts of town, and I wanted to spend a few days here in the heart of things.”