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Before, even though I might not have been dating Brady anymore, that felt more like a technicality. Somehow I’d still been tethered to him in a way that spending time with anyone else made me feel disloyal. But now, that tether had been severed. It was truly the first time in four years that I was free.
Of course, that didn’t mean my feelings for Brady disappeared, because they didn’t. Nor did it mean I wanted to jump into something else. Besides, whatever was going on between Matteo and me, I knew it couldn’t happen while I was running away from Brady. Matteo was a man who deserved to have a woman running toward him because she wanted to—not because she needed to get away from something else.
That being said, Felicity had also been right. I needed to spend some time with Matteo. Not on an adventure, but just living our ordinary lives, to see if that changed the way I thought I felt about him. And now that the shackles were off, maybe I could do that. I’d never really been with him without Brady being at the forefront of my mind.
I turned right at some corner, and my cell phone buzzed from my purse. Taking it out, I saw a New York City number, but one I didn’t recognize. I swiped to answer anyway.
“Hello?”
“Are you okay?”
“Matteo?”
“Yeah. I’m calling from the front desk at the hotel. I didn’t want my cell phone number to flash on your phone and Brady to see it. But it’s late. You’d said you’d probably be leaving by about ten, and I was getting worried about you.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I should have called. I’m fine. I just went for a walk.”
“A walk? By yourself?”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I needed to clear my head.”
I stopped walking for the first time and looked around. But nothing looked familiar, and I couldn’t make out the street sign up ahead from this far away. “I’m not sure where I am.”
“I did that the other day. I walked out of my hotel and just kept going. I had no idea where I was, and I didn’t really care. But it’s getting late now. So I’m not sure if it’s such a good idea for you to be walking around the city aimlessly while in a fog thinking.”
“What time is it?”
“It’s almost eleven thirty.”
Wow. I’d gotten to Brady’s apartment at seven thirty. Dinner couldn’t have been more than two hours. I would’ve guessed I’d been walking for about a half hour, but apparently it was more like two.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
“Are you okay, Hazel? Did something happen that made you take the long walk?”
“No. Well, yes. No… I mean, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“Where are you? I’ll come to wherever you are, and we can talk about what’s on your mind.”
“It’s okay. I can just grab an Uber to you. At least if I call for a car it will know where I am.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. But do you think we could talk in your room? I know you were trying to avoid that, but I really just want to take off my shoes and sit with you for a while.”
“Yeah. Sure. Of course.”
“Okay. I’m going to call a car now. I’ll see you in a little while. What room are you in?”
“713.”
“Okay. See you soon.”Chapter 23* * *MatteoHazel arrived just as room service was leaving. Her nose and cheeks were bright red from the cold, and she looked a little lost.
“Hey.”
She practically ran into my arms. It felt so good to hold her. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been all day until I felt the equivalent of a giant sigh roll through my body. Hazel’s hair smelled so good, and she just fit so perfectly under my chin. We stayed glued to each other for a solid five minutes. I stroked her hair with one hand and held her close with the other while she clung to me. But the desperation in her touch had me concerned, and I needed to see her face to know she was really okay.
Pulling back, I cupped her cold cheeks in my hands. Her teeth were chattering. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
She smiled sadly. “I’m fine. Freezing suddenly, but okay. It’s funny, I walked for a long time and didn’t feel the cold at all. But now it seems to have caught up to me.”
“I figured you might need to thaw out, so I ordered a carafe of hot chocolate. Let me pour you some.”
Hazel had on a dress and high heels. Her legs were bare, and she’d said on the phone that she wanted to take off her shoes. So I poured her a steaming mug of hot chocolate and lifted my chin toward her feet. “Do you want a pair of socks or something?”
