Then again, we never did exchange names.
Matteo.
Matteo Duncan.
I had to get used to that name.
What killed me about this whole experience was that I could tell Matteo was really hurting, and I couldn’t comfort him. His body was rigid. His fists were closed. That told me he never saw this coming and very likely had no inkling who I was.
We were both the apparent victims of bad luck.
Very back luck.
He downed the rest of his beer in one long drink and shoved his chair back before standing up. “I’m gonna let you guys have a romantic evening. I’m pretty tired anyway. Gonna go check into my hotel and call it a night.”
Brady’s forehead wrinkled. He was definitely confused by his friend’s behavior. “I thought you were staying with me?”
“Yeah…that was the original plan, but I decided to get a hotel at the last minute.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive, yeah.” He lifted his bag off the ground and threw it over his shoulder.
“Maybe we can hang tomorrow night?” Brady said.
“Yeah. Sure.” Matteo looked over at me. “Hazel, it was a pleasure.” He reached out his hand, and when I took it this time, he squeezed even harder than before.
Then he turned around and never looked back as he disappeared out the door.
I stared blankly at the exit for what seemed like minutes on end, and Brady finally turned to me.
“Duncan seemed a little off. Something must be up with him.”
My heart still reeling, I exhaled. “Yeah…”
“He’s fun as all hell, but he’s been through his share of shit. His girlfriend died a few years back in a skiing accident. Not sure I ever mentioned that when you and I met. It happened before you. Anyway, I wonder if seeing us together again reminded him of her or something.”
I shut my eyes tightly.
“He’s never really been the same since that happened. Duncan was so full of life before Zoe died. He used to sing—perform at clubs. You can imagine he had no problem getting women.” He chuckled. “But once he met her, it was like he’d met his match. They started performing together. It seemed he’d found his soulmate, until the accident.”
I swallowed. “That’s so sad.”
Brady stared off. “I should’ve been a better friend to him all these years. We lost touch a bit. He fell into his own world, and I should’ve made more of an effort to be there for him. It’s hard to do that from across the country, but I didn’t try hard enough. Despite the fact that we’d grown apart, when it came down to choosing a best man, he was still the first person who came to mind.” Brady took my hand. “Maybe he’ll still have a chance to stand up for me if I’m lucky enough to marry you.”
I wanted to vomit—not only because of this conversation, but because someone I cared about very much was out there hurting, and I had no idea how to get to him. I didn’t have to even imagine how he was feeling. Because I was feeling every bit of it, too.
Brady looked around the room. “I think our waitress got lost. I’m going to go up to the bar and grab another beer. You want another drink, babe?”
I nodded. The lump in my throat made it difficult to push words out. “I’m going to go to the restroom while you do that.”
After Brady disappeared into the crowd, I sat at the table alone for a minute, feeling completely shell shocked.
What the hell was I going to do?
I needed to talk to Milo in the worst way.
But we had never even exchanged phone numbers.
Taking out my phone, I Googled Matteo Duncan, hoping by some miracle a phone number would pop up. Of course, luck was again not on my side.
I really needed a few more minutes alone, so I decided to go to the bathroom before Brady got back. As I stood, I looked down and noticed Brady had left his cell phone on the table.
My pulse sped up.
Milo’s number.
He must have Milo’s number in there.
It wouldn’t be so strange if I took it to the ladies’ room? It would be sort of irresponsible to leave a thousand-dollar phone unattended on the table of a crowded bar.
Not allowing myself to overanalyze it, I glanced around the bar for any sign of Brady. Finding the coast clear, I swiped the phone off the table and practically ran to the ladies’ room.
My heart pounded in my chest as I locked myself in a stall. With my hands shaking, I prayed Brady hadn’t changed his passcode as I typed it in.
0-5-1-4
Bingo.
The phone unlocked, and I exhaled a loud stream of air.
Calling up the contacts, I typed in Milo and nothing appeared. Realizing Brady would certainly not have his friend listed by our fake Hooker names, I tried Matteo. But still nothing came up. So I typed Duncan, praying he was in there.