Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(110)

Taking my arms, he guides them to wrap around his neck, his own going low around my waist as he holds us together.

“I like this song,” he says.

He begins to sway, dancing with me in his under-construction kitchen while we’re both barefoot and I’m only wearing his shirt.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Dancing with you.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to.”

A flash of an old memory comes back. He told me he’d catch his parents doing this all the time in their kitchen. I know he spent the last six years trying to distance himself from anything that resembled their relationship, so him saying this is something he wants to do feels a bit bigger and more important than simply swaying in his kitchen together.

“Was the call that bad?”

His jaw flexes before he nods to tell me yes.

“She’s upset with you because of me.”

“I don’t care, Hallie.”

“But you should. I know how important she is to you.”

“Of course she is. But I also let her feelings sway mine for six years longer than they should’ve. I’m finally doing what I want.”

“Rio.” I toy with the hair at the nape of his neck. “She hates me.”

“I think we both know it’s not actually you that she’s angry with.” He lets that truth hang in the air for a while before he adds, “I’m not letting anyone ruin this again. Not her and not me. Please don’t worry about it. I think she’ll come around one day and if she doesn’t, well, that’s her own problem. But I’m not fucking this up again.”

I want to argue back and remind him that there’s no way in hell that he’s going to be okay for long if his mother is opposed to us being together. He respects her too much to allow this rift between her and the woman he’s seeing. I just hope that one day, I’ll get the chance to change her opinion of me.

“Hallie,” Rio whispers, still dancing slowly with me in his kitchen. “Are we doing this? You and me. Because I’m all in.”

I laugh lightly. “I thought last night kind of answered that.”

“I’d really like to hear you say it, to make sure I’m not assuming anything here.”

He has this sweet, pleading look in his eyes as he waits for my confirmation.

“You’re not assuming anything.” I pull him down to kiss me. “I’m all in too. It’s you and me.”

Again is what I’m tempted to say, but for good feels more accurate.





Chapter 35


Rio


Age 20

“I decided I’m going to enter the NHL draft this year.”

I’ve been waiting to tell her until I got to see her in person, and apparently, the moment we collapsed onto my bed together, tangled limbs and hard-earned breaths, was the opportunity I saw fit.

Hallie rolls onto her stomach, propping her naked body on my bare chest to look at me. Wide eyes and a big smile on her lips. “You are?”

I push her long, messy hair behind her ear. “I know it’s earlier than I originally planned, but my agent feels like it’s the right time. Worst-case scenario if I don’t get picked up, at least I still have two more years I can play here.”

“You’re going to get picked. Early, I bet. The amount of attention you’ve had from scouts this season is wild.”

I run my fingers down her bare back, listening to this year’s playlist she put together. Now that Hallie is in college for interior design and has a more flexible schedule, she’s been able to come out to Michigan to see me more often, and since I couldn’t get to her for her birthday, she hopped on a plane to come to me.

Thank God.

Unlike last year when she was finishing high school, now we don’t go more than a month without seeing each other. Our families both know about our relationship, though they apparently knew before we ever confirmed it. They’re fully on board. My mom might be the most ecstatic of all, but that’s not all that surprising. She has adored Hallie since the moment the Harts moved in next door.

And while yes, Luke spent the entire summer after finding out furious with both of us, it’s now been almost ten months since he learned about his sister and me, and he’s slowly starting to come around to the idea.

“What’s this song from?” I ask as the next one begins to play through the boombox speakers.

“You don’t remember? This is the song you played right before our first time.”

“I remember. I just like to hear you tell me about each one. And I’m glad this song made the cut. I’ll happily rewind it back and replay that night over and over again.”

Chuckling, she settles onto me, resting her head on my chest, and wrapping her arm around my middle.

We lie there for a long while, holding one another and listening to music, before I finally gain the courage to ask what I’ve been wanting to ask.

“Hal?”

“Hmm?”

“If I do get picked up by a team, will you go with me?”

She lifts her head, whipping her attention in my direction to check if I’m being serious.

“I know it’d mean you’d have to transfer schools next year, but I honestly can’t see myself playing in the league without you by my side. You’ve been there for every part of this. It’s only right that you’re with me for the next.”