Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(111)

Her face softens with a sweet smile.

“I want to start our lives now,” I continue. “I want to buy us a house. One that’s all ours. I want you to be at every one of my home games. And though I’m glad I get to see you once a month now, I spend all the days in between waiting for these ones. I don’t want to be away from you anymore.”

“And if I’m not ready to go with you now?”

“Then I’ll still buy you a house and it’ll be waiting for you.” I run my fingers through her hair. “And so will I.”

“I’m kidding.” She leans up, pressing her lips to mine. “Of course I’ll go with you. I’d go anywhere with you.”

“Yeah?”

“We both know it’s going to be us in the end. What’s the point in wasting time?”

“That’s exactly how I feel.”

I watch the excitement grow in her expression. “What if you get picked up by Boston? How amazing would that be to play for your dream team right away?”

“I can’t even let myself think about that. Obviously playing in the league is the goal, but playing for my hometown?”

“It’ll happen one day,” she states. “I know it will.”

I bask in her confidence in me. The same confidence she gave me that night on the roof when I was about to quit playing hockey for good. The same she gave me when I was too nervous to kiss her for the first time. The same she’s had in us and our relationship since the day it began.

“So,” she begins excitedly. “What kind of house are you going to buy us?”

I chuckle at the change of subject. “What kind of house do you want?”

“A big one. With four or five bedrooms that we can fill with kids one day.”

I can’t wait for that. I can’t wait to marry her either.

“I’m assuming you want something colorful and pretty that fits your vibe.”

She shakes her head no. “White walls. Boring. Like a big plain box, so when we get there, I can start renovating it to be ours. I’ll paint every wall exactly how we want them, and I can add all the finishes we decide on together. It’ll be my very first design project, and I’ll make it into our dream home.”

I’m having a hard time holding back my smile as I listen. “Is this house in the city or in the suburbs?”

“It depends on where we end up, I suppose. But ideally, we’d live a short drive from downtown so you can get to work, but in a family area that’s a bit quieter. Like the neighborhood we grew up in back home.”

I make a mental note of those items because if there’s one thing I’m going to do, it’s make sure this girl gets everything she wants in life.

“But what do you want?” she asks.

“You,” I answer quickly. “I just want you.”

“But you already have me.”

“Then I’m happy.”

“I’m happy too.”

“Happy birthday, baby.” I sigh. “My favorite day of the year.”

Chuckling, she leans her cheek back on my chest as we continue to lie together, listening to her playlist.

“Tell me more about our dream house, Hallie.”

And she does, while I lie there with a ridiculous smile on my face, listening as she goes into detail and paints a picture of the life we’re about to have.





Chapter 36


Hallie


I clock in on one of the computers before saying hello to my coworkers at the bar. It’s happy hour and there’s a Raptors game later tonight. With their arena only a few blocks away and still a couple of hours before the puck drop, this place is packed.

And regardless that I will probably make good money tonight, I have no desire to be here.

This is my last shift of the week, and I made such good tips from the previous nights that I was tempted to try to get this shift covered. I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t, other than I’ve never given up a shift before.

You could say I officially have senioritis from this job. My internship at the design firm will be over in a couple of months and with how smoothly Rio’s home project is going and the way my social media content has been blowing up the last few weeks, thanks to some of Chicago’s biggest names continually sharing it, a full-time position at Tyler Braden Interiors feels inevitable.

Tyler has said as much.

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with a higher salary and more free time, but I wish that time was already here. I’m enjoying my personal life far too much these days to bury myself in work.

Carson, or Ken as Rio still refers to him, pushes through the swinging side door that connects the back of the bar to the storage room. He stops short when he sees me standing at the computer. “I thought you were off tonight?”

I furrow my brow. “I thought you were off tonight.”

“Shit,” I hear from behind me. “I was trying to get here before he did.”

Turning, I find Rio pushing himself through the crowd to get to the bar. Which isn’t all that difficult for him because people are staring at him in disbelief, shocked that one of their favorite players is here. It’s the same way they look at him almost every night he shows up to wait for my shift to be over.