Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(135)

My smile blooms as I look down at her. I truly could not love this woman more than I already do.

But I thought that yesterday and the day before. Shit, I thought that a decade ago, and daily, I’m proven wrong. Because each new day, I fall for her a little more.

“I’ll make sure she knows.” Leaning down, I kiss her, right there in our kitchen. In our home. “I love you, baby. Keep showing off the house.”

“I love you too.” With one more quick kiss, Hallie slips out of my hold and rejoins the group.

Music is playing as I walk outside, but it’s not so loud that you can’t have a conversation. I find my mom and my uncle Mikey talking with Ryan, Indy, and their kids.

I sling my arm over my mom’s shoulders as I join, but Navy immediately hurls herself off her dad’s body at me.

She drops her head against my shoulder as Indy and my mom continue their conversation.

“If the taste isn’t coming through, it’s most likely too thin. You need to reduce to a simmer and thicken that up to concentrate the flavor.”

“I think I need to video call you next time,” Indy decides.

“Or you could just ask me,” I cut in. “I’ve perfected my mom’s Bolognese.”

Indy’s eyes shoot to mine. “And why haven’t you volunteered that information before?”

I shrug playfully. “It was kind of nice that you all took care of me all these years. I liked it. But yeah, I’m not bad in the kitchen.”

My mom chuckles. “He’s great in the kitchen, actually.”

“Rio DeLuca,” Indy says with accusation while Ryan just laughs next to her. “You’re going to start cooking for family dinner.”

“I can get on board for that.” I turn to my mom. “Can we talk for a second?”

“Of course.”

Ryan takes his daughter back while the two of us head to a quieter corner of the new back deck.

After Hallie and I got off the roof back in Boston, I went downstairs to talk to my mom. She apologized, and we talked through most everything. She was busy beating herself up over the way she handled my dad’s affair, especially using her hurt to manipulate my feelings.

That was her choice of words, not mine. I never felt manipulated by her. I simply wanted to protect her. I still want to protect her, which is why I was nervous to break the news that I re-signed with Chicago for another six years.

She took it far better than I expected, and didn’t seem all that surprised. But me deciding to stay didn’t mean I was no longer worried about her being alone all the way in Boston.

We lean against the deck railing, facing each other.

“Is everything okay, honey?”

“Yeah, I’m great,” I tell her honestly.

A pleased smile lifts on her lips as she watches me. She knows I’m good, but I want to make sure she is.

“Hallie and I have been talking, and we were wondering what you thought about possibly moving here. To Chicago. I’d be happy to buy you a place, and we’d both love to have you closer.”

My mom’s eyes go impossibly wide, and I think for the first time in her life, this loud woman is speechless.

“I hate that you’re all alone in that house,” I continue. “I hate that you’re alone, period.”

“But I’m not alone.”

Confusion cinches my forehead.

“I have a whole community there. I stay busy, Rio. You don’t need to worry about me. Those families in the neighborhood are like my extended family. You know that.”

“But the house. It’s a lot of upkeep and I worry about that as you get older.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, as you stay the exact same age of twenty-nine, just as you have been for my entire life.”

“Thank you.” A smile cracks on her lips before she pulls her eye contact away. “Your uncle Mikey helps me around that house.”

“I know, but it’s not like he’s there all the time.”

She tosses her head from side to side. “He’s there most of the time.”

“What do you mean?”

For a woman who has never been shy a day in her life, my mom is acting real coy right about now. “He and I . . .”

“You and him, what?”

“He and I”—she straightens her spine, meeting my eye—“have been seeing each other.”

“Mikey?” My voice rises, pointing a finger in his general direction. “You’re referring to my uncle Mikey. As in, my dad’s brother?”

“Oh, don’t sound so appalled.” She brushes me off. “It’s not like I met some random guy and brought him home. I’ve known him practically my whole life. In fact, I met him before I ever met your father. We’ve been friends for a long time, and last year, when he started coming around more . . . I don’t know. Things changed.”

I let that information sink in. My uncle and my dad haven’t had the closest relationship, so Mikey wasn’t around unless it was a holiday or a birthday. But he’s a good man. For most of my life I wondered why the two of them didn’t get along until I learned that my dad wasn’t a good man.

“You’re dating Mikey,” I state in disbelief, leaning back on the railing. “Is it serious?”