Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(90)

Wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, I pull him down so I can kiss him properly. “Thank you for being here.”

He kisses me one more time. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”





Chapter 28


Rio


After giving Hallie a head start, I walk back into the waiting room. There’s no one else in here other than Luke and the woman sitting next to him.

It feels strange to sit clear across the room without acknowledging my childhood friend, so I don’t. I take the empty seat on the other side of him.

Leaning forward, I extend my hand to the woman. “I’m Rio.”

She offers me a kind smile as she shakes my hand. “Sarah. Luke’s wife.”

Oh shit. I had no idea he had gotten married. But how would I? It’s not like I’ve talked to him since I left for Chicago.

“I’ll give you guys a minute,” she says, standing from her seat, taking her coffee, and stepping out into the hallway.

He and I sit facing forward, not looking at each other as I start the conversation. “So, you got married, huh?”

“Yep. Had a kid too.”

“No shit? Wow. Congrats, man.”

Luke pulls out his phone, showing me his lock screen. “This is Hudson. He recently turned two.”

I chuckle at the picture of a two-year-old boy covered in birthday cake. “He’s cute.”

“Well, he looks like his mother, thank God.”

We share a quick laugh, but it’s a bit awkward because we’re both aware of how weird this all is. We haven’t spoken in six years.

“You’ve made quite a name for yourself in the NHL,” he says, keeping up the small talk.

“Yeah, I’ve been lucky to stay healthy and have a solid team around me.”

He nods and then I nod, because again . . . awkward.

“Look, Luke—”

“If you’re going to apologize about something from the past, don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago, and I’ve moved on.”

“Regardless, it was a shitty thing for me to do. To never call or text you back.”

“It was, but it was a whole lot shittier that you did that to my sister, and she’s clearly not pissed at you anymore, so why should I be?”

That feels like a punch to the gut if I’ve ever felt one. It’s one thing to hear it from Hallie or to acknowledge it myself, but to know the people closest to her also recognize that I made a huge fucking mistake by leaving her behind makes me wonder if any of this is repairable.

“But I’m not going to give you a hard time for that either,” he continues. “I’d be a hypocrite if I went after you for abandoning her when I did the exact same thing.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Luke looks over at me apprehensively, realizing just how out of the loop I am. “What exactly has Hallie told you about our dad?”

“Nothing. I have literally no idea what’s going on.”

His eyes go wide. “And you’re here? Missing a game for this and everything?”

“I don’t need to know what’s going on to know that she needs someone here for her.”

Luke pauses for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right about that.”

My phone dings in my pocket, cutting off our conversation.

H  : Could you come back here? My dad wants to see you. Room 424.



I stand from my seat. “I’ll be back.”

“Hey, Rio,” he calls after me. “Even if I didn’t want to see it at first, you guys make a lot of sense together. And she deserves to get what she wants for once, so if she wants you, I hope you stick around this time.”

All I can do is hope that she wants me.

“Yeah.” I nod. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Down the hall, I find room 424. The door is open, but still I knock to make my presence known.

“Come on in,” Mr. Hart says.

Rounding the corner, I find him sitting up on a hospital bed with Hallie at his bedside. She’s no longer crying, once again the picture of strength and resilience. Same as she seemed when I first found her in the waiting room while Luke was hugging his wife.

“Is the all-star defenseman for the Chicago Raptors here to see me?”

Hallie shakes her head. “No need to hype him up, Dad.”

“Good to see you, Mr. Hart. You look good.”

“Don’t lie to me, kid. I look like shit and we both know it.”

He’s got this playful edge to his tone, so it feels okay to laugh when he says it.

Even though it’s only been six years since I’ve last seen him, Mr. Hart has aged more than that. His hair has grayed. His skin is sunken in. He’s lost a lot of weight, and you can tell that his body has been through the ringer. But still, he’s looking up at his daughter and smiling at her as he always has.

I do my best not to focus on any of the information written on the whiteboard the nurses use for their rotations. I try not to play detective and figure out what’s going on because no one in their family has told me what’s happening, and I’m doing my best to wait until they’re ready to share.

“My dad didn’t believe you were here,” Hallie states. “Said he wanted proof.”