Page 228 of Skate the Line

“Moy Solnechnyy svet,” he whispers, peering down at me.

“That meansmy Sunshine,” Ellie says.

I jump, but Rhodes keeps a hold of me. We both turn to look, and sure enough, Ellie and Nana are spying on us through the crack in the door.

Ellie spots me and doesn’t even try to hide. She smiles. “I’m teaching your babushka Russian.”

Rhodes and I both burst out laughing.

Hand in hand, we go back into the room and listen to our girl teach a foreign language to Nana, who will likely forget it within the hour.

Epilogue

RHODES

I thankmy lucky stars daily for putting Sunny into our lives, but especially today.

Three sets of giggles hit my ears as I climb the stairs to the freshly remodeled loft. What was once an empty space full of cobwebs is now filled with the scent of acrylic paint, hardening clay, and canvas-covered walls.

Nana and I have become awfully close, and she let me in on a little secret, telling me where all of Sunny’s old paintings were stored. Naturally, I had them sent here and hung them up so she could feel even more at home while dipping her toes into painting again.

Sunny already knows all my hopes and dreams: hockey, Ellie's happiness, andher.Not in that order. But when I asked about hers, ending up in an art museum one day was near the top of her list, so I’m going to do everything in my power to help her reach that goal. She might take some art classes at the art school up the street to finish out her degree, and I’ve even encouraged her to start making those mesmerizing time-lapse videos again of painting.

Everything else in the house remains the same, besides Sunny moving into my room and extra security around the perimeter, because neither of us trust a flimsy piece of paper stating that Nicholas can’t come near us.

If he knows what's good for him, he’ll stay in Canada, which is where he ran off to shortly after paying his fines for the hit-and-run. If it were up to me, he’d be in prison, but when you have deep pockets and a good lawyer, that isn’t always the case.

Standing along the opening to the loft, I watch Sunny concentrate while she puts two facemasks on Ellie and her new friend, Jacie.

Ellie has made so much improvement at school, and she actually has a friend. When she had asked if Jacie could spend the night for a slumber party, I panicked.A slumber party?I had no idea what that entailed, but leave it to Sunny to swoop in and save me.As always.

Star-shaped twinkle lights hang above the window, and two light-blue sleeping bags lay on the floor with an abundance of pillows and snacks.

“There.” Sunny scrunches her nose and smiles at the girls. “You two are going to have fabulous skin.”

They giggle and remain still, not wanting the masks to slip off their faces.

When Sunny peeks up and sees me leaning against the opening, her smile grows wider. It knocks the breath right out of my chest. Since bringing her back to Chicago with me, we’ve gotten even closer than before. I’ve always felt like I’ve known her all my life, but being able to share all my thoughts with her instead of hiding from them has erased any line that was there before.

We know each other’s hopes and dreams.

We know each other’s worst fears.

We’ve shared our happiest and worst childhood memories, and I’ve planned our Christmas vacation. First Russia, so she can meet my mother, who is beyond excited that I’ve finally found someone to give my love to instead of being against it due to my father’s broken promises, which is something I’ve never shared with anyone—except for Sunny.

Then we will go to Washington to spend time with Nana.

It won’t be long before we move her closer to us.

Being apart from her makes Sunny sad, and that’s unacceptable to me.

I watch Sunny tilt toward the girls with her sights set on me. The flirty glint sends me reeling as she whispers something in their ears. I have to behave, though, because tonight is all about Ellie and her slumber party. The girls giggle, and then all three stare at me with amusement.

“I’m not sure I like the look you three are giving me,” I joke.

“Daddy,” Ellie quips. “Your turn.”

My eyebrows rise. “Huh?”

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