Page 188 of Rewind It Back

Next.

“The song that was playing the night you asked me to keep driving. It was the night we kissed for the first time again.”

Next.

“This is the song you played over the speaker system in the house. It was the first time I heard you voluntarily play music for yourself again.”

Her soft expression shifts, lifting a brow. “You mean the day I walked in on you in the shower.”

“Yeah, that may have happened that day too.”

She laughs, head falling back to my chest as I hold her tight and skip to the next song.

“This is the song we danced to in the kitchen when we decided to give us another chance.”

As it plays in the earbuds, Hallie shakes her head in disbelief. “They’re allourimportant moments.”

I press pause.

“Hallie, do you remember the very first day we met, and you were listening to music? You had to finish the song before you could talk to me.”

She smiles to herself. “Of course.”

“Do you remember why you said you kept track of those songs?”

“Something about when I want to relive a moment, I can rewind it back and start from the beginning.”

“Exactly. I want to rewind all of it, Hallie. I want to remember everything. You made sure we could remember our first years together, so I made sure we would remember this one.”

She’s looking out over the neighborhood with her head leaning back on me, but I can still see her attempt to discreetly wipe at her cheek. “Are theyallmoments we shared?”

“Actually.” I hover my thumb over the last song on the list. “You weren’t there for this one.”

Pressing play, I let the music come through the earbuds. I let her listen for a while. I let her be the one to ask.

She looks up at me. “What happened while you were listening to this song?”

I smile at her softly. “This is the song I was listening to when I signed my contract extension with the Chicago Raptors.”

Those hazel eyes go wide as she abruptly sits up. “What?”

I just chuckle at her reaction because I know she heard me.

Turning, she straddles my lap, knees bent on either side of me with a mix of panic and confusion etched on her face. “But... but I heard you. After family dinner, talking to Indy. You said you were signing.”

I search for the memory of what she’s referring to until it clicks. “Yeah. I was referring to signing with Chicago.”

“You said, and I quote, ‘How is she supposed to come visit?’ and ‘I don’t know how I’m going to tell her.’”

I can’t help but laugh. “So nosy, baby.”

“Rio. You were talking about me visiting you in Boston.”

“No, Hal. I was talking about my mom. I didn’t know how I was going to tellher,” I explain. “She’s been planning on me moving back here for years now. And I didn’t know how it’d work with her visiting Chicago because she wouldn’t be allowed to stay with us if she continued to have an issue with our relationship.”

I watch as the realization settles in.

“You’re serious.”

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