Page 98 of Rewind It Back

“You can take that however you’d like.” She’s got this teasing smile on her lips as she slips into her room, closes the door, and leaves me alone in the hallway.

Chapter 20

Rio

“You’re telling me this still works?” Hallie runs her hand over my boombox sitting on the dresser in my hotel room.

“Like a charm.”

“How old is it?”

I don’t say anything, waiting for her to put the pieces together.

“No way!” Her head whips in my direction. “Don’t tell me this is the same one you got when you were like fifteen.”

“The one and only.”

“Wow.” She joins me on the couch. “And you didn’t want to upgrade at some point?”

New ones don’t play cassette tapes or even CDs anymore.

But I don’t tell her that.

“Why fix what’s not broken?” is what I say instead.

Hallie relaxes back on the couch with me, crossing her legs under her and opening her laptop. “So, these are the two layouts I’ve been playing with. We can fully scrap both concepts, combine them, anything you want.”

I lean into her to get a better look at her computer, with my legs kicked up on the coffee table in front of us. The same coffee table that’s covered in our now empty dinner plates.

We both changed, me into a pair of sweatpants and a tee, and her into leggings and my team-issued hoodie that she stole, before ordering the entire room service menu. Mostly because Hallie couldn’t decide what she wanted to eat, and I just wanted her to have a good time with me, so I panic-ordered the whole menu.

Whatever. It was delicious.

Hallie brings the first three-dimensional concept up on her computer and I feel my entire expression shift as I take it in.

“That’s my house?” I ask in disbelief.

“It could be. If you like it.”

I lean in closer to the computer, subsequently leaning more into her. “Like it? I love it. How the hell is that the same house I have now?”

She uses the mouse to give me a tour, taking me through each room.

“These don’t need to be the final color concepts or anything. Just an idea of what I thought would look good together. This option has a few partial walls added whereas the other one is more of an open concept feel. But adding walls also means adding to the cost, which if you’re going to sell might not be the best choice.”

Of course, I knew she was good at her job. I saw Wren’s house, but watching it happen firsthand, seeing her take nothing and turn it into this? She’ssotalented. So impressive, and I could not be prouder of her. Watching her paint her own childhood room a thousand times to, this? How does she not just spend every day talking about how creatively gifted she is?

“Hallie,” I breathe out, taking in the images on the computer. “Your brain is so fucking cool. How did you think of this?”

I watch as she tries to bite back her proud smile before she pulls up the second concept she’s created.

I can’t distinctly pull out what’s different about this one, only that it is. In the same way as the first option, there’s color covering every square inch, the choices feel intentional, and I can’t imagine someone coming over andnotfeeling welcomed. Which is the main thing I’d want from this house, whether I keep or sell it.

“Do you have a preference?” she asks. “Between the two.”

She looks over at me and that’s when I realize how close we’re sitting. We’re leaning into one another, our shoulders overlapping with hers resting on top of mine. And our lips, our lips are only a breath from touching with her turned back to look at me like this.

When she realizes, Hallie doesn’t move away, which feels like a win.

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