Page 12 of Rewind It Back

My disbelieving laugh is a bit manic, but that’s how I feel right now. “I’m leaving.”

I stand to do so, but the game is still in play, so I quickly sit back down and wait for a whistle.

“Hallie, it’s not what you’re thinking. We’re in an open relationship. It’s just that it’s newly opened, so I haven’t dated in a while.”

“And you don’t think you should’ve told me that you’remarried? Come on. Get so fucked right now.”

An impossibly loud bang rattles the glass in front of me, stealing my attention to find a player from Tampa pinned against the boards after an excruciatingly painful hit. The player slumps to the ice, giving me a perfect view of the man who delivered the blow, only to findhim.

Rio DeLuca.

Number thirty-eight glares down at his opponent as the crowd bangs their fists against the barrier, shaking the glass to celebrate the big hit.

He moves to skate away, but as he shifts his weight on his blades, his eyes flit upward.

To me.

He freezes in place, and I watch as both recognition and disbelief dawn on him. His lips slightly part, those green eyes tracking every inch of my face, and I try to look away, but I can’t. I’m too locked in, too focused on the man in front of me who is hardly recognizable from the boy I once knew.

He’s so close. Only a piece of plexiglass separates us, and I want to run away. He blinks quickly, dark brows cinching in confusion before his attention ticks to the guy I’m next to for hardly a breath before refocusing on me. Cataloging me. Studying me.

The arena has emptied out.

It’s completely silent, only him and me.

I remember the first time I ever saw him. He was playing hockey that day too, but so much has changed between then and now.

Now, he’s the one person I’ve actively worked to avoid since moving here. The one person who almost kept me from taking the internship in the first place, simply because I knew he lived in this city.

My heart flutters like it used to before I remember everything that happened.

Because I may have loved Rio DeLuca once, but I don’t anymore.

Chapter 3

Rio

Age 12

“You need to keep working on your balance,” my dad says, helping me up from yet another fall. He makes sure I’m steady on my rollerblades before letting go of my arms.

“My coach said—” The wheels of my skates fly out from under me before I can finish my sentence.

I fall right on my elbow, but my dad made me put on my pads before coming out to practice so the impact doesn’t hurt that bad, and I try to get up as quickly as possible so I can keep practicing with him. He works a lot but will help me practice a couple of times a week and I do my best to impress him each time.

With my hands on his arm, he helps me wheel from the driveway to the grass where I drop onto my butt to sit.

“My coach said the dance classes I’m taking are helping with my coordination.”

He chuckles. “I bet they are. Hey, I got to go help your mom with dinner, so let’s call it a night for the skates.” He bends to make himself eye level with me as he unclips my rollerblades. “Are you still enjoying hockey? Because if you’re not having fun, we can try football or baseball or even soccer. There are a lot of other sports where you wouldn’t have to skate, you know.”

“No, I like it. I think I’m getting better. I want to keep playing.”

He unhooks my helmet, tossing it to the grass. “Okay. Then we’ll keep playing. Be inside and washed up for dinner soon, yeah?”

My dad ruffles my messy hair before jogging into the house to help my mom.

He’s always helping her. He’s always kissing her or dancing with her in the kitchen. It’s pretty gross, but all my friends say I have the best parents, and I totally agree with them. They met when they were my age, which is so weird to think about.

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