Page 185 of Rewind It Back

“You okay?”

Her smile is sweet and genuine as she nods to tell me yes.

“Ma,” I call out. “You good?”

She throws a thumb up in the air, which I can see over the back of the couch. “I’m good.”

I do a double-take between them again. Part of me wasn’t sure what I was going to walk into. From the text my mom sent me while I was at the airport, I knew the two of them had talked, but I wasn’t sure what that talk looked like. Was there screaming involved? Crying? Did my mother break anything? Don’t get me wrong, I love the woman, but her Italian blood runs hot. I didn’t exactly expect to walk in and find the two of them sitting on the couch watchingThe Great British Bake Offtogether.

My mom stands from the couch, and Hallie slips out of my arms to let me greet her with a hug. It’s a bit tighter than usual because we haven’t been okay for a while now, and I fucking hated that.

“Are we good?” I ask quietly.

“No.” Pulling back, she puts a hand on either side of my face. “I have a lot to apologize for before we’re good.”

I shake my head. “Ma, we’re good.”

“I’ll get out of here and let you two chat, but I hope we can talk later.”

“We will,” I promise her. “But you don’t need to go anywhere. Hallie and I can talk upstairs.”

She smiles at me, but I can tell she’s both tired from today and regretful from some of her actions lately. “I love you, Rio. I’m sorry we haven’t been okay.”

I bring her in for another side hug. “We’re okay now, and I love you too.”

Hallie is already a few steps ahead of me as I start up the stairs, so when she gets to the top of the landing, I slip my hand into hers to stop her.

“Wait, Hal.”

She turns around, confused, as I stay two steps below her.

“Why didn’t you tell me what your mom said to you?” The anger towards that woman starts simmering under my skin again. “I feel sick. You should’ve told me after I learned about your dad.”

She shakes her head. “I didn’t need to add onto your plate with how you were feeling at the time. You had already forgiven me for not telling you about the affair. It didn’t matter then. You already understood without that piece of information added on.”

“I think I hate her.”

She huffs a laugh. “Get in line.”

“This is what your dad meant when he told me she said something unforgivable around the time of his diagnosis.”

Hallie nods.

“And none of you talk to her anymore?”

“No.” There’s not an ounce of sadness on my girl’s face. “My dad offered to forgive her because he knew if he didn’t, it meant I’d be the one taking care of him during treatment. But there was no way I was going to let her around him after what she did to him and after what she said to me.”

Fuck, I love this girl.

“You’re good down to your core, Hal. You know that?”

“So are you, baby.” She wraps her arms over my shoulders. “Now let’s stop wasting energy on her. I can tell you’re worked up right now, but she’s not worth it.”

There’s that soft, contented smile again and I decide to focus on that. Focus on her and us and what’s ahead instead of what’s in the past. It was six years ago, and she’s clearly moved on.

“Call me ‘baby’ again.”

Chuckling, she drops a kiss on my lips before turning to head for my room, but once again, I stop her.

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