Epilogue #2
Kennedy cuts in. “How close are you to San Francisco?”
“Not too far, but far enough that it doesn’t feel anything like a big city,” Wren explains.
“We live in a pretty small town,” Cruz adds. “But our family’s land is large enough that we each have our own slice of it. Soon, all four of us have our own homes there, but my brothers and I each have our own place in the city too so we don’t have to commute every day while we’re in season.”
“That sounds amazing,” Stevie says. “You all kind of live together, but separately.”
“Exactly.” Wren grins, turning to Hallie. “My house is the last to get built, so anytime you want to come decorate for me, you’re welcome.”
“I’d love that.”
“Do you need help getting anything into the moving truck?” Zee offers.
“Actually, yeah. That’d be great.” Cruz throws a thumb over his shoulder. “There are a few big items we could use some help lifting.”
All the guys move to head next door, but when I do the same, Ryan stops me. “Rio, it’s cool. You’re hosting a party. We’ll be right back.”
I narrow my eyes suspiciously. “Don’t do anything embarrassing, Shay. Wren is my friend. Please don’t go asking her a million questions about her brothers.”
He has the least innocent smile on his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Ryan jogs off to join the rest of the group, and I turn to find Indy, who can’t stop laughing. “He sounds exactly like you when you’re busy fanboying over him.”
When the rest of the girls disperse, some chasing after their kids and others going for a drink refill, I take a seat, pulling Hallie onto my lap as the fire roars in front of us. The sun is starting to go down and the hanging bistro lights have just flipped on. It’s perfect.
“How’d it go with your mom?” she asks.
“Oh my God, Hal. You’re never going to believe this, but she and my uncle Mikey are together.”
“Well, of course they are, baby.” Hallie laughs, gesturing in their direction. “Look at them. Look at the way he looks at her. He’s totally in love with your mom.”
I wince before I school my expression, simply because it’s strange to think about my mother with someone. But then I note exactly what Hallie is talking about when I see the way Mikey looks over at her, watching her speak to someone. He watches her like she sets the sun.
He watches her like I watch this girl in my lap.
“He is, isn’t he?”
“Kind of makes you wonder,” Hallie says. “He never married. He never brought anyone around in all the years I knew him. Maybe he’s always felt that way about your mom.”
“What are you saying?” I ask with a laugh. “That my dad just got there first?”
“I could see it. He and your dad never got along. It’s not that far-fetched to think he may have been pining for her all this time.”
“Okay, let’s stop romanticizing my mom’s love life. And God .. .” I grimace. “Don’t ever let me use the words ‘love life’ and ‘my mom’ in the same sentence ever again.”
Hallie chuckles against me, her head resting on my shoulder.
We sit there a while, silently observing the party around us. Everyone is having a good time, flowing in and out of the house.
Our house.
“We did good, Hallie Hart.”
Her smile tilts. “We did do good. This is the first of many.”
This house will host future birthday parties and celebrations, maybe even a few family dinners. We’ll have our friends over. One day, our kids will have their friends over, and I’m looking forward to giving our future family the same sense of home and community that Hallie and I were raised with back in our old neighborhood.
Hallie slips an arm over my shoulders as she sits in my lap, and while she watches the party happen around us, I can practically see the same picture being painted in her head of our future here.
“I love you, Hal.”
She turns back, smiling at me. “I love you, Rio. Always have. Always will.”
Hallie leans her head against mine as I hold her.
Before, when we were kids, I felt lucky. Love fell into our hands. We were neighbors turned friends who eventually fell in love. But this time, it feels like we earned it. We get to be in love because we worked for it. We decided to forgive and understand one another.
This second chance doesn’t feel like luck. It feels like a reward.
“Look who made it,” I say as Hallie’s dad and brother walk out into the backyard.
I go to stand, but Hallie doesn’t move from my lap.
“He looks good, right?” From this distance, she watches him.
He does look good. He looks healthy and sturdier than the last time we saw him. There’s more color to his skin. He’s gained a bit of weight.
“He looks really good.”
A relieved smile ghosts her lips, and when I go to stand, she stops me again. “Wait. Rio, look.”
I follow her line of sight to watch as my mom and her dad make eye contact from across the yard. Mr. Hart freezes in place, as does my mom.
As far as I know, they haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the day they both found out about their spouses, regardless that they were great friends prior. I didn’t exactly think this through when I invited them both here.
It sounds like the music has cut out. It feels like the yard has emptied. All I can do is focus on the two of them and pray that this goes okay.
Mr. Hart’s face lights up with a smile, and I watch a mirrored one lift on my mom’s lips before she quickly crosses the yard to meet him.
They hug. They hug the way you do when you see a long-lost friend again, because that’s exactly what they are.
Fuck, that kind of makes me want to cry. It makes me feel more emotional than I assumed it would. Checking on Hallie, I can tell she feels the same way with her pink nose and sheen-coated eyes.
After so many years, this portion of the DeLuca and Hart families is okay again.
“Let’s go say hi,” I suggest, and this time when I go to stand, Hallie stands with me.
Holding hands, we make our way to our families, but once we’re close, Hallie lets go of me and quickly wraps her dad in a hug.
“Hallie girl.” Closing his eyes, he holds his daughter tightly. “Missed you.”
“I missed you too, Dad.”
With the renovation and my hockey schedule, we haven’t been able to make a trip back to Minnesota since we were there in the hospital. But we have a week-long trip planned to stay at Luke’s place in mid-June and they’re all headed back here for the Fourth of July.
Speaking of Luke, after he hugs my mom, he turns to me.
“Hey, man,” I say with a smile.
“The house is sick.”
“That was all your sister.”
Stepping forward, he opens his arms, and we quickly embrace.
We’ve talked a few times and it’s been nice, shooting the shit and catching up. I missed my old friend and I’m glad to have him back in my life.
I hug his wife too, then bend down to the little guy holding on to his dad’s leg.
“This is Hudson,” Luke says, hand on his head. “Hudson, this is our friend, Rio.”
“Hey, little man.” I hold my fist out and after a beat, Hudson smiles at it and slams his own fist as hard as he can against it. “Oh, dang!” I shake out my hand. “You’re super strong.”
Hudson giggles and holds out his fist to do it again. He keeps pounding his against mine until he spots Hallie and instead moves to his aunt to say hello.
I stand and find her dad.
“Hey, Mr. Hart.” As I hug him, he pats my back a couple of times. “I’m so glad you guys could make it.”
“Thank you for the invite. I’m looking forward to checking out the house.”
“Hal, you should take them on a tour. Show them everything you’ve done.”
She smiles excitedly and though I’d love to go with her, I know she wants to show off for her dad. And in equal measure, I know he wants to witness her living out her dreams, especially after she put them on hold for so long.
In fact, just last week, he and I discussed that on the phone. Well, the purpose of that phone call was for an entirely different reason that’s currently hidden in my pocket, but I also made sure he knew I was taking care of his daughter like he asked me to. I made sure he knew that Hallie was happy because at the end of the day, that’s all he wants for her.
Hallie’s energy is palpable as she guides her family back into the house, explaining everything that’s been changed. I can’t help the stupid fucking smile on my face as I watch her in her element. It’s permanent these days, I swear.
Back at the firepit, I find the guys have returned from Wren’s house, so I take a seat with the four of them as Isaiah hands me a beer.
Leaning forward, we all clink our bottles in a cheers.
“So.” Zee takes a swig of his drink. “You’ve got the house. You’ve got the girl. What’s next?”
Looking over my shoulder to make sure no one is looking, especially Hallie, I pull the ring out of my pocket. “Need to ask her for forever.”
Checking their surroundings too like some kind of secret boys’ club, they all lean forward. Zee takes the ring first before passing it around so they can all examine it.
“Hell yeah, Rio.” Kai clinks his bottle with mine.
“It turned out amazing.” Ryan turns the ring over in his fingers, looking over it from every angle. “Indy told me about it, but it’s so much better than I could’ve imagined.”
The engagement ring isn’t a family heirloom or anything like that. We don’t exactly have the greatest track record with marriages in our family, so this is brand new and all Hallie’s. And yeah, one day it’ll become something we’ll be able to pass down, but she’ll be the first to wear it.
Indy came with me to my initial appointment with the jeweler, but once we were there, I realized I didn’t need as much help as I thought I would. There’s no one who knows my future wife better than me.
The mix of white and yellow gold in the band screams Hallie Hart and I can’t wait to see it on her hand. Which is fitting that it’s going to happen tonight, seeing as she just got her nails done and painted each finger a different color.
The ring makes it back to me and I carefully tuck it back into my pocket.
“Do you think she’ll say yes?” Isaiah asks.
We all whip our heads in his direction.
He holds his hands up. “What? It’s a valid question.”
Kai smacks his brother on the shoulder. “I guess he could always take her to Vegas and get her drunk to make sure she agrees to marry him.”
A sneaky smile lifts on his lips. “That did work well for me.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “She’s going to say yes. We’ve been talking about getting married since... fuck , I can’t even remember. Feels like we’ve always known we’d marry each other.”
“When are you going to do it?” Zee asks.
“Tonight, after you all leave.”
Ryan takes a swig of his drink. “And how?”
“I’m going to take her on the roof of the house and do it there.”
All four of them look at me like I’ve lost my goddamn mind, but I swear, if I would’ve told their wives my plan instead of them, I’d be rewarded with resounding approval from all four of those women.
And they wonder why I like attending girls’ night.
But I don’t feel the need to explain the significance of that proposal location to anyone else. She’ll understand it. Hallie and I fell in love on the roof that connected our parents’ homes. I’m going to ask her to spend forever with me on the roof of ours.
Max Rhodes comes padding over to his dad, huffing and puffing from all his running around. He chugs from a straw of a water bottle that Kai holds out for him, and without saying a word, turns and runs back to continue playing with the other kids.
Four of them—Max, Taylor, Navy, and Iverson—are running around chasing one another, but Emmy is upstairs sleeping in one of the spare rooms. Kai’s phone is sitting on the armrest of his chair with the baby monitor connected and displayed on the screen.
“Are you and Hallie going to add to that crew?” Ryan asks, nodding towards the kids.
“Hopefully, one day. But she’s spent so long taking care of someone else, I want to make sure Hallie gets to do everything she wants to do before we start trying. But yes, eventually, we want to.”
Zee clinks his bottle with mine. “Good man.”
The girls are gathered on the back deck, talking and laughing with each other. Hallie joins the other four after taking her family on a house tour, and as soon as she does, Miller wraps her arm over her shoulders and pulls her into the conversation as if she’s been a part of it the whole time.
She looks so at ease, like she’s known them for so much longer than she has.
Hallie just fits, but that’s no surprise. She’s always been outgoing and friendly, and now, I’m even more thankful she is who she is. Jumping into a very well-established group of nine friends would’ve been intimidating for just about anyone else, but not her. We were always meant to find our way back to each other, and she was always meant to be a part of this group.
There’s not a world in which I could imagine anything different.
I watch as each of my friends catch their partner’s attention from across the yard. I’ve witnessed this happening for years. This silent check-in in a crowded room. A soft smile before continuing their conversation. A discreet wink. A little smirk.
I’ve constantly felt like the third wheel catching a private moment I wasn’t supposed to be a part of, but at the same time, it was something I longed for in my own life.
I’ve always wanted what my friends had.
I always wanted what I once had.
With my attention locked on the group of women, Hallie is mid-conversation when those hazel eyes find mine from across the yard. She holds eye contact for a long while, still talking, still fully engaged, and when the smile lifts on my mouth, it reflects on hers.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted, everything I’ve been looking for. Everything I was so desperate to find because I had already found her once and knew she was missing from my life.
The five of them migrate our way, and though they could not be more different from one another, they get along so well.
Hallie slides onto my lap, while the others find their way to their person.
Then it’s the ten of us. How it was always supposed to be.
The sun has set, but there’s still enough of a glow to see the contented smile on Hallie’s lips. “I could get used to this life,” she says quietly.
“It looks good on you.”
Her hazels sparkle. “I love you.”
I chuckle because damn, I’m never going to get over hearing her say that to me. “Hallie baby, I love you.”
“Rio,” Indy calls from across the firepit, sitting on her husband’s lap. “Ryan has something he wants to tell you.”
We all shift our attention his way.
“Uh...” He stumbles, and Indy gives him an encouraging nod. “I just wanted you to know that...” He clears his throat. “I love you, man.”
My eyes go comically wide while everyone else stays perfectly silent.
I’ve been waiting to hear him say that for years.
“I don’t know, Ryan.” I toss my head from side to side, studying him from across the firepit. “It just didn’t hit the way I always imagined it would.”
“Oh, get fucked!”
Laughter bounces off everyone in the group.
Miller chuckles. “It doesn’t help that Hallie told him she loved him about two seconds before Ryan did. Not sure how you’re supposed to top that.”
“Yeah, well...” Ryan huffs. “I used to be the love of his life.”
Hallie smiles at him. “Sorry about that, Ryan.”
“Who would’ve thought?” Indy asks. “Rio found someone he loves more than my husband.”
I press a kiss to Hallie’s shoulder before wrapping my arms around her middle. “Ryan, I love you too, man. Less than her, but I still love you. I love all of you.” I look around at the entire group. “Friends are the family you choose, and I’ve got to say, I’ve got the best family a guy could ask for.”
“Absolutely.”
“Hell yeah.”
“That’s right,” is echoed around me as everyone leans forward to connect whatever they’re drinking in a cheers.
We all take a drink before Hallie leans back against my chest, and conversation continues as it always does. Laughing with each other, a bit of shit-talking, and of course the real stuff too.
I just sit back and watch nine of the most important people in my life.
I’m the luckiest man alive, I swear.
When I was younger, I remember how much I wished I had a sibling. Someone to play hockey with. Someone to talk to. Someone who understood me.
Little did I know, as a grown man, I’d end up with eight of them.
These girls are practically my sisters, and there’s no question that these guys have become my brothers.
I spent years complaining about being the single one of the group, the odd man out. But even though I was the last one, how lucky am I that I got a front-row seat to watch each of my best friends fall in love?
I watched Zanders strip the facade he wore for so long to allow the flight attendant on his team’s plane to see the real him.
I watched Stevie learn to love herself the way the arrogant hockey player who followed her everywhere loves her. The way we all do.
I watched Indy come out of a relationship she wasn’t meant for and learn to be loved in a new, quieter way.
I watched Ryan allow someone into his home and his heart after shutting everyone else out for so long, only for the brightest ray of sunshine to move in and light every dark space she could touch.
I watched Kai learn to ask for help, only for that help to come in the form of a firecracker pastry chef who taught him how to have fun again.
I watched Miller stop running and grow deeper roots than she ever thought she could by falling in love with a single dad and his little boy.
I watched Kennedy learn how to love and be loved thanks to her husband who refused to go a day without showering her with it.
I watched Isaiah persist in showing his wife exactly who he was behind the smile, all while keeping his heart open for the only woman he wanted to have it.
I watched Hallie, with so much goddamn pride, as her heart softened again. She forgave me while also continuing to stand up for herself along the way.
And I... well, I found love because it was always out there, waiting for me, even when I questioned its existence. In fact, I found it right next door—where it had always been.
I feel so incredibly blessed that I get to go through life with these nine people.
Besides Indy, we’re all a bunch of transplants from other places who found a home in the windy city... and with each other.
I’ll speak for all ten of us when I say, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be.
THE END