Page 71 of Sweet Redemption

“No.” I grin, a soundless laugh shaking my chest. “We’re not erasing our past.”

“Maybe we should . . .” She closes her eyes and drops her head to my chest. “There’s so much between us though. I’m not sure we can⁠—”

“We can,” I stop her. “And we will—because it wasn’t all bad. Tell me you remember the good. Tell me you don’t hate me,” I press, needing to hear the words.

She lifts her head, a storm brewing in her gorgeous turquoise eyes. “I never hated you. I wanted to. I wished I could. It would have been so much easier. But you hurt me.”

“I know I did. And I wish I hadn’t. But I can’t go back and do it differently.”

“Would you . . . ?” Her pink lips tremble, begging for the truth. “If you could go back, would you do it differently?”

My answer is immediate, I’ve thought about it so many damn times. “I’d tell you the truth instead of letting you believe the lie. But I’d still claim Bodhi as mine. I can’t regret that, Serena. I’ll never regret him.”

“I wouldn’t want you to,” she whispers so quietly, I barely hear it before she looks away, her chest rising with a deep inhale before she looks at me again. “Time’s up, Hendrix.”

“Serena . . .”

“I need some space, Hen. I need to process all of this. And you have a game tomorrow.” Without giving me a second glance, she walks over to the door and takes the knob in her hand.

“Take the space you need, princess, but know this.” I bend my knees, bringing us face-to-face and smiling as Serena’s lashes flutter and cheeks flush. “I made the mistake of letting you go once. I’m not doing it again.”

She opens the door and inches back, careful to leave space between us. “We’ll see about that.”

Yeah, sweetheart. We will.

“You be good for Aunt Gracie. Okay, buddy?”

Bodhi’s sleepy face scrunches up as he nods. My kid loves his naptime. “Love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, buddy. I’ll be home late tonight” My heart sinks as Gracie takes the phone.

“He’s an angel, Henny.” My sweet sister smiles and runs her hand over Bodhi’s hair.

“Is he an angel or are your kids just feral, good twin?”

Leo’s head pops up from his bed as he laughs. “Truth.”

“Hey.” Gracie tries to act pissed.

It doesn’t work. Good twin sucks at being mad.

“Love you, Grace. Thank you for this. I promise I’ll get the nanny thing figured out soon.”

She nods and ends the call in time for Leo to throw a fucking pillow across the room. “I thought you had the nanny shit figured out. Isn’t Melissa moving in?”

“She’s going to stay with me until she finds a place. Not moving in. But that’s still a few weeks away.” I fix my tie and look for my watch. Chicago stopped making us wear suits to and from games, and it was a hell of a lot easier than this. Some guys like the suits. I’m not one of them. Give me sweats and tees any day.

“Hate to break it to you, brother, but that’s moving in. Do you think you’re going to be okay with her there?” Leo grabs his tie from his bag and shakes out the wrinkles. “Melissa’s nice, but she’s . . . a lot.”

“She’s what’s best for Bodhi. And it won’t be permanent,” I tell him as much for him as it is for me needing to hear it. Leo’s not wrong. Mel is a lot. “We’ll make it work, and I’ll make sure she finds a place.”

“Okay.” He walks over to the mirror and straightens his tie. “You gonna tell me what the hell is going on with you and Serena Kingston?”

“Nope.” I grab my coat and room key. “Are you going to focus on the game?”

“It’s preseason, man. I doubt we’ll get more than five minutes ice time. Now stop changing the subject.” He walks into the hall and stares at Serena’s door. “Is she okay?”

My body goes on alert. “What do you mean?”