Page 99 of This Kind of Forever

When Hallie meets my gaze, I can see the uncertainty in her blue eyes. The worry that she’s setting herself up for more heartbreak, the kind her mother has been inflicting on her for years. I’d do anything to make it better for her. To take all her worries away.

“I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but after meeting him, it seems to me like Kevin truly does want this. That doesn’t erase the lifetime you spent without him, though. So if you think it’stoo late, if you don’t want to give him this chance after all, that’s valid. But if youdo, I don’t think it’s a mistake to try.”

Knowing what I know about Amanda now, I can understand Hallie’s initial motivations better. She wants to try, even if it may not turn out the way she hopes it will.

“Thank you for being here,” she says.

I wrap my arm tighter around her. “Thank you for telling me.”

Hallie runs her fingers over the tattoos on my right arm. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but these are one of my favourite things about you.”

I chuckle. “I’m happy you like them.”

She shifts so she’s straddling my lap now. “They make you, like, ten times hotter. And you were alreadyveryhot.”

Threading my fingers through her hair, I tip her head up so she’s looking at me. “Hallie Foster, do you have a crush on me?”

Her cheeks are tinged pink. She pinches her fingers together in front of her face. “Maybe a small one.”

“Liar.”

“Fine.” Her lips stretch into a grin. “A big one.”

“Good,” I say, leaning close. “Because I’ve got a huge crush on you.”

Her nose bumps mine. “Prove it.”

So I do. I take her mouth slowly, wanting to savour every moment I have with her. Every touch of her lips, every inch of her body pressed against mine, still feels surreal. Like I’m having an out-of-body experience, watching another version of myself have what I’ve wanted for tenlongyears.

Hallie melts in my embrace. In this, she surrenders herself completely to me. Shetrustsme, and I don’t take that for granted.

Pulling back from her mouth, I press a kiss to her neck, where her pulse thunders beneath her skin. She whimpers, andthen she grabs my shirt and tugs on it. Hallie pulls the tee over my head. It falls to the floor somewhere by my feet.

She leans back, running her hands over my chest, tracing the tattoos there. When they land on one in particular, her fingers still.

“Wait.”

I watch her face carefully, looking for the smallest clues as to what she’s thinking. I’m surprised it’s taken her this long to spot it. I thought for sure I would’ve been busted long before now.

Her eyes meet mine. “Gabe,” she whispers.

I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Foster.”

She looks down again, staring at my chest as she gently traces the tattoo. “I drew this.”

I nod. “During math in grade eleven.” A smile tugs at my lips. “Mrs. Feinberg confiscated it because we were passing notes instead of paying attention.”

Hallie pokes me. “Youwere distracting me, actually.”

“Semantics.” She rolls her eyes, and I pinch her hip. “I had to plead my case to her after class that day. Convince her I needed that paper back.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t believe you kept it. And you got ittattooed. When?”

I purse my lips. “Just before you left.”

Her touch falls away. “Oh.”

I take her hand and place it back on my chest, over her tattoo. It isn’t far from where I have Abbie’s name inked on my skin, because she and Hallie are the two most important people in my life. When Hallie drew it, it was a simple sketch of one of the autumn crocus flowers that grows along the front of Haven House in the fall.