Page 74 of Promise Me

Is that what he wants? I saw the way his face lit up at the rink. He misses that life, but there is a reason he hasn’t been back. Is he still struggling to move forward and be happy, as he put it?

There are things I want to remember, yes, and remembering them would be nice, but ultimately, that’s what I want too.

To just move on and be happy.

“Hudson.” I reach for his arm as he opens the door.

He spins quickly, then lets go of the door and takes a step down toward me.

“What is it? Do you remember something?”

Is my expression alarming? I lock my gaze with his, and for a split second, I’m convinced that I see panic in his eyes.

“No,” I say quickly and look away.

He lets out a breath. “What’s going on then?”

“What you just said,” I start. “I’ve been trying so hard to remember my life, yet nothing is coming back.”

Hudson doesn’t say anything as I pause to think how to say it.

“I still do, but if I keep obsessing over it, I might not ever move on. I don’t doubt that I was happy with my life, career, and even the fact that I was living with my father. But I … I can’t keep hoping for something that might not ever happen. I want what you just said, to move forward and be happy again.”

“Good.”

“I was hoping you’d do it with me.”

“Sadie, I …”

A vision of him at the rink the other day consumes me once again. I know he understands what I’m feeling.

“We both deserve the future we want, right? Even if it’s different from our original plans.”

After a moment, he nods. “It’s only been a couple of weeks, Sadie. Your memory still has a chance to come back.”

“It might, but I’m done waiting for it. I want toliveagain, I want to be happier than ever before, and I think you should do that with me.”

His eyes turn dark, and for a moment, I think I've crossed the line. He shared things with me at the ice rink that I believe he hasn’t shared with his brothers. I want to help him the way he’s helped me. I want to be there for him the way he’s been there for me. I want?—

“Okay,” he says before my mind can get carried away. “Let’s do it.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He smirks and then unlocks the door.

We both wander into the apartment, and as I head for the bedroom, he heads for the couch.

“Does this new move on and be happy approach in life mean you can suck it up and finally share the bed with m?—”

“Nope.”

I watch him peel his shirt off, revealing his sculpted back before he disappears into the bathroom and turns on the shower.

Move forward and be happy with Hudson.

I like the sound of that.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

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