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He was the only one of my siblings who would understand what I was going through.

“Is this about Fletcher?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m sure Farrah told you about us.”

“She tells me everything.” His smile bordered on gooey, and it made me happy and jealous at the same time. “We both want you to be happy. But let me think about your question for a second.” And by the thoughtful look on his face, he was going to give me a real answer, not just one to get my hopes up.

I bit my lip, waiting and hoping I could survive his truth.

Levi’s team was jogging back to the dugout when Gage finally replied. “You know, when we were kids, everyone always told us that marriage is between two people, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. When you marry someone, you’re getting their family, their past. All those people affect the relationship. And if you marry someone who has an ex and children, you have to accept that the ex will always have a past with your partner you weren’t a part of, and you’re tied to that person just as much as the one you married. Because you can’t love those kids without loving what brought them into the world.”

I nodded, understanding him in a way I never would have before meeting Maya and falling in love with her and her father.

“Is Fletcher talking about marriage?” he asked.

I shook my head, taking a swig from my water bottle. “He says he doesn’t want to get married. He’ll sign my name to his house and put me in his will, but he won’t give me his last name.”

Thankfully, Gage was less expressive than Rhett, but I still clocked his frown.

“You’re going to tell me to break up with him,” I said.

Gage shook his head. “I was thinking that marriage is about so much more than sharing a last name—it’s about sharing a life.”

Farrah came back to the stands with Cora and Andrew, sitting on the other side of Gage. Soon after, Levi walked out of the dugout to bat, and we all cheered for him.

He squared up at home plate, poised to swing. The pitch sailed toward the plate, and his bat cracked against the ball, sending it to deep center field, over the player’s outstretched arm. Levi sprinted toward first base, then second and third as the outfielders scrambled for the ball, trying to stop him from stealing home.

But instead of playing it safe, Levi pushed toward home plate, running with his full force as the ball sailed toward the catcher. Ignoring the risk, he dove toward the plate in a cloud of dust.

It hadn’t yet settled as the umpire yelled, “SAFE.”

58

Fletcher

I wanted to see Liv when we got home from Dad’s house, but she wasn’t there. I went about putting Maya to bed and even stayed up after, but Liv still wasn’t home. I was starting to get worried about her, so I took out my phone and dialed her number.

After a few rings, she answered, the background noise telling me she was still in her truck. “Hello?”

“Hey,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was just worried about you. I know last night was hard, and I thought...” My throat clogged with sudden emotion. “I didn’t know if you were coming home.”

There was a tenderness in her voice as she said, “I’m just a few minutes away. My nephew’s game went to extra innings, and then we had to celebrate his win.”

The tension in my chest eased slightly. “Do you want to come lie in my bed when you get here?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” she said.

We both knew the answer. “I want to lie with you.”AndI don’t know how many nights I have left, I didn’t say out loud.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

If I listened closely, I could hear her engine as she came down the road. “I missed you today.”

Her engine grew louder, closer, and then it turned off, echoing through her phone. “I missed you too.”

She was quiet for a moment, and I heard her soft breath as she walked toward the house, then I heard her open the door, walk down the hallways, and slide into my bed. I put my phone on the nightstand and then curled around her, wrapping my arms around her soft middle.

She smelled like vanilla and sunshine. Her wavy hair fell over the white pillows illuminated by the dim light from the bathroom.