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“He liked to tell you stories before he left on assignment.” She laughed, taking a seat next to me. “He was on the football team, but only for a semester. And he only joined to impress me, but then he learned I wasn’t easily impressed. You’re a lot like me in that way.”

“So what changed?”

“I guess I did. I realized he wasn’t going to stop, so I agreed to one date. To shut him up?—”

“Wait, that’s why you went on a date with him? ”

I’d heard this story so many times, or at least I thought I had—my parents’ first date that never ended. It was a story my dad loved to tell, it was one I loved to hear because he always said it felt like they were still on it.

I’d thought it was so romantic. But maybe it wasn’t.

“Yup, that’s why,” she replied. “I’d had all these preconceived notions about him, and I was so convinced that the date would last less than an hour, I made other plans.”

“When did you know you were wrong?”

“About ten minutes in,” she replied as a smile pulled the edges of her mouth, growing into a grin. “He picked me up in his battered old Jeep, held the door open for me, and when we got to the coffee shop, he parked, jumped out, and ran around to open my door again.”

I could feel my heart sinking slowly, any glimmer of hope that I could relate to this story died, and I refrained from huffing out the heavy sigh. “You fell in love with him because he was sweet to you.”

Pushing from her chair, she stood up and took a deep breath.

“To answer your first question, I knew I’d fallen in love with him when I realized he’d become the first person I wanted to see when I woke up, the first person I wanted to talk to, the last person I wanted to say goodnight to.

I fell in love with him because he was sweet, yes, and also because he made me laugh, because we had things in common, and because he was the kindest man I’d ever met.

” Bending down, she pushed my hair away from my face and cupped my cheeks.

“But most importantly, I fell in love with him because I gave him a chance. ”

Her underlying point couldn’t have been louder if she’d shouted it from the rooftops.

The only question was whether my heart was listening.

“ H ow much force do you think Jupiter Reeves hits with?”

“I read somewhere it was around one hundred and five miles per hour.”

“Radley, how ’bout Lux. He hits harder than Reeves, right?

” Matty asked, though he didn’t bother turning around.

His eyes stayed glued to the screen, where Jupiter Reeves was passing second base after hitting the ball out into the left-side bleachers.

The camera zoomed in on the fans scrambling to catch it.

“Yeah, he’s got the record for the farthest ball at the Lions. I think it was around one hundred and nineteen miles per hour, it was earlier this season. He got a little trophy for it.” You could hear the pride in her voice as she replied.

“They’re gonna win in three games. They’re going through to the championship,” announced Josh with all the confidence of someone who’d very recently jumped onto the New York Lions winning bandwagon, having callously ditched his previous team.

However, it did appear that Josh, plus everyone else in here all cheering for the Lions —my mom, Doug, Radley, Matty, and a couple of my brothers’ friends—was correct.

We were bottom of the seventh, currently three runs to two, or rather four runs after Jupiter’s mammoth hit, although the game had been much closer than it appeared. We only had two more innings to hang on for.

Running back into the dugout, I could see Tanner head down with Lux, having what appeared to be a serious discussion. Even under the peak of his ball cap I could see his face furrowed as he concentrated on what Lux was saying.

The Nats were playing much stronger tonight than they had the past two games, but the Lions seemed to have been prepared for it, because their fielding and defensive play was the best I’d seen in a long time.

Tanner particularly was having an awesome game—making some seemingly impossible catches, and precision accuracy in his bullet-like throws.

Several times I’d had to get up and leave the room because I’d been too anxious to watch. I’d already demolished two bowls of popcorn in the hope of calming my nerves.

“Ohmigod, ohmigod. ” Radley threw her arms around my shoulders and shook me hard as Boomer Jones took the plate next and made it to second on his first swing. “They’re gonna win, they’re gonna win .”

Like me, she was wearing her Lions shirt over a sweater, with weston 40 printed on the back, though mine had simpson 2 .

My brothers were also wearing Tanner’s shirt, having bought two at the game last night.

Even Doug was wearing the black Lions shirt, something Radley only seemed to notice as he walked back into the den with more beers for everyone.

“Doug! You’re a Phillies fan!” Radley gasped, shaking her head. “What’s happened? Is this because of Tanner? ”

It was well known that Radley and her family, especially the President, were Phillies fans. Her brothers hadn’t been as easily swayed as mine clearly were when she started dating Lux, and Radley still supported the Phillies if the Lions weren’t playing.

“Nope, I’m an Eagles fan.” Doug sat back down next to my mom and threw his arm around her shoulder. “Unless it’s the Eagles playing, I’ll route for whoever is on screen. But Tanner’s part of the family now, so I’m happy to support the Lions.”

“Same,” added Josh, jumping up. “Changeover time. I’m getting more chips.”

The eighth inning went much the same as the previous one—the Nats made it to second a couple of times only to get caught out passing third, but they did hit a home run, bringing the score up to 3–4 at the start of the ninth inning.

My brothers, their friends, and Doug were slowly beginning to drive me crazy with how fidgety they were every time one of the Nats was at bat. Doug had started hovering by the doorway, and both my brothers had taken to standing behind the couches.

But they were quiet enough we could now hear the commentators as the next batter arrived at the plate and Ace got ready to pitch.

“Grounded to the left, deep in the field, Tanner Simpson snatches up the ball, and in less than a second fires it over to Boomer Jones on first base, right before the Nats batter made it there safely. What a sensational play, Mike.”

“ Sensational, Steve. And bad luck for the Nats.”

“Very bad luck. They just can’t quite get the edge over the Lions tonight. ”

“Or in this series.”

“Or in this series. You’re right again, Mike.”

My brothers let out a loud cheer, and their friends jumped up off the couches.

Even Doug inched back into the room. “Wow, Millie, that was amazing.” He cheered at me, like I had something to do with it.

“Yeah,” was all I could manage to reply, because I was truly speechless.

The camera zoomed in on Tanner’s face, a grin spreading across it as he walked back into position, high-fiving Lux as he did.

“If the Lions keep playing like this, they’re taking home the trophy for sure,” went on the ESPN commentator.

“What a comeback story for them. Years and years at the bottom of the standings, and in the three seasons since Penn Shepherd took ownership, they make it up to the World Series.”

“I agree, Steve. Looking at the rest of the division games, I think we’re going to see Lions versus Giants in the championship series.”

“Can the Lions bring the fight they need? That’s the question everyone will be asking. And I say they can. I think they’re going all the way. I’m predicting a Lions versus Yankees showdown this year.”

“Lions versus Yankees. I want to see that.” Josh turned to me. “We’re all going to the World Series, right, Mildred?”

“Radley and I are.” I grinned at him, knowing full well Tanner would get tickets for my entire family if I asked him to.

But I would never put that on him. If my brothers wanted tickets, they could ask in their new capacity as his BFF, and as the pair of them were currently on their phones, I assumed they were already asking.

“You agree it’ll be the Yankees?” Doug asked.

Matty nodded. “The Yankees are doing well. But they’ll go to four games for the division—they lost the second against the White Sox.”

“That’s good for us, one extra game means they’re an extra game more tired.”

Everyone silenced as the next Nats batter came up, hitting a line drive right between second and third. Tanner powered forward. The Nats player on second base sprinted around to third as fast as he could.

Tanner was faster, snatching up the ball and throwing it to Jupiter Reeves, who caught it with nanoseconds to spare.

“Wow, I gotta say, the defensive play between him and the fielders tonight is like nothing we’ve seen this season,” said the commentator. “Real example of teamwork.”

“I agree, Mike. He should get MVP for this series. It’s been incredible to watch him.”

They headed into bottom of the ninth, and you could almost feel the anticipation passing from the fans through the television screen. Parker was first to the plate, making it to second before being caught at third when Boomer Jones’s ball was caught from the air.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were trying to lull the Nats into a false sense of security, but that broke as soon as Lux was at bat. It was as though he’d heard us talking about how powerful he hit the ball and wanted to outdo himself.

It soared through the air, out to the crowds wrapped up on the boardwalk, and over into the Hudson, farther than the dinghies were positioned. It disappeared under the water, only to pop up a second later, and the cold October air didn’t stop half a dozen of the dinghy owners jumping in to grab it.

“You couldn’t pay me to get in that water.” Matty shivered dramatically.

After that, it was game over, more or less.

Jupiter followed Lux with similar results, Tanner made it to second base, Saint Velasquez—the right field—made it to third, bringing Tanner home safely, and it went on like that.

Sawyer James—the second baseman—rounded out the game with an inside-the-park home run, bringing the final score to Lions 7, Nats 4.

We were likely the only house on the street cheering, and there was no way our neighbors couldn’t hear the ruckus being made. Even Brinkley joined in with a round of howls and barks.

Radley pulled me into a hug, taking care not to squash me too hard, because just like that, the Lions were one step closer to the Commissioner’s Trophy.

And I was heading home to the National League East’s MVP.