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“Well, with or without the magic, you played amazing. You all did. But especially you.” She smiled, her pale brown eyes twinkling. “I was really proud of you.”

Out of nowhere, my cheeks warmed, blushing like a goddamn schoolgirl.

Like it or not, Millie complimenting me seemed to result in a physical reaction.

Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to them coming from her, or that, when they did, they were so sincere it almost felt like my heart was about to burst open.

“Thank you,” I replied, eventually. “I missed seeing your face when I ran back to home plate though.”

“I didn’t miss being up on the big screen when you do.” She laughed, and the phone shook in her hand as she did. “And I gotta say, the suite Radley and I were in had an awesome buffet. No lines, servers just for us, all the fried chicken I could eat…I could get used to that.”

“Fried chicken?”

“Yep, fried chicken. Which is weird because I’d been craving it so badly all day.”

“And then it was there for you?”

“It was.”

“See, you’re magic. I told you.” I grinned, finishing off the final drops of my coffee.

“Want me to magic you a win?”

I nodded. “Yes please, then I can come home to you as soon as possible.”

A smile began forming in the corners of her mouth, pulling up until it spread across her face. She really was so insanely beautiful. It didn’t matter the time of day, or the medium with which I was looking at her, she was stunning. Period.

“I’d like that. I’ve missed you this week.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah? It’s too quiet without you.” She laughed, in turn making me chuckle.

Catching sight of the time, I threw back the covers and headed into the bathroom. “Now tell me what you’re doing today before I have to get in the shower.”

“Holiday is coming over to hang with Radley and me. But I think she also wants to arrange the nursery.”

“Arrange it? There’s nothing in it,” I replied, picking up my toothbrush.

“I know, but we’re going to pretend there is.”

I had no idea what that meant, but I laughed anyway. “I can’t wait to hang with you and pretend there’s furniture in our nursery.”

“Not long to go.”

“I know. Are you excited about the scan? Still want to find out what we’re having?”

She nodded, rubbing her belly. “I think we should. It’ll be easier to buy stuff, and easier for people to buy things for us. And easier for your mom?—”

“Oh yeah, my mom.” I winced. I could usually block it out because I’d had a lifetime of it, but perhaps I’d forgotten what my mom was like when she had a project.

It took over everything, and right now Millie and the baby was her new project.

“Sorry, Mills. I promise I’ll step in once the season is over.

And she won’t be staying with us, she’ll stay with Holiday. ”

“Hey, I’m happy that our baby will get two sets of awesome grandparents.”

“Even Doug?”

Her lips rolled together and she gave a small nod. “Even Doug.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m going to go and make some oatmeal. ”

“I prepared extra smoothies for you while I’m away. They’re in the fridge, you just need to blend them,” I told her, right before sticking my toothbrush into my mouth.

“You did that for me?”

“Of course. For you and our little baby bell pepper.”

“Mmm. Bell pepper, that’s making me hungry.”

“Then you need to go eat.” I spat out the mouthful of toothpaste and rinsed. “I love you, Mama Bear. Have a good day.”

I watched Millie’s teeth sink into her bottom lip. From the way she was staring, I swear she was toying with how to respond. I was certain it was going to be something other than, “have a good game, Tan. Call me later, ’kay?”

I thought I’d be disappointed, but I wasn’t. We’d come so far in such a short period, and over FaceTime wasn’t where I wanted to hear about her feelings when she finally admitted them.

When that day came, I planned on kissing her until we needed oxygen.

“Count on it.”

T hree long days.

Three long games. Some longer than others.

This one for example.

We were currently tied three runs each, bottom of the tenth inning. It was the final game we would play in San Francisco; we were tied two games each, and whoever won this would head to New York with the advantage. Which might be why it was taking so long to end .

It had been a while since I’d played a game going into double figures, and I’d forgotten how tedious it was. Neither us nor the Giants seemed to be able to concede a point.

We got one, then they got one.

And on it went.

“When is this game going to end?” grumbled Lux as we walked off the field together following our tenth inning.

“When you hit a home run in the next innings, and then we somehow manage to stop them from scoring.”

He huffed a laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

“Hey, it’s all I’m asking,” I replied, ducking into the dugout. “I want to go home with the advantage so we can win the final game in front of our guys.”

“Me too, bud. Me too.”

“Not a lot to ask, right?”

“Nope. Not a lot to ask.”

Ace and Parker were already munching on energy bars and downing water.

Doctor Matthews and her team of scientists had been monitoring our blood pressure, oxygen, heart, and sweat rates—among other things—in real time throughout the game, and the coaches were handing out exactly what we needed based on the results they’d read.

I, for example, was given a bottle of electrolytes and a packet of Twizzlers along with the same energy bar everyone else was handed.

“Man, I can’t wait for a burger when we get on the plane,” Parker said, ripping open a Snickers he must have stashed earlier. “I’m starved.”

“Same. Not long to go, Lux has promised a big hit, so then all we have to do is hold them off.”

“I didn’t promise,” Lux replied, tossing his bottle into the trash. “I said I’d see what I could do.”

“Pot- ay -to, pot- ah -to.”

He might not have promised, but he still lived up to his word.

Lux pulled out the big guns and powered a ball into the right field of Oracle Park and out into San Francisco Bay. Like at Lions Stadium sitting on the Hudson, groups of Giants fans sat in dinghies on the water waiting for a ball to appear.

Parker, Ace, and I were too busy cheering Lux to see if anyone caught it, watching him sprint around the bases one at a time before he reached us again.

Every single one of us jumped on him as he stepped in, knowing that he’d brought us that one step closer to winning the championship and, more importantly, going home .

It was enough. Somehow that ball injected a new-found energy inside all of us, and the Giants didn’t manage to get a ball past us the whole time they were at bat.

And then we reached the final Giants batter for this eleventh inning.

We’d all dug deep, until we ran close to empty.

Boomer Jones had made a couple of excellent catches.

Saint Velasquez, who wasn’t the fastest on the team by any stretch, had managed to sprint for a ball, snatch it up, and fire it over to Sawyer James on second base.

Ace had reinvigorated the throwing streak, which gave him a perfect game last season, and by some miracle there had been no scoring from the Giants for this inning.

Ace raised his knee, pitching his arm back. The ball fired toward the final Giants batter, making contact with a loud crack.

I thought it would head out toward Lux, but instead, the ball bounced on the ground, bringing it into a trajectory between Jupiter on third base, and me. I dove forward, scooping it into my glove, then fired it over to Boomer, praying he’d make the save before the Giants batter reached him.

It all happened so quickly, my eyes may as well have been closed for how closely I was paying attention to his positioning, but between the two of us, we got it right. The cheers from the fans who’d traveled across the country to support us were everything I needed to hear.

We’d won the final game in San Francisco. We were 3–2 up in the championship series. One more win from us and we’d be heading into the World Series.

Lux threw his arm around my shoulder. “Great work, bud, now let’s get the hell out of here and head home.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Forty minutes later we were boarding the plane.

“Hey, anyone know the Yankees score?” someone shouted behind them.

“They won. We’ll play them in the World Series.”

Not if. There was no doubt we were going to win our next game. We were heading back to New York to finish this on home ground in front of a home crowd.

And more importantly, in front of Millie.

A week ago we were in front of our fans, throwing the game away.

Now we were on the precipice of making history.

We would beat the Giants four games to two and be crowned National League champions.

The game had been ours from the beginning. The home crowds had come through for us, invigorating us with that special New York energy, and since the moment we stepped onto the field, we’d owned the ball.

I’d argue and say we’d never played better than we’d played in this game. Aside from the first disastrous game of this series, we’d never had a stretch of playing like it. Balls had been hit harder and farther, we’d sprinted faster.

Twice Lux had scaled the bleachers more deftly than Spider-Man, snatching the ball before it was seized by some overzealous fans.

And for me, Millie had given me all the power I’d needed to make this one of the top five games of my career, I was certain.

Coach was still making everyone sit in the bleachers, but every so often the camera had zoomed in on Radley with Millie cheering next to her wearing my shirt.

I didn’t think it was possible for my heart to get any bigger, but it sure tried hard whenever I spotted her.

“I wish Coach would sit the fuck down,” grumbled Parker, rubbing his hands back and forth along his thighs.

My eyes sliced to the side to see Coach’s back as he made his way down to the other end of the dugout, before turning again.

He’d been pacing throughout the game, and with each inning, his marching had gotten progressively more pronounced.

The next pass, he reached Ace sitting in his chair by the water station .

“He’s anxious.”

“We’re all anxious.”

“We’ve never gotten this far in the game before,” I added reasonably. “He’s going to be the first coach to take us to the World Series.”

“Yeah, but it’s still super annoying. What’s he going to be like next week? He needs to chill.”

I didn’t reply that perhaps Parker was the one who needed to chill. I wasn’t sure what had gotten him so agitated, either, because there was no way we could fuck this up now.

Bottom of the ninth, two runs up, and only Jupiter was left to bat. And Jupiter never failed to deliver.

I nudged Parker as he stepped up to the plate. “Watch this.”

Jupiter stood tall and rolled his shoulder back before doing the same with his neck, first left, then right, twisting his bat until the grip was perfect.

The Giants pitcher threw the ball.

Jupiter swung.

It was hard to tell what happened first, even looking back on the replay—the home crowds cheering, the gold and black glitter canons firing, or Jupiter hitting the ball.

I know this much: Parker’s cry of happiness was so loud it left a ringing in my ear for the rest of the day.

We swarmed the field, along with our coaches, support staff, anyone and everyone who worked at Lions Stadium, and a handful of Lions fans who’d managed to sneak past security. Sports reporters shoved microphones into the faces of anyone who passed them.

Jupiter was still running around the bases as Coach sprinted out to him, closely followed by Lux and Saint, who promptly scooped him up onto their shoulders, carrying him high among the crowds while they sang “We Are the Champions.”

“We won. We fucking won. We won the championship. We’re the champions,” cheered Parker, tears streaming down his face as he spun around. “Where’s Scout? I need Scout.”

But I wasn’t listening. I was too focused on finding Millie and figuring out which entrance she’d come down with Radley, praying the Secret Service would be okay with bringing her into the swarming masses.

But then I saw her, ponytail swinging behind her, belly out in front as she made her way down the east steps usually reserved for Penn Shepherd’s guests.

It was debatable whether I’d ever sprinted so fast in my life as I ran over to her, and if Lux was even faster trying to get to Radley.

Millie didn’t even have the opportunity to step off the field before I lifted her into my arms and kissed her like a soldier returning from the front lines.

“You won. You won,” she mumbled against my lips, taking a much-needed breath. “That was incredible. You guys have played so well.”

My cheeks suddenly felt damp, and I pulled away at the first taste of saltiness on my tongue.

“Mills, why are you crying?”

“I don’t know.” She laughed. “It’s the baby, and watching you in front of thousands of people cheering your name.”

“It’s because of you, you brought the magic…” I replied, dr ying her wet cheeks as best I could. “You brought it while wearing my shirt.”

Easing out of my arms, she spun a pirouette. My name had never looked so good and while she might be crying because of the baby, the tears brimming in my eyes were all from her and this moment.

“You’re perfect, now let’s go and find the others.” I took her hand, leading her into the middle of the field, the melee of my teammates singing and hugging.

Penn Shepherd had joined us, up on the shoulders of Jupiter and Stone Fields being carried alongside Coach.

Because of his unwavering belief in us as a club, we were headed to the World Series. For the first time ever, the New York Lions had made it through to the top two teams in the MLB to a best-of-seven fight to the crown.

This would be a fight.

Two of New York’s teams pitted against each other, and we planned to come out victorious.

But first we would party.