Page 4

THREE

Twenty minutes later, the team’s social media manager led me around the stadium, checking out the place that would hopefully become my second home over the next few years. We’d already gone out to the field and up to the stands, and now she guided me toward the locker rooms.

As she pushed open the door, I inhaled sharply, hoping this would be a great season. I might have done well in the minors, but I was a long way from that now. Nerves hit me like a freight train as we walked down the painted hallway, where the rest of the guys would file in shortly.

It was one thing to start the year as a rookie.

It was something else entirely to come in once the season already started.

The rest of the team had time to build chemistry during spring training, to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

While baseball teams were often like revolving doors, most had a core group of guys who would lead us to victory. Were they pissed I’d been called up?

Teamwork was everything, especially when you were already starting at a disadvantage. Many of the teams we’d face were franchise teams and had been playing together for years. They communicated silently on the field—would we even speak the same language?

As I walked inside, I sucked in a sharp breath, not quite believing the sight in front of me.

In the minors, we’d had nice locker rooms, but nothing like this.

Dark green flooring covered the space, with the Hawks’ logo etched in white in the middle of the room.

The center of the room had four dark leather couches, and rich mahogany wood lockers lined the walls.

Each one had a little spotlight over the top of it, proudly illuminating player’s names.

Some taken lockers only said Erie City Hawks, a reminder that everyone had to earn their name on the wall.

Staring at one of the blank placards, resolve settled in my gut. My name would go up there.

This was real. This moment, the one I had fought for years to achieve, was finally in my grasp. All the hard work, all the days away from home, all the milestones I’d missed—they had all been for this.

I was a major league baseball player.

Fuck, that felt good.

As I walked further into the room, I found my locker instantly. If the balloons and signs weren’t enough of a hint, my daughter stood in front of it, holding her mother’s hand.

“Daddy!” Emilia exclaimed as she burst across the room and leaped into my arms. I happily caught her, taking a whiff of the strawberry shampoo she loved so much.

Even though it had only been two weeks since I last saw her, I missed her terribly.

No amount of FaceTime calls would match the feeling of having my little girl in my arms. She pulled back and put her palms on my cheeks, squeezing them together.

“Do you like our surprise? Mommy helped me make the poster.”

“I love it, baby girl,” I said as I kissed her nose. After I put Emilia down, I hugged Victoria. “You guys didn’t have to drive out here for this.”

“Are you kidding?” Victoria said. “We’ve been here every time you started with a new team. It’s practically a family tradition at this point. No way we’d miss this one, especially with you being so close now.” She beamed at me, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “You did it, Cam.”

I squeezed her a little tighter before I let her go.

I cleared my throat, trying to hide my emotion at her words.

Victoria had been my high school girlfriend and my first love.

She’d been there from the very start—from my first junior varsity game to the call I got about joining the Hawks.

She was the most stable person in my life, despite the shift in our relationship.

When we were younger, our paths seemed so clear. We’d attend the same college, then get married right after we graduated. But life had other plans, and we ended up getting pregnant with Emilia during our freshman year.

Although we tried to make things work, as we got older, it became clear Victoria and I were better off as friends. It hurt like hell at first, but over time, we made it work. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

“Where’s Adam?” I asked, looking down at her still-bare ring finger.

“Is he avoiding me? He knows I’m going to kick his ass if he doesn’t make an honest woman out of you soon.

” Victoria’s boyfriend, Adam, was one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

He’d taken a break last year and moved to the same small town as his best friend, Victoria’s brother.

Their paths crossed, and the rest was history.

When we first broke up, I dreaded the idea of Victoria with another guy.

I thought it would be this painful moment, like it might shatter our friendship into something entirely different.

But none of that happened when she fell for Adam.

In fact, it was like he’d always been a part of our family, completing Victoria in a way I’d never seen before.

He made her happier than ever, and he loved Emilia just as fiercely.

“Oh, hush.” She rolled her eyes. “No, we’re not engaged. Not yet, at least. He’d get married tomorrow if he thought I’d say yes. But you know the plan—MBA first, and then we can focus on wedding planning.”

“Are you sure it’s okay if I stay in your guest room?” I grinned at Emilia, who was climbing down my legs to explore the room. “Cause I can make other arrangements?—”

“Don’t you dare,” Victoria said. “We meant it. Stupid to waste money on rent when you want to buy a house. And we have plenty of room. Plus, Adam is looking forward to having another guy around. He’s been outnumbered for a while.”

“What do you mean?”

Emilia tugged on my sweater, and I forgot the question. She pointed to the hot pink poster hanging from the top of my locker. She’d written the words “Good Luck, Daddy” in an obnoxious amount of glitter. “Auntie Hadley helped me make it. She told me you loved glitter and that we should use it all.”

“Of course she did,” I grumbled, shooting an annoyed glare at Victoria.

She just shrugged. While I loved Victoria, her best friend was another story.

Hadley had been trouble from the day we met, chaos wrapped up in a beautiful package.

Part of me hoped their friendship would fade when Victoria moved up here, but if anything, it was stronger than ever.

It was becoming painfully clear I was going to be stuck with Hadley McKay for a long time.

I pointed to the sign, and a burst of glitter fell over all of my stuff.

Victoria rolled her lips together, trying to suppress her chuckle.

I narrowed my eyes. “One of these days, I’m going to kill her. ”

Emilia pouted. “That’s not very nice, Daddy. Auntie Hadley just wanted to make your first day special.”

Oh bullshit . I needed to have another conversation with Hadley about the lies she told my daughter.

She might look angelic and soft, but I knew the truth.

The woman was a menace, sent from hell itself to test my willpower.

She thrived on torturing me, spreading her particular brand of mayhem wherever she went.

Last year, Victoria had gone away for a week to attend her brother’s wedding, and because she’d never been away from Emilia for that long, she wanted to make sure I had reinforcements, mainly because we were at the end of baseball season, and I had scheduled games.

So, she asked Hadley to help me with Emilia.

Big fucking mistake.

It was a week of goddamn torture. Even though our paths barely crossed, Hadley left evidence of her presence all over Victoria’s house.

Paint and glitter covered every surface, and the whole place smelled like that sickeningly sweet gum she loved to pop.

It took almost three weeks to get the cabin back together.

Before I could launch into another diatribe about Hadley, a bunch of guys walked into the locker room, smiling at the recent addition on the wall. One guy stopped at the locker next to mine, tossing his bag inside. He chuckled, “Now that’s a welcome sign.” He nodded to Emilia. “Did you make it? ”

“Yup.” She beamed. “My mommy and Auntie Hadley helped.”

“You’re a talented little girl. You think you could make some more for the locker room?”

“Really?” she squealed as she looked over at her mother. When Victoria nodded, Emilia turned back to the man. “I’d love to.”

He nodded as he turned toward me. “Hey, man. Damien Ramos.”

“Cam Seda,” I said back, trying to keep my cool.

Not that long ago, I had Damien’s poster on my bedroom wall.

The guy was a monster on the field, and in real life, he was almost as intimidating.

Most people considered me tall at six foot three, but Damien had a couple inches on me.

Tattoos covered his dark skin, pictures of angels and other elements I couldn’t quite make out, but I’d read enough interviews to know he’d gotten most of them in honor of his family.

After pulling on a hoodie, Damien motioned behind me, where Emilia stood staring at all the men shuffling inside. “Your kid?”

“Yeah,” I smiled. “She’s my girl.”

Damien nodded and started dropping his stuff in his locker.

Holy hell, I was playing with the Damien Ramos.

He was a legend on the New York Rebels, notorious for his home runs and aggressive attitude on the field.

I never thought he would have left that team, but when Gray asked him to join this fledgling one, he couldn’t resist playing with his former teammate and friend.

The guy was getting close to retirement, but he was still lethal on the field, and the Hawks would take any advantage they could get.

“You have any kids?” I spit out, trying to keep my cool.

“Nah.” He grinned as he dug through his bag. “Not sure it’s in the cards for me. But my sister and her wife have five girls, so I’ve got a lot of experience babysitting if you ever need a hand.” He walked over to Victoria and introduced himself. “Wife?” Damien asked.

“Nope,” she said. “We’re not together, but we’re Cam’s family. We wanted to come to cheer him on.” She turned back toward me. “But this one’s getting a little tired, so I think we’re going to head out. Family dinner tonight? Say yes.”

“Wouldn’t dream of missing it.” I leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I’ll text you when I’m heading back to the house.”

As my family walked out of the locker room, the rest of the guys started talking, and I tried to take it all in.

Coming in as the new guy was always nerve-wracking, but there was a nice camaraderie with the crew.

I’d heard nightmares about hazing from some guys sent back down to the minors, but none of that seemed to happen in this clubhouse.

I sighed as I turned back toward my locker, my uniform ready and waiting for me. I ran my hand over the white jersey, tracing the green pinstripes like it was all an illusion. But when I turned it around and saw my number written in the dark green font, I couldn’t help but smile.

Perhaps with some beginner’s luck, we’d take this team and make it something great. Maybe I’d prove myself and get to stay here as long as possible.

As I looked at Emilia walking out of the locker room, she turned and gave me a wide smile. For me, there was no other option. I needed this team to work out, needed to bring everything to the field every day.

My daughter and the game were the only things that mattered.