Like being so quick to forgive the transgressions of the past, for example. Or call someone on the phone instead of texting them.
I’m even at a place where I’m ready to start down the path of forgiveness where Tatum and Ford are concerned. Being with Millie helped me see that being with Tatum was never right. And though they took a path that hurt me, we all ended up in the place we were supposed to be, as difficult as that is to admit.
Maybe Everleigh’s wedding is a good time to get all that out. It’s another way Millie has changed me for the better.
One person I won’t be forgiving anytime soon, however, is my father.
I suppose he’s yet another person I’ll have to face at the wedding…if Everleigh decided to invite him. I’m not clear on that, exactly.
“Is that a good thing?” she asks.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” I murmur.
“Well, good then. Now tell me why you called before I really start to freak out on you.”
I laugh. “Sorry, sorry. What are you doing on the twenty-ninth?”
“Of May?”
“Yes.”
“Um…no clue. What day of the week is it?” she asks.
I cradle the phone between my ear and my shoulder, and I rub my hands together a little nervously. Why am I nervous? This girl just agreed to move across the country to live with me, head up my foundation, and give this a real try in the real world with me.
It’s un-fucking-believable.
I blow out a breath. “It’s a Saturday, and I have a game in Chicago, and I’m hoping you’ll travel there since it’s home for both of us. My sister is getting married that day, and I was wondering if you’d be my date?”
She gasps. “Oh my God, Archer! Yes, of course! I would absolutelyloveto!”
“Are you sure?” I ask. “Because honestly, I don’t really even want to go myself, and I could just make up something about the team not letting me.”
She laughs. “You will absolutely not lie under any circumstances. You’re taking me. I’m meeting your entire family.”
“Oh God, what have I done?” I wonder aloud.
“You’ve unleashed it now,” she says.
“So six road games until I get to see you again?” I ask.
“I can come to Colorado or San Diego, but I think it’ll just be easier to pack up here and get back out there and be waiting for you at home in Vegas when you arrive,” she says.
It was my idea, and I wish I hadn’t suggested it. Of course I’d rather have her on the road with me. Next to me in my bed. Beside me when I wake.
It’s better this way. It gives her nearly a week to close out her chapter in Chicago, and it gives me a week to focus on being back in the game. It also gives us a moment to breathe—something I haven’t really been doing much of lately in the whirlwind of realizing I don’t want to live my life without her.
We win two against the Rockies, and we win two against the Padres. At the press conference after the third game in the second series, someone asks me, “That was a hell of a catch in the sixth, and you’re smiling out on that field more than we’ve ever seen you do. Tell us what’s got you so happy.”
I can’t help but smile at the question. I never answer questions about my personal life. Ever. But maybe just this once…
“I met the love of my life. Check out the blog Millie’s Miles. My girl gives all sorts of incredible tips about champagne travel on a beer budget.”
I’m exhausted after six nights on the road when I arrive home on Sunday night, and when I pull into the garage, I spot a Kia Sportage with Illinois plates parked in there.
I practically fly out of my Mercedes and run into the house. She’s here, and I’m here, and it’sfinallytime to reconnect.
She’s standing in the kitchen when I walk in, and there’s a twinkle in her eye. “Hi,” she says softly.
