“Something she asked you to facilitate, but you said no?” I guess.
He nods. “Yeah. I’m here at this resort because my manager told me to lay low. I have another few weeks of suspension once I get back home. And it’s all because of my family. My father, specifically. That’s the heart of why I didn’t want her getting involved with them. I didn’t want her to get hurt by them. I didn’t want her business to fold because of some stupid paper my father got her to sign. It’s not that I don’t trust my siblings. I do, and I think Madden will do right by her. But we’re all cut from his cloth, and I don’t want to be a part of it.”
“Do you talk to anyone in your family?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “They try. They all walk around spouting shit about how close they are. But I’m the only one who tells it like it is. We’re all adults now, and it’s harder to be close when we all lead very separate lives. Madden’s in San Diego with his fiancée. Dex is married with a kid and he’s in Vegas with Everleigh, who is getting married. I’m in Vegas, too, but I never see either of them because we’re on different schedules. I play for nine months out of the year. Football plays for six or seven, tops, and they have one game a week to my six, sometimes seven. Ford’s in Tampa now, and he had a thing for Tatum since high school. And my younger siblings, Liam and Ivy, are both still in Chicago, though Liam plays for Pittsburgh. Distance mixed with my career makes it hard to be close to them.”
“But you were close to Tatum for all those years,” I point out.
I nod. “Yeah, until we grew apart.”
“Because of your career?” I guess.
He shrugs. “Maybe. Hers, too. She got busier, and we drifted and clung to our own things. She told me that for her, it was over a long time ago. Maybe she’s right. Maybe it was, and I was blinded by the ease we had with each other.”
“Other baseball players make it work, don’t they?”
“Sure.” He nods. “Cooper Noah, he’s our third baseman. He’s married with a kid. But his wife travels with the team. And then there’s Danny Brewer and his wife, Alexis Bodega.”
I gasp. “The singer?” I try to hold it together, but Alexis Bodega is my all-time favorite singer. And heknowsher. He plays baseball withher husband.
He nods. “Yeah. They somehow make room for each other despite incredibly busy careers. And Rush Ross, he’s married now, too. So, yeah, there are examples to learn from, I guess.”
“Doesn’t that just kind of show you how maybe you were never meant to marry Tatum, then? Like if it was supposed to happen, it would have?” I ask.
“I don’t know. After all the years we spent together, it’s hard to imagine there’s a better fit for her than me.”
“That’s spoken like a man who isn’t over his ex,” I point out.
He lifts a shoulder. “And I may never fully get over losing her, Millie.” His voice is soft and a little broken. “Especially not when she moved on so easily. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”
“Are you ready to?” I ask softly.
When he glances up, his eyes are filled with a deep pain. “I want to be.”
“Then do it.”With me.I wish I had the nerve to add on that last part.
He sighs. “Why’d you come to my rescue?”
“Why’d you ignore me for the last week?” I counter.
He shoots me a wry look. “I didn’t ignore you. I was just…busy. The resort set up a batting cage, and I was neglecting my workouts, so I got back into it.”
“All day every day?” I ask.
“Most of the day, yeah. And then I holed myself up in here and got some work done.”
“What kind of work does a baseball player do during a suspension?” I wonder aloud.
“Foundation work. Things I never got to in the offseason.” He shrugs. “Things Tatum would help me with before.”
“You need some help?” I ask.
“You offering?” he counters.
“Happy to take a look.”
“Not tonight, but I appreciate the offer.” He glances down my leg. “How’s the ankle?”
