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“Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Imogene Prescott. For those who don’t know, Imogene is very special to Atlanta’s own Lachlan Hale. She disappeared Friday night, prompting a city-wide search. Thanks to her quick thinking and bravery, she managed to save not just her life, but also her mother’s and another woman’s. We’re honored to have her here to throw out the first pitch.”
I glanced around the stadium as fans cheered for my little girl, some even holding up signs that said Welcome Home, Imogene. It showed how much this city cared. Sure, there was crime, and it could often feel impersonal living somewhere with such a huge population. But when push came to shove, the people of this city pulled together.
“You can move up a bit if you want,” Lachlan said to Imogene as she walked up to the mound.
“You don’t think I can make it from here?” she huffed, placing her hand on her hip, giving him an annoyed glare.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the attitude. She was definitely my daughter.
“Is it because I’m a girl? You think I’m worried about breaking a nail, Hale?” she taunted.
The catcher, who Lachlan introduced as Josh Greene, laughed as he crouched behind home plate, pulling his mask down over his face. “My money’s on the little fireball, Hale!” he called out.
“Have at it, kid.” When Lachlan pressed a kiss to Imogene’s head, I could have sworn I heard a collective “aww” from the stands.
Approaching me, he rested his hand on my lower back, watching with pride as Imogene positioned herself on the mound, just like Lachlan had shown her. I held my breath as she wound back, then threw a wicked fastball right across the plate, the stadium going wild. Even the ump called it a strike.
“Still think I should have stepped a little closer to the plate?” Imogene mocked as she sauntered toward us, a cockiness in her stride.
“What can I say?” He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. “You constantly surprise me.” Placing one last kiss on her head, he released his hold on her.
I lifted my eyes to his. “Have a good game, Hale.”
“I plan on it.” He brushed a soft kiss to my cheek.
Grabbing Imogene’s hand, I started walking off the field and toward the escort waiting to take us up to the owner’s box.
“Julia?”
I paused, glancing over my shoulder.
When Lachlan strode toward me, I dropped Imogene’s hand, facing him. Cupping my cheeks, he covered my mouth with his, our tongues dancing in a perfect kiss. I reached for his hat, removing it. As I curved into him, cheers and whistles thundered around us, people chanting Lachlan’s name.
“I’ve been waiting my entire life to do something like that,” he murmured against my lips when he brought the kiss to an end.
“What? Kiss a girl?”
“No. Make out under the lights of a baseball field. Sorry to say, it’s a first for me.”
I placed his hat back on his head. “For me, too.”
“Good. I may not have been your first boyfriend, your first fuck, or your first love. But going forward, I want to have the rest of your firsts.”
“They’re yours.”
“Mine,” he groaned, brushing his lips against mine.
“Yours.”
But before he could deepen the exchange again, I pushed him away, biting my bottom lip in an attempt to reel in my smile. “Now, go win the division.”
“For you, love, I plan to win it all.”
