Page 116 of Home Run

I had to see Tanner, and it needed to be face to face.

TWENTY-FOUR

TANNER

“D’you thinkwe’re going to have a meeting like that every day until the series is over?” Ace yawned as we all trundled out of the hotel conference room the Lions had taken over.

We’d all be back there again in an hour for dinner, because that conference room—or Ballroom B as it was officially known—was doubling up as our dining room and everything else until we got to go home again. The instructions from up top had been clear: unless we were at the stadium or on the buses transporting us back and forth between games, we were here in the hotel.

I was still yet to remind Coach about Millie’s ultrasound in a week because there was no way in hell I was missing it.

“I hope not,” I replied. “Or we’ll die from boredom before we get to the end of the week.”

“Agree. Definitely overkill.”

It hadn’t been the most inspiring meetingwe’d ever been to, and it was nothing we’d not heard before, and absolutely could have waited until tomorrow when everyone was feeling a little less jaded after the party. I could have also done without the two-hour video dissecting the Yankees’ play during their playoff games, because their play hadn’t seemed any different since we’d last met in the regular season.

It didn’t help that as everyone was starting to fall asleep, Coach summed up the entire session with,Just go out on game one and play your asses off.

Speaking to Millie instead of being in that boring as hell meeting would definitely have been a much better use of my time. As would staying at home for one more night. But I wasn’t mad about the fact we were here, no matter how much I’d hated leaving her asleep this morning.

After coming to the conclusion that she needed to figure out her shit without me, being forced to move into a hotel for a week provided the perfect opportunity.

So I’d dropped a kiss on her head and quietly walked out.

Which reminded me—our call had been cut short earlier—thanks,Parker—and I’d promised to call her back.

Thinking about Millie made it all the more confusing as to why a woman who looked exactlylikeMillie was dressed in a Lions hoodie and sweatpants, hopping from one foot to the other as she stood to the side of the entrance lobby watching everyone walk past. Very confusing indeed.

Especially when I pulled out my phone to call her and found five missed calls.

It took my brain a little longer than my heart to catchup, because my heart had known immediately who that woman was, and from the way it was currently rattling my rib cage, I’d say it was giddy with excitement.

Millie’s big eyes flared the moment she spotted me and a smile spread across her face. I had zero clue why she was here, or whether I’d get in trouble if she was caught, but I couldn’t give a shit when she looked at me likethat.

“Tan.” She jogged the last few steps toward me. Jogged/waddled.

“Mills, what are you doing here?” I pulled her to the side and away from the elevators all my teammates were waiting for.

I didn’t think anyone would snoop, but I wasn’t about to risk it.

With the lobby chandelier reflecting in her eyes and her cheeks flushed pink as she smiled, Millie seemed as happy as I’d ever seen her, which was a total contrast to how flustered she was.

“Why’s your hair wet?”

“I just had a bath.” She grinned, pushing her fingers through it. “Whoops.”

Whoops?Maybe she was stoned. Did pregnant women get stoned?

“Are you okay? Is the baby okay? What’s wrong?”

“What?” She blinked, rubbing her hand across her belly. “Yes, the baby’s fine. I’m sorry, I know that we’re not supposed to come, and you’re supposed to be resting or whatever, but I needed to see you.”

The skippity-skip thing my heart had been doing stopped.

Something wasn’t right—Millie was not the type ofperson to turn up unannounced. Dragging her to a chair hidden by a large olive tree, I gently pushed her into it and knelt in front of her.

“Mills, what’s going on?” I stopped short of telling her she was scaring me, even though she was. Especially when she was smiling at me like that.

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