Page 53 of Rounding Third

The first two weeks of the season have been the best I’ve ever experienced. We’ve been on a winning streak and I don’t see it stopping any time soon.

“So? When are you going to make a move?” Wheeler nudges me with his shoulder.

“What do you mean?” I ask as we walk towards the locker room after the game.

“You’re happier than I’ve ever seen you before, Smithy. When are you going to lock things down with Lils? Make her your wife?”

“I’m not rushing things. It took us years to finally date, I don’t see any reason to rush things now.” I shake my head and chuckle at him.

“You better hope she doesn’t get annoyed waiting.”

“Man, how about you worry about your own girl? When are you going to convince Winnie to finally give in and commit to you?”

“If I thought I could, I would. Winnie does whatever she wants. It doesn’t matter if I want more, she’s only giving as much as she wants to.” He shrugs, pushing past me and into the locker room.

I feel bad for him. He’s been in love with Winnie forever. They started dating before I even met Lils. I'm sure it’s hard for him to see our relationship working out when his relationship with Winnie hasn’t changed.

“Smithy!” Liliana squeals from behind me. She’s finally figured out how to get from the seats to the locker room and she makes sure she gets down here immediately after the game.

I spin around to face her as she leaps into the air. I catch her in my arms and chuckle as she wraps her arms and legs around me.

“You were amazing!” She gushes, hugging me as tightly as she can. “Your last hit won us the game!”

“I want to take you out tonight,” I murmur as I press my lips to hers.

“Are we going to Kennedy’s?” She asks when I pull back.

“Nah, baby. I want to take you somewhere special. I think you need to wear that little black dress for me.” I wiggle my brows, making her giggle.

“That sounds amazing,” she whispers, cupping my jaw and pressing her lips against mine in a long kiss.

I’m making a point of taking Liliana out for a special dinner at least once a week during the season. As we travel for games, I know my time at home is more and more limited. I want to make sure Liliana knows how important she is to me. She needs to know I’ll always make her a priority because she matters most to me.

Sooner or later, I won't be playing baseball anymore. One bad injury could lead to my career ending. One car accident could ruin everything. It sounds awful, but I know with Liliana by my side, I can handle all of that and then some.

“Are you ok? You seem lost in your head,” Lils whispers, playing with the tips of my hair.

“I'm just thinking about how much I love you.”

“I love you too.” She grins at me.

“You promise you’ll never leave me?”

“C’mon, Trav.” She rolls her eyes. “You know you mean everything to me.”

She presses her lips to mine and I know everything will be fine between us. We’re in it for the long haul and that’s all I need to know.

Chapter 26

Liliana

It’s been two weeks since the opening game. I’ve been working my butt off to write this article for Bill. I know I won't be giving him what he wants, but there isn't a single part of me willing to drag someone’s name through the mud when they don’t deserve it, just to make my boss happy.

I wrote an article about Levi being the new coach. I made sure to highlight how Levi used to be a pitcher for the Pit Bulls and he loves the team so much he happily came back to coach. As expected, Bill wouldn’t run the story, but Owen contacted some friends and another magazine ran the article for me. I'm not sure if Bill’s aware, but I hope he isn't.

I step into the office, knowing this could be the last time I'm here. My hands shake the smallest amount, but I'm not backing down. If he doesn’t like this article, too bad. This is the truth and that’s all I'm interested in writing.

Maybe I can give it to the other magazine who ran my story. Anything to get the truth out there and to stop Bill from dragging Owen’s name through the mud.

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