Page 117 of Stepping Up to the Plate

“When?”

“Right now,” he says, pointing to Dolly’s tag.

“You made Dolly’s tag? You didn’t even know you were going to get a dog.”

He laughs. “This may have been in the works for a little longer than I let on. Getting a puppy was on your try list. I may not have marked it off on ‘try day’ but I got the wheels in motion.”

“But we had only been together for a couple of months,” I point out. Brady shifts up, seating himself on the couch while I straddle him. He uses one hand to tuck my hair behind my ears and the other to rub gentle circles on my lower back.

“I told you, doll. You’ve had me from the first moment I locked into these hazel eyes. I was a goner from day one even if I didn’t know it yet. It only took me a couple of weeks to realize I was going to spend the rest of my life loving you. I held on to hope that you’d be beside me, loving me back.”

“Always,” I reply.

* * *

March

“Stop pacing,” Tiffany grouses beside me in the kitchen.

“I can’t help it,” I complain. “I’m freaking out. How much longer?”

“127 seconds. Relax, Bunny. It’s going to be fine either way.”

“I know. I just can’t believe this is happening,” I remark. “What are the chances?”

“With how much sex the two of you have? I’d say pretty high. I thought you had an IUD, though,” Raven comments.

“I did,” I reply. “But I had it removed when it expired and switched to the shot since it didn’t have as long of a time commitment.”

“Were you and Miller planning to try soon?” she questions. “When do you think you conceived?”

“It is clearly a honeymoon baby,” Tiffany answers for me. “Did you see those two at their wedding? I’m surprised we didn’t all leave pregnant.”

She’s not wrong. Brady and I planned a trip to Vegas for my birthday and convinced all our friends to come along. Halfway through the trip, he asked if I wanted to tie the knot while we were there. I’d already had the traditional wedding with Phil and did not want a repeat of that.

Brady had never wanted a fancy ceremony and said all he cared about was legally making me his. We arranged to fly out my dad, aunt and uncle, and his family the next day. Even Georgie was able to make it on short notice. In true Vegas fashion we got married at the Little White Chapel a few days later.

After the stress of my first wedding, eloping was amazing. Tiffany did my hair and makeup and Raven had a friend that was a photographer who took the pictures. We extended our trip to have an impromptu honeymoon on Catalina Island before coming back to Nashville to get ready for spring training. While there is no way to know yet, Tiffany's assumption of a honeymoon baby probably isn’t far off.

“To answer your first question,” I say to Raven while glaring at Tiffany. “We were planning to start trying after spring training to time the due date with the off season. Now, I’m probably going to have a baby in the middle of the World Series! Oh my God, I’m going to be pushing out a Miller-sized baby all alone. Chloe was ten pounds! My body can’t handle a baby that big!”

“Lola, get a grip!” Tiffany shouts. “It will be fine. First of all, we don’t even know if you’re pregnant. Second, there is no way in hell Miller would leave you alone. Third, even if he couldn’t be there for some reason, you have plenty of people who can step in, us included.” Raven nods in confirmation.

“You’re right, I’m sorry, I’m spiraling. I’ve been having a lot of big feelings lately. I thought they were because I missed Brady but now, I’m wondering—” My statement is cut off by the sound of the timer and I stare wide-eyed at Tiffany.

At that same moment, Carina barrels in the door. “Did I miss it?” she asks.

“Made it in the nick of time, Care Bear,” Tiffany remarks.

“I can’t look!” I stammer. “Can one of you do it?”

Carina glances at me and after a silent conversation with Tiffany, she walks over to the other side of the island where the test sits. After peering down at it, she meets my gaze as a smile creeps on her face. “I’m going to be an Auntie!”

My hands immediately go to my belly and mouth as I burst into tears. “I’m having a baby,” I cry. My girls surround me and murmur congratulations in my ear. After several minutes of celebrating, we sit down in the living room.

“When are you going to tell Miller?” Raven asks.

“I hadn’t even thought about it. He’s still in Florida for another ten days. Should I go down there? I can’t tell him over the phone.”

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