EPILOGUE Millie Monroe
Surprise
When the bottom of the ninth begins, a security guard walks into the suite that I've been hanging out in all day. Everybody’s been laughing and drinking and having a great time, and I’m in that perfect zone of being a little tipsy while still fully coherent.
“I'm looking for a Millie Monroe,” the security guard says, his voice booming over the din of the loud and raucous suite.
I raise my hand. “I'm Millie,” I say, and I stand and walk over to him.
“Come with me, please,” he says. I feel nervous that I'm in trouble, and I don't know why that's my first thought. There's nothing I could possibly be in trouble for here since I’m actually dating a player, and I was invited into this suite by his family, who paid for it.
I follow the guard down the hall to an elevator.
“May I ask what's going on?” I ask as we step on and he presses a button.
“You’re going down to the field.”
Well, okay. I guess that's that on that.
I wait not-so-patiently as the numbers tick by. Another escort is waiting once we get off the elevator, and he takes me out so we can see the rest of the game nearly on the field but just back in the shadows.
I watch from a new vantage point as the Heat gets the final out, securing their win against the Sox.
Players run in and celebrate, and I’m escorted to stand near the dugout as players do their post-game handshake with the other team.
I spot a few other women standing by me and have a feeling that I will have the opportunity to get to know many of them better in the coming months as our men fight for their season.
And that’s when I spot Alexis Bodega. Danny Brewer’s wife. One of the biggest pop stars in the world.
I nearly faint that she’s standing just a few yards away from me.
Holy shit, what is this life?
Archer does a post-game interview on the field before he rushes over to me and pulls me into his arms.
“Good game,” I say, and his lips drop to mine.
“Thanks for being here,” he says, leaning his forehead to mine. “I need to run back to the clubhouse and take a quick shower, but then I have a surprise for you.”
“You have a surprise for me?” I repeat.
He nods and smiles.
“What's the surprise?” I ask.
“No way. You're not getting it out of me,” he says. He kisses me one more time before he grins and runs into the tunnel that I just came out of.
I'm not even sure where I'm supposed to go next, but Gabby appears by my side and gives me a hug. It's crazy to me how a month ago these people were strangers, and now it feels like Gabby is becoming one of my closest friends.
“Just stay with me and I’ll get you where you need to go,” she says.
I glance over at her and narrow my eyes. “What do you mean you'll get me where I need to go?”
Her eyes twinkle, and I have no idea what she's up to, but I decide to just go with it. She takes me back to another room where we wait for the players to come out, and Archer is one of the last ones out.
I lift to a stand as he strides over, and he grabs my hand in his.
“Ready for your surprise?” he asks.
“I guess,” I say, and he laughs as he leads me outside.
We get into a car waiting there, and it's like all of this was pre-planned. I have no idea when he would have possibly had time to put together whatever the surprise is, but I have to admit, I'm kind of excited to see what's in store for us tonight.
We hit a bit of traffic but pull into the parking lot of Renegade’s about a half hour later.
“Renegade’s?” I ask. “What are we doing here?”
“Come on,” he says, and he helps me out of the car.
We head inside, and as soon as the doors open, the huge group of people gathered yells, “Surprise!”
I look in shock around at the people standing here yelling at me.
Right up in front are Jackie and Chip, and just to the side of them are my mom and dad.
Lining the background are the Bradley siblings—Ivy, Liam standing next to Penny, the newlyweds Everleigh and Maverick, Madden and Kennedy, who I met at the wedding last night, Dex, Ainsley and baby Jack, and Ford and Tatum.
I also see other players from the Heat. I see Gabby with Cooper, Danny, and holy shit… is that Alexis Bodega? Here? For me?
Oh my God. I'll freak out later, but Alexis Bodega is here at whatever this is, yelling “Surprise!” at me.
There's also Johnny Prater, A.J. Winters, and Troy Bodine, along with all the people I always loved working with here at this very bar and grille.
It's people I know and people I really don't know but am likely to know pretty well in the future.
And that's when Archer turns toward me. He looks nervous, and it just endears him to me even more.
“I've never been one for big displays or having the attention on me, but I want everyone in this room and in the world to know how much I love you, Millie Monroe. It’s been a complete whirlwind, but even though we’ve only known each other two months, it feels like forever.
When you know, you know. And with you? I know.
You are everything I want out of life. From Paradise to Vegas to Chicago, we are certainly getting our miles in.
And there's nothing I want more than to keep traveling these miles with you as we create our own content for our life together.”
He drops down onto his knee, and tears fill my eyes. He pulls a ring out of his pocket and holds it up. It glitters in the dim light in here.
“Will you marry me?” he asks.
I gasp as my hands fly to my mouth to cover it as emotion plows into me. Of all the things I thought might happen today, this is not one of them, and I could not imagine a greater surprise or a more beautiful gift.
“Yes,” I say, my voice soft and just for him, though everyone in the room hears it and cheers with excitement.
He rises to a stand and pulls me into his arms, his mouth colliding with mine. And then it's a whirlwind of excitement as everyone in the group gathered here descends seemingly at the same time.
I hug my mom first.
“Congratulations, my darling girl,” she says. “We can tell just from him calling us to be here and all he’s done for you that he is such a wonderful young man, and we could not be more excited to welcome him into our family.”
I'm definitely going to cry, and I barely get the thought out as the waterworks start.
My dad hugs me next and says something similar about what a great guy he is, and I can only imagine how this all came to happen—how my parents are here, and Chip and Jackie, and how he knew this was where I worked and made all of this happen.
It seems like we're apart for an hour as we greet the guests, give hugs, and thank them for being here to celebrate with us. Eventually, we wind up back together.
“Welcome to your surprise engagement party,” he says, his eyes twinkling.
“How did you pull all this off?” I ask in wonder.
“Oh, I have my ways,” he says, and I just shake my head as I realize all these things that come at me out of left field are going to keep hitting me for the rest of my life.
And then I hear the angelic voice of my favorite singer as Alexis Bodega takes the microphone.
“Congratulations, Millie and Archer. Archer asked me to perform a song, and I’m singing ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ today with a big happy engagement wish for you both.
” She breaks into song, and Archer pulls me into his arms as we start to dance.
The other couples here join us, and I think it just may be the most romantic, sweetest, most amazing moment of my life.
As we dance, I think about his words and how far he’s come to meet me in the middle.
He hated that I wanted to make viral content, and now he’s telling me that he wants to create the content of our own lives together.
And I’m giving up a lot to meet him in the middle, too. I’m starting over in a new town, with a new career, while I can continue to blog on the side. It can be my hobby again, something I just do for fun instead of trying to find ways to make it my sole income.
Our lives changed forever the moment I couldn’t find my own seat at that restaurant one fateful night in the Bahamas. From sunrise yoga to aquarium dates, from pleasure baskets to massages, it’s been one adventure after another with him.
And now we’ll embark on the greatest adventure of all: our happily ever after.
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Up next in the Bradley Legacy is Liam Bradley! When he runs into a familiar face one night, he never could have expected what would come next…
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Flip the page to read the first chapter in BACKUP PLAN, the sixth book in THE brADLEY LEGACY series from Lisa Suzanne.