“Yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Me too.”
The scent of coffee and bacon hit my nose before we even made it into the kitchen. “Your mom must be here already.”
It wasn’t a shock to find Jamie standing at the stove flipping chocolate-chip pancakes when we rounded the corner. When Jamie wanted to be helpful but was unsure what to do, she’d start feeding everyone.
“Look who decided to join the land of the living,” she teased as Jase and I walked over to hug her.
“You two had better be hungry. Jamie and Tony have been working their asses off since they came over an hour ago,” Dad explained.
Tony set a tray of bacon on top of the hot pads on the island. “As soon as the eggs are done, breakfast will be ready.”
Cammie sat on a barstool, still in her pajamas, her hair piled in a messy bun. For once, her phone was face down on the counter, and she seemed to be paying attention to what was going on around her rather than scrolling, probably because today was a big deal.
“Hope you’re going to change before the cameras start rolling.” I ruffled her hair, leaving it even more of a tangled mess.
She slapped my hand away. “Like you have room to talk. You look like you picked something out of the dirty laundry.”
“Kids.” Chase shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. “I don’t understand how we have four adult children, yet breakfast always turns into the Statler-Matthewson Roast Hour.”
“You’d be sad if we stopped picking on each other.” Jase grinned.
“You’re probably right,” he agreed.
Once the eggs were done cooking, we all filled our plates and moved to the dining table.
I exchanged a look with Jase as we sat down to enjoy a meal with our family. Even with the draft still a couple of hours way, the moment felt like the start of something big.
The living roomdidn’t look anything like it had a couple hours earlier. ESPN had transformed it into a full production set, with studio lights so bright I had to shield my eyes when I walked in. Two cameras stood on tripods, one aimed at the couch where Jase and I were supposed to sit, the other at a cluster of chairs where our family and Marcos would be.
“This is wild,” Jase whispered as we looked around. “It better be a good sign.”
“Can you imagine if we don’t get drafted? It was bad enough when it was just us and our dads.”
Someone in a headset waved us over before either of us could spiral further. “We’ll start recording as soon as the draft begins. Just relax and pretend we’re not here.”
Relax? Like that was going to happen.
My stomach had been in knots since breakfast, and with all the equipment scattered around the room, I couldn’t pace to burn off my nervous energy.
A few minutes later, Marcos moved to the center of the room. “Okay, everyone, we’ve got five minutes until showtime. Take your bathroom breaks, grab your drinks, and then find your spots.”
Jase and I dropped onto the couch together. My knee bounced nonstop, while Jase rubbed his hands up and down his thighs.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up,” he admitted.
Cammie leaned over the back of the couch between us. “Please don’t do that on live TV. I really don’t want to be known as the sister of the puking guy.”
“Be nice,” Jamie chided gently, pulling her daughter toward an open chair.
Five minutes passed quickly, and then we watched the commissioner finally walk to the podium. After a brief speech, he launched straight into the countdown for the Chicago White Sox to make the first selection.
When their pick was announced, neither of our names were called. The same thing happened with the second and third teams.
Suddenly, my phone and Jase’s buzzed on the coffee table, and my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. But it wasn’t a call. It was a text.
Faye: Remember to breathe. You guys got this
Footage of us hadn’t aired yet, but somehow she knew exactly what I needed to hear. Taking her advice, I inhaled slowly through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jase do the same. When we both felt a bit calmer, we turned toward each other and smiled.
