Page 129 of Vegas Heat

She stares out the windshield. “I keep thinking what if we just tell him? Why do we need to be so scared?”

“We’re not scared, Sunshine. We’re just playing it smart while we take our time developing whatever this is between us.”

“How do you think a conversation with him would even go?” she asks.

“I think he’d ground you for life and he’d bench me,” I say.

“He can’tgroundme for life. I’m twenty-one.” She rolls her eyes.

“I know, but my point is he’d find ways to punish us both. He already said he doesn’t want you with a ballplayer.”

“A ballplayer seven years younger than you who is too old for me,” she adds.

I let out a little snort. “Exactly. He’ll have a fucking heart attack if he thinks I’m taking advantage of the baby girl who just came into his life when he’s the one who brought me here.”

She nods and presses her lips together. “Yeah. I know why we have to. It just sucks.”

“I’ll give you something to suck.”

Her head whips toward me, and I can’t help my laugh.

She purses her lips as if to scold me, and then I squeeze her leg.

“We can do this,” I say softly. “He’s probably going to head out soon anyway.”

She wrinkles her nose. “To his club?”

I lift a shoulder, and she shakes her head with a little disgust.

“Gross,” she murmurs.

We get out of the car and head inside, and Troy stands in the kitchen making himself a ham sandwich. He freezes when he sees us walking in together, and he narrows his eyes suspiciously at us as he holds a bottle of mustard in one hand. “Where have you two been?”

“Kaylee invited me to the Aces game, and I invited your daughter to shadow me,” I say smoothly.

“All part of the job,” Gabby adds, her voice just a little higher than it should be.

Troy studies her for a beat, and I can practically see her heart beating out of her chest. “You okay?”

She nods a little too quickly, and it’s not like I’m some great actor over here, but I’m going to have to coach her on how to school her behavior. “Just hungry. Can you make me a sandwich, too?”

“Ham okay?”

“Ham’s great. Be right back!” She practically runs upstairs, and I force myself not to laugh.

“You need one, too?” Troy asks me.

“Thanks, but I’m okay. Big buffet at the game and my boss is forcing me to get into shape.” I pat my stomach, and he nods knowingly.

“That boss of yours is a real tyrant.”

“Tell me about it.” I head toward the fridge and grab a beer, and I hold it up toward Troy. “Want one?”

He shakes his head. “No, and you shouldn’t, either, considering you need to get in shape.” He gives me a warning glance before he turns back to his sandwich. “I’ve got somebusiness at the club tonight before my…free time.” He raises his brows which basically tells me he’ll be fucking Joanie in one of the rooms, and for a beat I wonder if he does it in the type of room where others can watch him.

Is he into that?

It doesn’t matter, but my curiosity is piqued. He’s just sitting there making a ham sandwich like he isn’t one of the richest men in baseball, like he isn’t about to get his freak on at a sex club, like he’s not the manager of a hot new expansion team.

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