Page 145 of Vegas Heat

“Any idea when you’re coming back?” I ask.

“No. We’re going to the Red Sox game tomorrow night and I have a feeling both Troy and Mike will want to stay for the Wednesday night game, too.”

“Do you want to?”

“Look, I love baseball. Of course. It’s my fucking life’s work,” he says, and I hear the crunch of gravel beneath his feet like he’s taking a walk outside. “But there are other things I’d rather be doing than be stuck here right now.”

“What would you rather be doing?” I don’t even realize my voice has dropped an entire octave until it comes out all gritty and hoarse.

“You.”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too. We just got back together, and I’m stuck here, and all day long I’ve been looking for some window to try to get in touch. I’m not really a strip club guy, Gabby. You know me. I’m laid back. I’m pretty simple. I just want to lie on the couch with my girl watching a movie. I just want to take you to bed and make you come so I can see that look on your face when your eyes roll back because of the pleasure I’m giving you. I just want to kiss you, to hold you, to laugh with you.”

“Do you really mean that?” I ask softly.

“With all my heart.”

Tears spring to my eyes.

“How was your night?” he asks.

I laugh softly. “Interesting. I brought dinner over to Kaylee’s, and let me tell you…it was chaotic.”

He chuckles. “How?”

“Both twins are teething at the same time, whatever that means, and it just made me realize I’m not ready for thatanytime soon.” The words just sort of slip out with a little giggle before I realize this is probably part of a much larger conversation, and certainly not one I should be giggling through.

He clears his throat. “Oh. Uh…” I hear someone yell his name in the background. “Shit. I need to go. I’ll talk to you soon.”

He ends the call with my truth bomb just sitting in the middle of the road.

I have no idea what the debris following the detonation is going to look like…and I have no idea when I’ll find out.

CHAPTER 16: COOPER

“Noah!” AJ yells again, and I quickly cut the call as I turn around to face him despite the thing she just said.

The thing that feels like a heavy weight pressing on my chest.

The thing I fear has the power to spell the eventual end for us.

Fuck.

But this is why I’m here, after all, and if AJ showed up at the hotel to talk some more, well, it’s part of my job to listen. It’s part of being the leader Troy tapped me to be.

“What’s going on, man?” I ask. We parted ways an hour ago, and I thought he was heading home. Apparently I thought wrong.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your call. Was that your girl?”

I laugh. “I thought I pled the fifth on that.”

“You did, but the way your face lit up when I brought it up told a different story. Who is she?”

“It’s new and I’m not ready to talk about it yet.” I leave it at that and opt for a swift subject change. “So what brought you back here?”

“I got home and realized it’s not every day a guy gets the chance to really pick Cooper Noah’s brain.” He looks so genuine, so earnest…so confused. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I told Doug to make it happen, but is it a jackass move to leave what I’ve got going on here?”

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