Page 155 of Vegas Heat

I flip the lid closed and put it back into the box, replacing it in the drawer exactly where I found it.

And then I slam the drawer shut, carry the few items of clothes I grabbed with me back to my room, and finish packing for my trip to Chicago while thoughts of what this might mean swirl all around me.

CHAPTER 21: GABBY

I don’t sleep.

My flight is early in the morning anyway, and the plane ride is three hours and twenty-five minutes from Vegas to Chicago.

The entire way, I stare out the window and think about that ring.

The ring hidden away in a sock drawer.

The ring I’m not supposed to know about.

The ring I’m obsessing over.

I’m young, sure. But I’ve also had to grow up quickly in my life. Once my grandmother died, I was basically on my own at the age of eleven. My mom showed up when it was an absolute necessity, but never without detailing to me why she was making a sacrifice to be there for me. Given my situation with my mom and given the fact that I didn’t have a real father figure in my life until I turned eighteen, I found myself growing up quickly.

Part of me wonders if that’s what attracts me to Cooper. Is going for an older man part of the fallout of growing up fatherless?

It’s a strange question to ponder, but there it is, taking up space in my brain.

It can’t be true. The way I feel about Cooper is powerful—more powerful than anything I’ve felt before in my twenty-one years.

But marriage? Am I ready for that step?

I haven’t even graduated college.

And kids? Iknowhaving a family is important to Cooper, and I figured it would happen down the line someday in the future. Ihaven’t given it much thought at this stage of my life. Could I be ready for that?

Kaylee looked miserable, but she said over and over how this life she lives is everything she ever dreamed of. Would I feel the same?

Would I even make a good mother?

I don’t exactly have a shining example to look up to. My mom got pregnant with me when she was eighteen, and maybe she did the best she could, though I’d argue including the father in my childhood might’ve made more sense. But my parents were young when they had me, younger than I am now.

If I got pregnant today, nine months from now would put us in mid-June. I’d be out of school, potentially working a new job. Or maybe I’d want to stay home with the baby and not work at all, but I’d be largely alone while Cooper would be in season.

I ponder that for a beat.

And on the other side of the coin, Cooper does have that good maternal example—or so he says. And it’s with that thought I realize I’m going to meet her today.

I could be meeting my future mother-in-law today.

Oh, God. The thought sends a whole new host of nervous energy racing through me.

I didn’t think this through. I shouldn’t be here.

And yet, as the wheels touch down and the plane careens down the runway as the pilot slams on the brakes…I am. Iamhere. I’m about to see Cooper after the way our conversation ended last night.

Somehow the thought fills me with hope.

It’s too soon, and I didn’t think about actually marrying him until I saw that ring.

But after three and a half hours to contemplate my future, I arrive at a conclusion as thefasten seatbeltsign turns off andeveryone on the plane immediately jumps up even though we still have a good ten minute wait until we can actually get off.

I don’t want a future without Cooper in it.

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