Page 180 of Vegas Heat

“I’d love that. Send my love to Connor and everyone.”

“I will. Love you, Cooper,” she says.

“Love you back, Mom.”

We hang up, and I’m just about to get out of bed when I hear a soft knock at my door. “Come in!” I yell, and the door opens slowly. Standing in the doorway is the woman I’ve fallen so deeply in love with that I’m no longer certain where I end and she begins. It doesn’t make any sense, but she’s somehow become a part of me that feels like it was always there just waiting for her arrival.

And yet…there are things that still weigh heavy on my mind.

She said she was ready for marriage and a family, but I need to know whether those were just words or if she meant them.

I saw her face last night when her father said he’d proposed to Joanie. I saw the way her eyes bugged out when she saw the ring, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered whether she saw the ring in my drawer before she came to Chicago with clothes for me.

She would have to have seen it if she was in that drawer. It wasn’t well-hidden, but I didn’t expect Joanie to go rifling through my unmentionables. And if she did see it, she had to have thought it was meant for her, but she never mentioned it if she did.

Still…she seemed morereadyfor that sort of future when it came up in Chicago, and I can’t help but wonder if it was because of that ring.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” I say as she walks into the room. She slides into bed beside me, and I wrap my arms around her.

“Good morning, Captain.” She giggles when I thrust my hips against her backside.

I’ve gone back and forth since last night about whether to bring up the ring, and for some reason, the words just drop out of my mouth first thing this morning.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.” She wiggles her ass a little against my cock, and the question nearly darts right out of my mind.

“Your eyes got real wide last night when you saw the ring your dad gave Joanie. Did you, uh…” I trail off as I never really ask the question.

She clears her throat, and then she turns around to face me. “Oh, God. I’m so embarrassed.” She sets her hand on her forehead. “I swear I didn’t mean to snoop, but I saw it in your drawer, and of course I never wanted to bring it up especially because I thought it was yours and if you were going to surprise me, but now I know it wasn’t intended for me, and I can’t believe you just brought it up because—”

“Hey,” I say softly, interrupting her babbling. “It’s fine. I guess I just wanted to know what level of snooping I’m dealing with here, you know, in case I ever need to hide one of those myself…” I try to play it off as a joke, but instead, she takes it absolutely seriously.

Her eyes widen. “I swear I’m not a snooper! I just saw it when I was trying to do something nice for you, and I knew my curiosity wouldkill meif I didn’t take a look, so I peeked real quick, and then it became this, like,huge thingto me because it made me think about what I’d even say if you gave it to me. And that was what made me realize that’sexactlywhat I want. I want you, and I want a future, and I want a marriage. I want a house full of laughter and pitter-patters and maybe a kitty and T-ball and babies that have your blue eyes. I want a job with the Heat so we can be together even when we’re apart, and I want to build my life not justwithyou butaroundyou. And then I saw my dad give that ring to Joanie and I realized I’m way off base here because you’re clearly not where I am.”

My brows dip at the end of her babbling. “Hold on a second there, Sunshine. I’m clearly not where you are?”

She lifts a shoulder. “Well…no. I was ready to put that ring on my finger, and it wasn’t even for me.”

“Whoa whoa whoa. Just because that particular ring wasn’t meant for you doesn’t mean I’m not ready to give you the exact kind of life you just described.” I lean my forehead to hers for a beat and close my eyes. “It’s all I think about, Gabby.” I pull back and my eyes meet hers. “I want to build my life around you, too. But I also need you to know what you’re getting into with me. I signed a contract that says I promise to be married to my job for the next three years, and even if you’re working with the Heat, that doesn’t mean we’ll get to be together all the time. If I were to knock you up, and believe me, I want to knock you up good and hard, you’d have to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to our kids without me until my contract is up and we decide what we want to do next.”

Her eyes glaze over a little at my words.

“What?” I ask.

“You just saidour kidsand it hit me that we’re really having the sort of conversation that I thought was many years off into my future.”

“How does that make you feel?” I ask.

“It makes me feel…” She pauses as she trails off to search for the right word. “It makes me feelready.” She presses her lips to mine, and then there’s no more talking as we revel in each other’s body as the words we just shared play on repeat in my mind.

God, I love her, and I can’t wait to start our future together.

I just hope we actually get the chance to start it.

CHAPTER 33: GABBY

I open another box labeledKitchen. “Where do you want these?” I ask, pulling out a wooden spoon.

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