Page 238 of Vegas Heat

CHAPTER 19: GABBY

I told my dad I was hanging with Mia to ring in the new year, but instead I rang it in wrapped in Cooper’s warm embrace in front of his fireplace.

I’ve spent more and more time at his place lately as we soak in every moment we can together, but with the start of the new semester for me also comes additional responsibilities for Cooper at the stadium. In his words, it all starts January one.

He’s not an assistant coach, but as the team leader, he’s there mentoring players as much as he can be. He’s on the field practicing, working out, or talking players through different issues both related to the game and not. My dad’s time there has been limited as he slowly starts building his strength back, and Joanie and I—along with Ruby Sue—have spent a lot of time making sure his environment is as stress-free as possible.

And I’ve gotten busier, too. As we ramp up toward the season, I’ve been tasked with social media posting. Zelda is officially on maternity leave, and I’ve been tapped as her temporary replacement. Joanie put everyone in different departments this semester—Justin has been working more with the business department, Mackenzie has been working in operations (thankfully since it’s on the opposite side of the office from my department), Dylan has been in finance, and Chloe has been focusing on human resources, so I rarely see the other interns as I go about my day gathering any sort of news worthy of a social media post.

And I freakinglovemy job.

I have access to every square inch of the stadium, and I take pictures and videos all day of the players and the staff togive fans an inside look at what we’re doing to prepare for our inaugural season.

Our social presence is growing, and Joanie credits me with that growth.

I couldn’t be prouder of the work I’ve done, and from everything I’ve heard, spring training tickets are completely sold out, and so are the home games for the entire months of April and May.

The feeling of excitement only gets stronger every morning when I rip the page off my daily calendar.

But a feeling of fear sneaks in, too.

At the end of February, the entire team will take off for Phoenix, where they’ll stay for an entire month for spring training games.

I’m not going.

It’s not that I don’twantto go, but I still have that one class I need to attend each week, and since my dad is still technically recovering, Joanie has decided to go. Any guesses who she decided to leave in charge of the marketing department while she’s gone?

By now it’s public knowledge that she and my dad are engaged, especially after she stayed by his side the entire time he was in the hospital. And while there are probably people more qualified to run the marketing department than me, I’m the one she most trusts with her office.

I couldn’t say no. Not when I want to be hired on for the social media position.

So I’ll be stuck here in Vegas while Cooper is in Phoenix for a whole month.

It’s a few days before Valentine’s Day when Cooper tells me he wants to take me somewhere special. We drive until we hit Red Rock Canyon, and then he takes us through the park to nearlythe exact same spot we parked when I took him here to show him a side of Vegas he’d never seen before.

He rolls out a mattress pad in the bed of his truck and produces a basket filled with goodies from his backseat—including a few blankets, which are quite needed in the chilly desert air.

“What’s all this for?” I ask once we’re settled in, our fingers linked together beneath a blanket as we gaze up at the stars.

“Do you know what today is?” he asks.

My brows knit together. “February eleventh?”

He nods and chuckles, and then he turns toward me. “We first met six months ago today. It’s our anniversary. I’ve spent half a year loving you, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life doing it.”

It’s hard to believe the last time we were here was six months ago.

Six months of Gabby and Cooper. The best six months of my life.

But also six months of hiding. Six months of fear that someone will find out, or that someone who already knows will spill the beans. Six months of worrying how my dad will take the news when we’ll inevitably have to tell him. We’re not screwing around anymore. Six months marks a fairly decent amount of time, and there’s no end in sight for either one of us.

“Aww Cooper,” I sing, tears rushing to fill my eyes. I didn’t expecthimto be the sentimental one in this relationship. “That’s so beautiful.”

“I mean it, Sunshine. You have become the literal center of my universe. There’s no one else in the world I’d spend six months under the radar with. There’s no one else I want to wake up next to and fall asleep holding. There’s no one else I think about all day every day.”

I lean my head toward his, and he rests his forehead against mine for a beat as he draws in a deep breath.

“I think it’s time we tell your dad. He’s better, and he’s stronger, and I’m so goddamn tired of hiding the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

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