Page 288 of Vegas Heat

“I can’t use the row,” I say before I realize the words have fallen from my mouth. My eyes go wide as she narrows her eyes at me.

“Wait a minute. No kickboxing, no rowing…” She trails off as she puts the pieces together. “Sit-ups?”

I shake my head.

“How about some planks?” she asks.

“I shouldn’t.”

She sighs, and she glances down at my stomach. “Are you going to tell him?”

I’m both terrified and relieved at the same time that she knows…that I don’t have to hold onto this secret by myself anymore. “I have to at some point, right?”

She pulls me into a hug. “He’d never,neverlet you go through this alone, Gabby. It’s everything he’s ever wanted with the one woman he’s ever wanted it with.”

“Except he’s the one who ended things, remember?” I point out.

“I get that, but maybe this is what will bring you back together.”

I shake my head. “I don’twanta baby to be the thing that brings us back together. I want him to come back to me because he wantsme, not because he wants some ideal picture of the perfect family. He already ruled me out of his future. He made his choice, and it was baseball. It was my father. It wasn’t me.”

She presses her lips together. “He hasn’t been answering my calls. I’ve tried, but I know he’s busy with spring training. But I know him, and I know his heart. I still have this gut feeling that somehow you two will find your way back to one another.”

“I wish I had that same gut feeling,” I say sadly. “Now let’s hit the treadmills, okay? I don’t want to talk about him. I’ll tell him when the time is right.”

“How far along are you?”

“Fourteen weeks,” I admit.

“Fourteenweeks?” she screeches.

“Shh,” I warn, glancing around.

She shakes her head in awe. “Girl, you can keep asecret. But listen, you don’t have a whole lot of time before your body won’t let you keep it anymore.”

“I know. And speaking of which, I need to pee before we start our workout.”

She giggles. “I remember those days well.”

“Are you ready for number three?” I tease.

Her eyes widen in horror. “Oh God no,” she blurts, and the act is all a little much.

I have a feeling she and Ben are probably already trying for number three. They seem like the type who can’t keep their hands off each other.

I can’t help but dwell on that for a beat. They have it so easy. They have ten years between them, and they ended up with their happy ending.

Why can’t I?

I take a quick shower after our workout and head to the stadium for one of my final days of my internship. The team gets back Wednesday, and the first game of the season is Friday. Joanie asked me to stay until Thursday, and I agreed.

At our morning meeting, Joanie says, “The interviews will be tomorrow, and Justin, Mackenzie, and Chloe have all been selected for a spot.” She glances up at me. “And I’d like you to interview, too, Gabby, just for the interviewing experience. It won’t hurt to have the practice, and our team will be there anyway.”

I nod. “Thank you.”

“And of course you all know Dylan was never an option as his campaigns and work weren’t quite on the level we’re looking for, but with him being fired, he’s out of contention,” Joanie says.

“What exactly happened there?” Mackenzie asks, finally making herself useful for once since we’re all wondering the same thing.

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