Page 295 of Vegas Heat

His brows pinch together. “I’m sorry. I had to do what was best.” He turns and moves toward his desk, where he leans casually against the edge of it.

I, on the other hand, am anything but casual. I’m a freaking emotional mess, but I’m pulling it together for the sake of this conversation. I stay where I am beside the door. “I’m an adult. What you think is best for me is irrelevant. I’m sorry, Dad. I love you, but you manage a baseball team. You do not manage my life.”

His mouth flaps open and shut like a fish for a beat like he’s not sure what to say. I plow forward before he gets the chance to say anything at all.

“Cooper Noah is one of the best third basemen to ever play the game, and your ultimatum to him is absolutely ridiculous.I’ve never met a man like Cooper, and I’m so sorry you don’t approve. But what he does in his personal time has nothing to do with how he plays the game.”

“You deserve the world, Gabriella. I firmly believe you deserve more than a man who will be gone eight months out of the year. You deserve more than someone who will put his love of baseball first.”

“You’re right. I absolutely do.” And Cooper just did that by telling my father and the general manager of this team that he wants to walk away so he could fight for me. Maybe my father will never see it that way, but that’s how I see it.

Deep down my only wish was that he would choose me before he found out about the baby, and he just did.

“You can’t let him walk away from the game, Dad. Think about the team. Think about what you want out of this franchise. Think about why you brought him here in the first place, about the legacy you want to build. I can’t be the reason he walks from all that, and you’re the only one forcing that hand.”

“But he’s way too old for you,” he points out.

“Is age really the issue here? Would you approve ofanybodyI brought home to introduce to you?”

“Fair point.” He sighs. “So you’re going to get back with him and I’m just supposed toaccept this?”

I shrug. “Yes. He was one of your closest friends before. That doesn’t have to change just because he fell in love. My relationship with you doesn’t have to change, either. It’s unconventional, maybe, but we’ll find a way to make it work.”

He shakes his head as he stares down at the ground, and then he glances up at me. “Are you absolutely sure about this? You really love him? It’s not just some fling?”

“I’m absolutely sure, Dad. We’ve been together since August, barring a few hiccups here and there, and I’ve never been with someone so kind, so thoughtful, so funny.”

He nods as if he’s starting to come around. “And you both have so many people supporting you. So many who kept your secret.”

“We have a wonderful network of friends here. And there’s one other thing.”

His brows dip, and I draw in a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

He freezes for a beat as he stares across the small space separating us.

The silence is thick as I await his reaction.

“You’re…” he trails off.

“Pregnant,” I whisper, finishing his sentence.

“It’s Cooper’s?”

I nod.

“He doesn’t know?”

I shake my head.

“I’m going to be a papa?” he asks softly—so softly that I can’t figure out his emotional response to my news, but I have a feeling he can’t quite make his voice work.

“Yes.”

He moves across the small space toward me. He wraps his arms around me. “I never got to hold my own baby in my arms. I never got to give my father the gift of a grandchild. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this alone, baby. I’ll be here. Cooper will be here. Joanie…” he trails off.

“Joanie?” I press.

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