Page 296 of Vegas Heat

He sighs as he pulls out of my arms. “I’ve been so stupid.” He shakes his head as he moves back to lean on his desk.

“I know,” I say lightly, though I can’t help but brush a tear away at his admission.

He chuckles. “Life’s too short for all this nonsense. We have a baby to celebrate, and we’re going to fix all of this. And you’renot quitting. I saw your exit papers on Mike’s desk. You deserve that social media position, Gabriella.”

“But I’m pregnant,” I protest. “It’s why Zelda left the position in the first place.”

“Right, so she could be home with her husband and their newborn. If you want to be with the baby’s father, then you’ll need to be on the road with us.”

Tears fill my eyes at his implication. “Really?”

He presses his lips together and nods. “Really. I never would’ve let Cooper walk away from the game even though I’ve been pretty hard on him over the last month. I was blinded by my own anger, but losing you and my best friend and my future wife all in the same day pushed me into a pretty dark place.”

“Only you can fix this. Only you can get it all back,” I say.

He shakes his head. “It was him. Cooper. He had the balls to stand up to Mike and me to tell us he chose you. Andthatis what I want for you. Now go get him.”

I draw in a deep breath.

I guess it’s time.

CHAPTER 19: COOPER

“He’s not going to let you go without a fight, you know,” Mike says.

“He doesn’t have a choice,” I say thickly. I’m sitting in the chair I was pacing behind after Troy walked out with Gabby, and I’m still not sure why she chose to talk to her father before me, but here we are. “I’ve made up my mind.”

“And what if the best of both worlds was an option?” Mike steeples his fingertips underneath his jaw.

“I’ve been over it a thousand times in my mind.” I shake my head. “Troy will never be okay with the idea of his daughter and me being together, and I can’t play for a manager who treats me the way he did over spring training.”

“I can’t let you go without a fight, either. You signed a contract, Cooper. A hefty one at that. You can’t just walk away.”

The money is guaranteed, and it’s a shitty thing to do to the team. But I don’t want the money. I’ve never cared about the money. I just want Gabby. I just want to be happy. I just want a little sunshine back in my life after far too much darkness.

“Keep the money. I don’t want it at the expense of everything important to me. I’m happy to remain close as a team consultant,” I offer.

“What if it doesn’t work out?” he asks. “What if you give up everything here, your dreams, theteam’sdreams, and you don’t end up where you think you’ll be?”

I’m quiet a beat as I consider that. “At least I’ll know I tried.”

Mike shakes his head. “God dammit, Cooper. How am I supposed to fight against that?”

“You can’t. I’ve made up my mind. How do we proceed?” I ask.

“Why don’t we wait for the two of them to return before we plow ahead,” he suggests dryly.

I shrug. “Suit yourself.”

He picks up the paperwork in front of him. “She put in her notice, you know. She was on her way up here for her exit interview.”

My eyes dart to his. “Is that why you brought me up here?”

“In part. I also knew Troy hadn’t seen her since the team left for Vegas. I figured she’d get through to one of the two of you. Fingers crossed it’s both.”

Fingers crossed.

But I’m not sure how much hope I have right now. It feels pretty bleak that she chose to speak to her father first.

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