Page 313 of Vegas Heat

A short while later, the door opens, and a man walks through it. Standing just behind him is the triple threat Alexis Bodega—the woman Danny said would be his hall pass if he had the option to have one.

She’s wearing a royal blue dress with a huge Vegas Heat logo stamped across the middle in shimmering red sequins, and she nervously flips her dark hair over her shoulders as she glances around the room.

I glance over at him, and his eyes are wide as they land on her.

The man with her slides his hand behind her and has her take the lead, but he still directs her where to go with his hand on the small of her back. Is he her bodyguard? Or her husband?

“Jesus Christ,” Danny mutters beside me. “She’s even hotter in person.”

“Go introduce yourself,” I prod teasingly, and he shakes his head.

“Nah. She’ll come to me.”

I laugh at the balls on this guy. “All the women in the world and the one you named as your ultimate fantasy just walked through the door.”

“Shut the fuck up,” he says, and I swear his cheeks redden just a little.

I stand and make my way over to her like I did with Vail. I hear Danny’s faint protest behind me as I make my way over toward her, but I ignore him.

“Cooper Noah,” I say, sticking my hand out toward her. She smiles at me, and she really is a gorgeous woman. She’s got nothing on Gabby, though. “Are you here to sing?”

She nods. “I’ve been asked to do a song to open for Vail, and I’ll also be singing the national anthem.”

“Incredible. Thanks for being here to support us today.”

“I’m so pleased the team asked. I’m happy to be here to cheer for the home team.” She smiles, and it lights up the room.

“Are you local?” I ask.

She nods. “I grew up in Henderson and still have family here, though I’m based out of Los Angeles now. And sometimes New York.”

“My buddy Danny is dying to meet you.”

She chuckles, and the man with her doesn’t react—which makes me think he’s either used to it or he’s not married to her. “I’d love to meet Danny.”

I lead her over toward him, and he’s clearly pretending to focus on the five cards he holds in his hands. “Brewer,” I grunt out, and he turns to look at me. He sets his cards down and stands as his eyes edge over to the woman beside me. “I’d like to introduce you to Alexis Bodega.”

Now I’ve known Danny Brewer a long time. I’ve seen the way he handles women. He’s confident—as he should be. He’s never had a problem with a single one of them falling over their own feet to get to him.

But something happens when Alexis Bodega’s eyes fall to his.

I think Danny Brewer might be in a whole lot of trouble.

CHAPTER 27: COOPER

There was excitement and fanfare, and the loud roar of the crowd helped lead us to our very first victory…and our second.

And now we’re in the clubhouse waiting to head out to the field to start our third game of the season. It could be a clean sweep of the Braves, something Duke is especially excited about since we’re playing his former team.

Nobody ever believes in the expansion teams. The Vegas Heat, though? We’re strong. We’re fierce. We’re fuckingready.

But today I’m a little extra nervous. It’s not just the end of our opening series, but it’s the end of our first home series.

We have tomorrow off, and then we’re on the road for the next six games—six days in a row. We play three games against the White Sox followed by three games against the Padres. We’ll be flying to Chicago and then straight to San Diego before returning home for one night off and then our next series will be at home against the Giants.

Gabby will be right by my side along for the ride as she takes footage and photos and creates captions to give our fans a behind the scenes look at what we do, but there are still team things she won’t be a part of—plus she still has that last class to finish. She has a completely different perspective since she’s not a player, and there will be moments that she can’t be part of because of that.

But I’ll have more of her than any of the other guys on the team will have with their women, and that makes me feel pretty damn lucky.

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