Page 252 of Vegas Heat

I don’t know what all this means other than the fact that I will be tied to Cooper for the rest of my life now. We talked about this as a possibility down the road…but it’s not something either of us are ready for.

But ready or not…a baby is on its way.

I keep teetering between happiness and horror at the thought.

I do the math. If it happened around Christmas, I’ll be due sometime in September. I think. I have no idea how any of this works.

But I’ll finish school. I’ll have my degree, and hopefully I’ll have my job as social media manager—a job someone else gave up because she’s having a baby, I remind myself.

It’s different for me, though. If I’m traveling with the team, that means I’ll be with the baby’s father. We can do more of it together—in theory. He’ll be busy playing and doing whatever it is baseball players do between games, and I’ll be busy working a job and breastfeeding—or bottle feeding? I don’t even know where I stand on that. I don’t know the benefits of one over the other. I don’t knowanything, and I think an hour must pass where I stare at my steering wheel as I try to come to grips with this bombshell.

My phone rings and pulls me out of my thoughts, and I see it’s Joanie.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Where are you, girl? Your hair appointment starts now, and Wendy is waiting for you at your dad’s house.”

“I’m so sorry,” I tell her. “I, uh…wasn’t feeling well, so I went to urgent care just to make sure I’m not contagious.”

“Oh no! Are you okay?”

No.

Nope.

I’m definitelynotokay.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just some bad chicken, I think.” I lie. I have to. I can’t tell anyone about this before I get the chance to tell Cooper.

And maybe I shouldn’t even mention it to him until I’m absolutely sure about this. I don’t know anything—a due date, or gender, or whatever.

Maybe it was a false positive.

I need to see my doctor and confirm everything, to get all the information possible before I scare the hell out of everyone else, especially since Cooper’s leaving town tomorrow for the nextmonth. I don’t want him worrying about me the whole time he’s gone. In fact, that’s why I haven’t texted him back yet. I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know what made me call him other than the fact that I wanted to hear his voice in my ear.

“Okay. Are you feeling any better?” she asks.

No.

Nope.

Not even a tiny bit.

If anything, I feel a little worse.

“Yeah,” I lie. “I’ll be okay. I’m on my way home now.”

“Be safe and I will see you soon!” She sounds so excited, and I know part of my maid of honor duties will be to share in that joy with her despite all the things weighing heavily on me right now.

So I draw in a deep breath, and I start the car. One step at a time.

I drive toward home, forcing in deep breaths at every stoplight. I guzzle down some water.

I pull into the circular drive, and I take one more deep breath before I force on a happy face. And then I head inside to celebrate my dad’s wedding day as if I didn’t just receive the sort of news that has already turned my entire world upside down.

CHAPTER 28: GABBY

Curly or straight, up or down, does it really matter?

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