Page 88 of Vegas Heat

I head to the shower where I let the water mingle with my tears, and I feel marginally better once I’m clean. I brush my teeth and check the time. I still have another fifteen minutes before Cooper told me to meet him, but I head down to thekitchen anyway and grab a cup of coffee. I check my phone as I slide into a chair at the table, and I see a missed call from Justin. He left a voicemail.

“Hey girl. Just wanted to check on you to make sure you got home all right. Call me.”

I decide to ring him back even though he left the voicemail nearly ten hours ago.

“Hey,” he answers. “You’re alive.”

“I’m alive,” I say, my voice a little hoarse. “Barely.”

He laughs. “I figured you were fine with Noah since he was in our meeting yesterday.”

“Yeah,” I say. “He’s a good friend of my father’s.” I leave it at that since apparently it’s nothing more than that. Not anymore.

“I had fun with you last night.” His tone has a hint of suggestion to it, and I know where he’s going with it. “I’d like to see you again. Maybe grab another drink but just the two of us this time.”

“It’s a nice offer, Justin, but I’m, uh…it’s complicated.” I’m fumbling for an excuse when the truth is that I can’t tell him the truth. I think about what Mia suggested yesterday—that I go out with Justin to make Cooper jealous. It’s a terrible idea. Right?

“I didn’t ask you to marry me, Gab. I asked you out for a drink. Just friends if that’s all you want. We have to work together for the next few months, and I like to be friends with my coworkers,” he says lightly. He’s not offended that I basically declined his invitation, and I like that about him. He’s confident. Maybe more than he should be…but he’s right. I want to have fun at work, too, and I’ve got enough heaviness surrounding me. I need something light. Maybe Justin can be a friend to help combat the darkness.

“Okay,” I say. “Sure. I can do the friends thing. But just coffee this time. I can’t even think about alcohol without dry heaving right now.”

He laughs. “Coffee it is. Today at three, Starbucks near the bar last night?”

Cooper walks in as we end our conversation.

“That works,” I say. “I’ll see you then. And Justin?” My eyes are on Cooper’s as I say another man’s name.

I’m not doing what Mia said.

I’m not.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for a fun time last night. I’m excited to hang out with you again.”

I see the physical change on Cooper’s face when I say the words to another man. Cooper doesn’t know that I just told Justin that I’m not looking for anything other than friendship, so it’s notquiteMia’s plan, but it still has the same effect.

His brows are pinched and his nostrils are flared. His cheeks are an angry red and a vein makes itself visible in his neck, and I’m pretty sure it’s from what I just said to Justin but it’s possible it’s from his workout.

“You too, girl,” Justin says. “See you at three.”

We hang up, and Cooper draws in a deep breath as he walks past me.

He’s a little sweaty from whatever he just did in the workout room, and he runs a hand through his hair before grabbing a coffee mug and filling it to the brim with hot, black coffee.

“Black coffee?” I ask.

“The trainer gave me a plan to get ready for the season,” he mutters. “I’m making cuts where I can.” He grabs a Slim Jim out of the pantry and starts to peel open the packaging.

“What were you doing at the bar last night?” I demand.

“I met Kaylee for a drink. I saw that Spongebob douche putting his arm around you and I didn’t like it. You were drinking a lot and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

My heart clenches and my chest tightens. “I was fine,” I grit out.

“How were you planning to get home?”

“It’s not your business. You gave up that right when you decided this was over.” I wave a hand between the two of us.

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