Page 96 of Vegas Heat

And it’s that moment Hottie McThirdBaseman decides to exit his bedroom. We both watch as he walks by, jaw clenched as he peeks into my room. He sees us on the bed snuggling together,and I swear I see fire come out of his ears before he disappears from our view. I hear him as he stomps down the stairs, and for a second, I feel pretty damn good about what we’ve accomplished here this morning.

Until I realize I don’t want to hurt Cooper. Sure, I want to make him jealous. Sure, I want him back, and a part of me hopes seeing me with somebody else will be enough to spur him to action.

But I don’t want to make him miserable. I know him pretty well, and I have a feeling he’s working pretty damn hard to make himself miserable all on his own.

CHAPTER 16: COOPER

I’m seething as I pour a cup of coffee, and fuck this. I’m not hanging around the house all day watching her get closer and closer with some other guy as she flaunts it in my face.

Close the goddamn door. At least have some respect and close the door so people walking by don’t have to see.

But no, she’s lying there on his chest all cozy, and it should bemeholding her in my arms, and I’m completely out of sorts after the shit I witnessed.

I can’t do this.

I can’t live here, I can’t watch her move on, I can’t fucking even enjoy this new adventure in my life because she’s right fucking there marring all of it.

I text Kaylee.

Me:Are you going to the game today or are you watching at home?

It’s Ben’s last preseason game before the regular season begins, and last I checked, the Aces were going to Los Angeles for the game.

She writes back nearly immediately.

Kaylee:Home with the girls. Come hang out, everyone else went to California but I wanted to get a jump start on the SFK ideas. We can watch the game and talk ahead of your meetings tomorrow.

She texts her address, and I chug my cup of coffee before racing out the door to get away from Gabby and her new lover before they come down for breakfast.

Did she really move on so quickly? Did I ever mean anything at all to her?

Those are the questions that plague me on the drive over to Kaylee’s house.

Two baby girls are crawling around on the floor when I arrive. One is using the coffee table to help her stand, and the other is attempting to pull herself up onto the couch.

“Holly, no!” she says, and clearly the rambunctious one trying to climb the couch is Holly. Holly jumps at her mother’s tone, and she falls to the floor in a heap of tears. “God, I’m really dreading the teenage years with the dramatics of nine months.”

I laugh. “May I?” I ask, and Kaylee nods while she picks up Hailey. I reach down to quiet the now screaming Holly. “Hey, baby girl,” I say quietly, soothingly. “You’re okay. Take a deep breath with me.” I suck in a dramatic breath of air and let it go, breathing my dragon coffee breath right in her face.

Tears turn to giggles.

“Jesus, how are you still single?” Kaylee mutters.

I shoot her a look. “You really want to get into that right now?”

“If I wasn’t married to the hottest tight end in the universe, I swear to God my ovaries would’ve just exploded. That wholebaby girlline in that sexy gravel tone? Good Lord, Coopsey.”

“I thought we nixed Coopsey.”

She shakes her head. “You thought wrong.”

We play with the babies as a twinge of something pulls at my chest.

This is what I want. Maybe not with Kay—definitely not with Kay—but with the right woman. Kaylee and I were a non-starter. I found her attractive, and it was mutual, but she was pregnant when we met, and I was still reeling from my break-up with Stacy. We fell into a brother-sister type relationship, and over the last few months, we’ve gotten closer and closer.

It never would’ve worked between us, anyway. She’s from a football family. They never would’ve let her get with a ballplayer like me.

Although athletes are athletes, and while our games are different, our dedication is not.

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