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I order her a strawberry daiquiri and I get myself a half-pina colada, half-strawberry daiquiri mix. It’s quite a delight, if I’m being honest, and I keep my ballcap pulled down low over my eyes. Between that and the sunglasses mixed with the amount of day drinkers here on the Strip, nobody notices that Cooper Noah is strolling down the sidewalk hand-in-hand with a gorgeous woman twelve years his junior.

I was hit with a blast of reality when I asked her when I could see her again.

This is real, but we’re providing an awful lot of fodder for the media—particularly if I take the offer on the table from Troy. I’ll be thrust front and center back into the tabloids, and if we take this thing beyond this weekend, she’ll be thrust there, too.

At some point I have to tell her who I am…but I sort of like the dynamic between us just the way it is. Once people find out, they change—and I don’t want this to change.

We walk with our drinks down to the Bellagio, where we watch the fountains. We step inside to play some slots. We even manage a romantic trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, where we kiss as we look down over Vegas and I tell her how I want to take her to the real one in Paris someday.

We ride the giant Ferris Wheel, which is neat during the day but would be spectacular at night, and I note how she attacks every new activity with excitement and a positive attitude. The line for the Ferris Wheel was longer than we’d been expecting, and she spent the time waiting by grilling me with this or that , allowing us to get to know one another on another new level.

I discover she prefers pizza over pasta, tacos over spaghetti, and pancakes over waffles. She learns that I like trucks over sports cars, outdoor activities over indoor—sex included, and bars over nightclubs.

We wind up back at the hotel a little before it’s time for me to meet Kaylee and Ben.

I think about asking if she wants to tag along as my date, but I realize I could use the opportunity away from her to talk to some of the people who know me well and to see if it’s all just the illusion of sex or if there are real feelings taking root after barely knowing her a full day.

And so we have to say goodbye.

I kiss her in my hotel room once more. I’m already running late for dinner, so we didn’t have time for sex, but at least we fit in all the touristy things we’d planned for the day.

“You’ll be back at ten?” she asks.

I nod. “I’m anxious to find out what sort of inside look at Vegas you have planned. Give me your phone,” I say. She pulls it out of her purse and hands it over, and I send a text to myself with one word.

Sunshine .

“You’ve got my number now, and I have yours.” I hand her phone back to her. “I’ll text you if I’m done early."

She drops it back into her purse then links her arms around my waist. Her head tips back and her green eyes gaze up into mine in that way where she has the ability to completely strip me raw. I want to give her every single part of myself when she looks up at me like that. I want the world to stand still so we can be with each other in it in this way just a little longer.

But time marches on no matter how much we want to freeze the perfect moments.

“Tell me this was real,” she murmurs.

I drop a kiss to her lips, and then I pinch her ass. “It was real.”

She yelps and giggles as she swats at my hand, and it’s that giggle that I could spend the rest of my life listening to.

She leaves, and the second the door closes behind her, I feel the loss. It’s a strange sense where I feel like she walked out with a piece of myself I’ve never been without before.

The only time I’ve ever felt that way before was when she left earlier to grab her suitcase from her suite.

A strange feeling of restlessness pervades even though I have things to do.

I change my clothes ahead of meeting my friends. Dinner is at a restaurant inside my hotel, so I don’t have far to travel to get to them, and when I walk into the private room in the back Kaylee booked for us, I spot Ben Olson, the tight end for the Vegas Aces—Kaylee’s husband—first. Of course I do. He’s a big dude, and he’s just a presence . No matter what room he’s in, he fills it with loud and gregarious laughter. He glances up and nudges Kaylee, who’s staring down at her menu.

She grins and leaps up to tackle hug me before she sits back down, and Ben stands and gives me a bro-hug, too. “Good to see you, man,” he says.

He hated me when we first met since he thought I was stealing his girl from him when they were on a break, but eventually he came around when he realized Kaylee and I were nothing more than good friends.

“You too,” I say. I slide into the chair across from the two of them, not bothering with the menu. “How’s everything?”

They both stare at me with tilted heads for a beat, and then Ben speaks up first. “Why do you look different?”

“I look different?” I ask.

Kaylee nods, the crease between her brows deepening as she studies me. “You’re right,” she says to Ben. “He does look different.”

“Different how?” I ask, my brows knitting together.

Kaylee studies me with narrowed eyes. “Your smile is wider.” She squints at me a little. “You’re…I don’t know. Lighter, maybe, like your shoulders aren’t pressed down by a weight.”

“Dopamine,” Ben says to her, and then he turns toward me. “Did you…did you get laid?”

Jesus. One fucking night with the girl and even my closest friends can see the difference.

“In fact, I did,” I admit.

“Are you dating somebody and you didn’t tell me?” Kaylee asks, her voice full of both accusation and bewilderment.

I chuckle. “I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

“How long has this been going on?” Kaylee demands.

I clear my throat. “I just met the girl last night.”

“Wait a second. You met her last night ?” Ben asks. He lets out a low whistle. “Was it a one-night thing?”

I shake my head. “We didn’t go into it with any expectations. We spent the night together, and then we spent the day together.”

“And you let her go to come meet us for dinner?” Kaylee screeches.

“What can I say? I’m a good friend.” I offer an arrogant shrug. “Besides, the Captain down low needed a recharge and she’s meeting me back at my room after dinner for another round.”

Ben bursts out a laugh as he shakes his head. “Man, are you fucked or what?”

I twist my lips then let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I am. Totally fucked.”

Kaylee giggles. “And you got fucked, which, good for you, Coop. We all know how bad you needed that after your recent dry spell.” I shoot her a glare, and she laughs. “Tell us about her.”

I don’t even know where to start. “She’s fucking hilarious for one. We laughed all night together. She’s honest and tells it like it is. Plus she’s so hot it’s unreal, and she’s smart, too. She doesn’t know who I am, which is an obvious bonus.”

“You best believe that girl is Googling the fuck out of you right now, sir,” Ben says.

I purse my lips with an easy shrug. “Probably. And it’s fine. She got plowed by the Captain first, so she knows what she’s getting into.” I wink at Kaylee, who giggles as Ben offers a hearty laugh.

“Good for you, man,” Ben says.

“What does she do?” Kaylee asks.

I run a hand through my hair and along my jawline, and then I clear my throat before I give it to them straight even though I know they’re going to tease the shit out of me for it. “She’s, uh…studying marketing at UNLV. Last night was her twenty-first birthday.”

“Fuck yeah,” Ben says, fist pumping. “Wreck that shit, man.” He tosses an arm around Kaylee. “You gotta get ‘em young these days. Chicks our age just aren’t as fun.”

Kaylee’s lips tighten into a flat line as she gives her husband a look. “I guess I’ll let the chicks comment slide since you’re somehow complementing me. I think?”

Ben laughs, and Kaylee looks at me.

“So that puts, what…about twelve years between the two of you?” she asks.

I nod.

“Ben and I are a decade apart and it works for us. People talk, but we ignore it. With that said, though, she’s still in college. Twenty-one is young .”

“Weren’t you twenty-three when you and Ben got together?” I point out.

“Right, but Ben and I had known each other for years and years, and I was out of school,” she argues. “We both knew what we were getting into. He was getting a mature, capable woman, and I was getting a big old oaf.”

“Hey!” Ben grumbles, and I laugh at the two of them.

The waitress comes by for our order, and I scramble to find something since I haven’t bothered with the menu yet.

I change the subject once our orders have been placed.

“How’s Tight Fit doing?” I ask Ben, referring to his fitness club. He started with one in Montana, and between Kaylee and him plus the StrongFitKids program, they have six incredibly successful locations with more in the works.

“Doing great,” Ben says. He nods toward his wife. “She’s more well-versed in what’s going on in particular with SFK since I’m in pre-season now.”

Kaylee’s eyes light up at the chance to talk about StrongFitKids. “SFK’s exponential growth has been totally overwhelming. I have all these ideas about running Jumpathons or other types of -athons and charity events in the different Tight Fit locations, probably starting here at one of the locations in Vegas, but I don’t have time to put any of it together and all our employees are already overworked. Between the Montana location, the three Vegas locations, and the two in San Diego plus the one we’re building in Los Angeles on top of taking care of the twins...” She glances over at Ben as she trails off, and his eyes meet hers tenderly.

It's beautiful to witness the love between these two. They have the whole package—the love, a marriage, jobs they love, a couple of kids. It’s what I want, too. It’s what I’ve always wanted, but it’s the thing that’s always escaped me, the thing that’s always been just out of my reach.

“She’s doing great,” Ben says. “Amazing. She’s the best mom in the world. She’s the best partner in the world, and I don’t know how she does all she does.”

“I need help,” she admits.

I clear my throat. “Would it help if I moved to Vegas?”

They break their gaze as both their heads whip in my direction.

“What?” Kaylee asks.

“This is on the down low, and I haven’t made a decision yet, but there’s a reason I’m in Vegas,” I begin.

“What is it?” Kaylee presses.

“Troy Bodine has been tapped to manage the expansion team the MLB is bringing to Vegas. He wants me back in the game.”

Ben lets out another low whistle.

“Oh jeez,” Kaylee murmurs. “And then you met the girl last night. All signs point to Vegas. What are you going to do?” She bounces a little excitedly in her seat.

“I think I’m gonna do it,” I admit. I blow out a breath. “Not because of her, to be clear, though I’m definitely interested in seeing where it can go with her. But before I even met her last night, I thought it through and knew it was time to get back into the game. Well, both games. Baseball and dating.”

Kaylee claps her hands together with excitement as she squeals. “Oh my God, you’re moving here?”

“Hey, Peaches,” Ben teases his wife. “Calm your tits. You’re married.”

She rolls her eyes. “I know I am. And so does he,” she says, jerking her thumb in my direction.

I nod. “The only romance between the two of us was for your benefit,” I say, referring to the brief time we teased the media when we first met.

Ben chuckles. “I’m just teasing you both. It’ll be great to have you in town, man. Another dude for golf and poker nights, another face for Tight Fit. Shit, the Daltons will want you at every Monday night family dinner.” He glances at Kaylee. “We’re all gonna need bigger dining tables.” He turns back to me. “But you won’t have time to help with SFK if you’re playing ball in between wrecking that chick’s pussy,” he points out.

“I’ve got five months of offseason,” I counter. “Plenty of time for both pussy-wrecking and helping out at SFK.”

“So this is really happening?” she asks.

I press my lips together and nod. “Yep. It’s really happening.”

Kaylee squeals as realization dawns.

It’s really happening.