Page 14

We drive up the hill a little and gaze down at the view of the Strip as we pass the bottle of wine back and forth.

I’m really doing it.

This will be home.

I have a lot to do before that can become my reality, though, and only a few weeks to do it in. Troy wants me back here September one to start training, which means I have less than three weeks to train someone to take over my position at SFK, pack up my apartment, find a place in Vegas, and make the move.

And I don’t really want to tell Gabby the truth about the job yet—not when things are so new between us. Not when things are so easy between us. My career will complicate things, but it won’t affect what’s happening between us until spring training, and that’s still months away. I’ll tell her before then. In fact, it might be fun to take her to the stadium once I’ve signed my contract and tell her there in person.

Despite our easy conversation as we learn more about each other, I’ve left baseball out of the discussion entirely. Surely she knows by now. Surely like Ben suggested she’s looked me up. But if she has, she hasn’t mentioned it. I love just being regular guy Cooper who works for a health organization for kids, not being the five-time All-Star and World Series MVP known for keeping calm under pressure.

It’s a huge part of who I am, but I like that I’m not defined by it in her eyes. It makes me want to leave it out of the conversation a little longer, especially after what happened with Stacy.

She didn’t just cheat on me. She cheated on me after I got hurt and had to stop playing. She cheated on me with a teammate.

She said it was because she felt alone and sad, that I was lashing out at her because I was depressed I had to stop playing.

I wasn’t depressed. I was a little down, sure. A little out of character considering I’m the kind of guy who’s always in good spirits. Maybe not the party animal Ben Olson is, but still generally friendly and sociable, even when I was hurt and taken out of the game.

She blamed me for her cheating on me. That’s the thing that hurt the most, I think. That was the part that made me question things about myself…like how I could be with someone like her in the first place. I don’t mention much of that to Gabby, though over the course of this weekend, we managed to touch on a lot of it.

“What time’s your flight?” she asks.

“Nine,” I say. I glance at my watch. “Less than nine hours from now.”

“Can you stay a little longer?”

I blow out a breath. “I wish I could. My mom is coming to visit me, and her flight gets in close to the same time as mine so I can just drive us both home from the airport. This was just supposed to be a quick trip to town to meet with my buddy about a job opportunity, and I booked an extra night to meet my friends for dinner.”

“Your mom is coming to visit you?” she asks.

“Yeah. She’s going to love you.” The words are out before I can stop them, but they feel as natural as breathing. Of course she’ll meet my mom someday. Just as I’ll meet her dad, and maybe her mom down the line when she’s ready to forgive her. “She always hated my ex, and I guess I should’ve listened. She’s a great judge of character.”

“How long’s she staying?”

“Tomorrow through Friday, so all week.” I take a sip from the bottle of wine and hand it back to Gabby.

“Don’t you have to work?”

I nod. “And give my notice. And pack up my place.”

“What will she do while she’s in town?”

“Spend her days either shopping or reading at the beach under a giant umbrella, and spend her evenings cooking me all my favorite meals.”

“She sounds amazing,” she says.

I smile as I think about my mom. She’s my biggest cheerleader, and she’s also candid and honest with me even when the conversations are difficult, and I’m very interested to hear what she has to say about me playing again before I confirm with Troy. Even though I’ve already made up my mind, I’m still curious to get her take on it. “She is.”

We finish the bottle of wine between the two of us, and we fall asleep on the mat in the back of her truck for a while. I wake first just as the first dawn of light starts to paint the horizon.

When I shift, she jolts awake, too, and we both sit up and lean our backs on the rear panel. I toss an arm around her shoulder and she leans into me as we stare silently together at the landscape. Dawn turns toward the sunrise. It’s gorgeous here, and I look around at the red rocks where this canyon derives its name.

As I glance around, I can’t help but think that we’ll be back here together someday.

Of course we’ll be back. This is where we fell in love.

That has to be what’s coursing through me right now.

One of the things my previous relationships always lacked was the ease in which I find myself with Gabby. She’s lighthearted and fun, my perfect match in a lot of ways despite the differences looming between us. I want to make this work. If I can wake up with this same feeling one more day, that would make it all worth it.

I think back to my time with Stacy. Not once in the five years we were together did we drive out to the middle of the desert and fall asleep in the back of my truck after staying up too late talking and stargazing.

Not once.

She wasn’t right for me, but I suspect Gabby just might be.

I hear a quiet sniffle, and when I glance over at her, I see her brushing away her silent tears.

“What’s wrong?” I whisper.

She lifts a shoulder. “Sunrises always make me a little emotional. I’m not sure why. The beauty of the Earth, the gratitude for another day.”

“Oh, Sunshine,” I murmur, thinking how appropriate that nickname is for her even though it just sort of spilled out of me when I first said it.

“It’s something else today. Today it signifies the end of our time together. I don’t want it to end. I don’t want the sun to rise.”

I pull her in closer to me, squeezing her shoulders. “This isn’t the end,” I say softly, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “It can’t be.”

I feel emotion clogging my throat, too, an unfamiliar and strange feeling that tells me just how deep I already am into this thing with her.

It’s a little terrifying, if I’m being honest, but we’re jumping in together.

That makes it feel like we’re both going to be okay.

We don’t have time for one last bang once we’re back at my hotel. I have enough time to toss my clothes in my suitcase and grab her into my arms as that same emotion closes up my throat.

I don’t know what to say, and I’m the kind of person who is never at a loss for words.

But even if I had the words…I’m not sure I could get them out at the moment.

“Well,” she says. “You’ve got my number. Ball’s in your court, I guess.”

I chuckle. “Ball’s in both our courts, Sunshine. We’re not playing games here. If you want to text me the second the car door closes behind me, do it.”

“It won’t scare you off?” She snags her bottom lip between her teeth.

I drop a soft kiss to her lips to get her to stop biting them with worry. “Would it scare you off if I did it first?”

She shakes her head. “Point taken. Have a safe trip.”

“You too.”

“Why is this so hard?” she asks.

I press my lips together then offer her a sad smile. “Because it’s real, and reality hurts sometimes. Come home with me.”

My mom will flip if I bring a girl home to meet her, but I’ll deal with that storm when the time is right.

Her shoulders drop a little, and I think it might be from relief that I invited her. “I can’t. I’m going out with friends tomorrow and I’m meeting with my advisor on Monday. And I’m helping substitute a dance class for kids this week while the regular teacher is out of town.”

“Next weekend, then. Come to San Diego.”

She nods a little as she thinks it over. “Okay. Yeah, I think I can do that.”

I can’t help the wide smile that breaks across my lips. I knew I’d be coming back here eventually, but having solid plans in the works to see each other again lifts a weight that was heavier than I realized.

I press my lips to hers. “I need to go, but I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Back at you, Captain.”

I chuckle and kiss her once more, and then she walks me out. I get into the car, close the door behind me, and pull out my phone to send her a text.

There’s already one waiting for me.

Gabby: Boo. I’m first. Hope I didn’t scare you. [kiss emoji]

Me: Boo back at you. Miss you already.

I turn toward the window to wave, and I spot her as she brushes away the tears falling from her eyes.

My heart cracks as I wave until she’s out of sight, and then I exhale a long breath as the car carries me away from her and toward the airport.