Page 147

My eyes are fixed on Cooper.

He’s back.

He’s the same Cooper who left me a month ago, but instead of complete and total dejection as he walks away from me, his shoulders are squared with something like hope.

And he’s…quitting?

For me?

I heard a loud voice as I made my way down the hall, and I recognized it immediately. I heard my name when he said I refuse to lose Gabby, too .

And I heard everything else that came after that.

He already lost me when he pushed me away, and the anger and fear that he’ll do it again won’t just go away.

But overhearing those words as he spoke them to my father, to Mike…it’s simply everything.

He’s choosing me—or not even me, but the idea of me. He has no idea where I stand, but he’d rather fight to get us back even if he loses than play baseball without me in his life.

That is what will heal the hurt and the abandonment and the scars my mother drove deep into me. Being chosen every single day. Being first in his heart. Being his .

My dad turns around to see what Cooper and Mike are looking at, and I realize I also haven’t seen my father since that same night.

He got back last night. I knew he was coming home, so I chose to stay the night at Justin’s place.

“You…you’d quit for me? You can’t do that,” I say, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

“Gabby,” Cooper murmurs.

“What are you doing here?” my father asks.

“I, uh…” Why am I here? My brows dip as I try to gather my thoughts. “I came for a meeting with Mr. Perry.” I turn to look at my dad before I address anything with Cooper. I know what I want to do here, and I need him on board before I act. “Can we talk?”

His brows dip, and he glances at Mike.

“Go ahead,” Mike says, and he doesn’t look at Cooper as he turns to walk out of Mike’s office.

I glance at Cooper and then at Mike. “I’ll be back.” I don’t say right back or soon because I don’t know how long this will take.

But something moves me to have this conversation before I have one with Cooper.

My dad closes the door behind us when we walk into his office.

He moves to give me a hug, but I stand still.

“Gabriella, I missed you so much.”

I press my lips together and nod. “I heard everything.”

His brows pinch together. “I’m sorry. I had to do what was best.” He turns and moves toward his desk, where he leans casually against the edge of it.

I, on the other hand, am anything but casual. I’m a freaking emotional mess, but I’m pulling it together for the sake of this conversation. I stay where I am beside the door. “I’m an adult. What you think is best for me is irrelevant. I’m sorry, Dad. I love you, but you manage a baseball team. You do not manage my life.”

His mouth flaps open and shut like a fish for a beat like he’s not sure what to say. I plow forward before he gets the chance to say anything at all.

“Cooper Noah is one of the best third basemen to ever play the game, and your ultimatum to him is absolutely ridiculous. I’ve never met a man like Cooper, and I’m so sorry you don’t approve. But what he does in his personal time has nothing to do with how he plays the game.”

“You deserve the world, Gabriella. I firmly believe you deserve more than a man who will be gone eight months out of the year. You deserve more than someone who will put his love of baseball first.”

“You’re right. I absolutely do.” And Cooper just did that by telling my father and the general manager of this team that he wants to walk away so he could fight for me. Maybe my father will never see it that way, but that’s how I see it.

Deep down my only wish was that he would choose me before he found out about the baby, and he just did.

“You can’t let him walk away from the game, Dad. Think about the team. Think about what you want out of this franchise. Think about why you brought him here in the first place, about the legacy you want to build. I can’t be the reason he walks from all that, and you’re the only one forcing that hand.”

“But he’s way too old for you,” he points out.

“Is age really the issue here? Would you approve of anybody I brought home to introduce to you?”

“Fair point.” He sighs. “So you’re going to get back with him and I’m just supposed to accept this ?”

I shrug. “Yes. He was one of your closest friends before. That doesn’t have to change just because he fell in love. My relationship with you doesn’t have to change, either. It’s unconventional, maybe, but we’ll find a way to make it work.”

He shakes his head as he stares down at the ground, and then he glances up at me. “Are you absolutely sure about this? You really love him? It’s not just some fling?”

“I’m absolutely sure, Dad. We’ve been together since August, barring a few hiccups here and there, and I’ve never been with someone so kind, so thoughtful, so funny.”

He nods as if he’s starting to come around. “And you both have so many people supporting you. So many who kept your secret.”

“We have a wonderful network of friends here. And there’s one other thing.”

His brows dip, and I draw in a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

He freezes for a beat as he stares across the small space separating us.

The silence is thick as I await his reaction.

“You’re…” he trails off.

“Pregnant,” I whisper, finishing his sentence.

“It’s Cooper’s?”

I nod.

“He doesn’t know?”

I shake my head.

“I’m going to be a papa?” he asks softly—so softly that I can’t figure out his emotional response to my news, but I have a feeling he can’t quite make his voice work.

“Yes.”

He moves across the small space toward me. He wraps his arms around me. “I never got to hold my own baby in my arms. I never got to give my father the gift of a grandchild. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this alone, baby. I’ll be here. Cooper will be here. Joanie…” he trails off.

“Joanie?” I press.

He sighs as he pulls out of my arms. “I’ve been so stupid.” He shakes his head as he moves back to lean on his desk.

“I know,” I say lightly, though I can’t help but brush a tear away at his admission.

He chuckles. “Life’s too short for all this nonsense. We have a baby to celebrate, and we’re going to fix all of this. And you’re not quitting. I saw your exit papers on Mike’s desk. You deserve that social media position, Gabriella.”

“But I’m pregnant,” I protest. “It’s why Zelda left the position in the first place.”

“Right, so she could be home with her husband and their newborn. If you want to be with the baby’s father, then you’ll need to be on the road with us.”

Tears fill my eyes at his implication. “Really?”

He presses his lips together and nods. “Really. I never would’ve let Cooper walk away from the game even though I’ve been pretty hard on him over the last month. I was blinded by my own anger, but losing you and my best friend and my future wife all in the same day pushed me into a pretty dark place.”

“Only you can fix this. Only you can get it all back,” I say.

He shakes his head. “It was him. Cooper. He had the balls to stand up to Mike and me to tell us he chose you. And that is what I want for you. Now go get him.”

I draw in a deep breath.

I guess it’s time.