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I meet Kaylee before the crack of dawn for a workout, and she takes me into a yoga room.

“We thought we’d try out some prenatal yoga, so we’re interviewing a few different candidates,” she tells me. “They’re each here for a ten-minute segment with you today. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be in there, too, but just to make it really, really clear, I’m in there for the interviews only. I am not pregnant.”

“Right now,” I tease.

“That I know of,” she says with a shrug.

“Are you two trying?”

“He’s trying every free moment he has, I’ll tell you that much.”

I giggle. Ben Olson is a former party animal tamed only by his sassy wife, but that doesn’t mean he calmed down all the partying. He just parties with her now. Naked, apparently.

“I have some hot gossip, too, but I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

“You can trust me,” I say, goading her into telling me.

She giggles. “I know, and I also know you’re a baseball girl now so you don’t have a stake, but you know Travis Woods?”

I nod. “The wide receiver?”

“Yeah. I heard through the grapevine that he has some secret daughter nobody knows about. He’s never even met her. Isn’t that crazy?”

“Can you imagine having a child out there and not knowing?” I ask.

“I think it’s a little different for women since we know when we give birth. I guess he slept with his mom’s friend years and years ago and she and her husband couldn’t have kids. Well she got preggo and nine months later out popped a girl with Travis’s eyes.”

My own eyes widen at the description.

“Kaylee?” a woman in a leotard and leggings asks as she walks up to us.

Kaylee’s eyes widen as she pretends to zip her lips, and I nod my confirmation that I won’t tell anyone the hot gossip .

The leotard lady is the first yoga instructor, so we get to our workouts as I help her decide which one to hire.

A few hours later, I’m back on the couch and I hold my hand out to stare at the ring again. The fire crackles in the fireplace as a movie plays on the television, and Cooper is snuggled in beside me with his hand on my thigh. I can’t focus on anything but the gorgeous sparkle coming from the third finger of my left hand. It’s a filigree vintage style halo ring with a round diamond, and I’ve never seen anything sparkle as brightly as it does…except, of course, for our love, as cheesy as that may be.

It’s our one day off before we hit the road toward Chicago for our first away series, and I’m so ready for this. I’m excited to really dig into my job as I find my footing.

I know it will be chaos once we’re on the road and it won’t be like this, so I’m taking the time to soak in every second.

Until my phone rings.

I pick it up off the cushion next to me and my chest tightens as I flash the screen at Cooper. He pauses the movie.

“Are you going to answer it?” he asks.

“Do I have to?”

He shakes his head. “You don’t have to do a damn thing you don’t want to do.”

“I have to face her eventually,” I murmur, and with that, I pick up the call. “Hey Mom.”

I don’t get a hello back. I get a heavy sigh. “It’s a sad, sad day when a mother discovers her daughter is engaged from a news story rather than from her daughter.”

Yeah, it is sad. It’s sad that she’s the kind of person I don’t bother sharing my news with anymore.

I don’t say that. Instead, I say, “I’m so sorry. It’s been a whirlwind and he did it in public so news broke fast.”

It’s not like I haven’t had time to call her…but I honestly didn’t think to. She was less than warm to him when she met him, and I’m not entirely sure I’m even inviting her to the wedding, whenever we decide to have it.

“Do you have any other news to share?” she asks.

“I got a job,” I say proudly.

“At the stadium?”

“Yep. I’m the new social media manager for the Vegas Heat.” My words are strong and proud as I sit up a little straighter.

“That’s great. Did your dad get you that?”

I hear Cooper mutter a curse word beside me, but she’s not the only person who will be wondering that same thing. “Nope. I got it all on my own, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“It’s not that. Don’t be so dramatic. I’m sure you’re perfectly capable. It’s just that since he’s the manager and part owner of the team, it would lead one to speculate—”

“Please don’t finish that sentence,” I say, interrupting her. “I worked hard to get where I am.” I keep my tone even but firm.

“Of course you did. You know, when I was your age, I had to give up my career because I was pregnant with you.” She sniffs a little, as if the damage of that still haunts her all these years later, and maybe it does. But you know what? It’s not my fault, and it’s not my problem.

“That’s so interesting because the organization I work for actually hired me an assistant who can fill in for me when I’m on maternity leave, and then I can slide right back into my position once I’m ready and able. And I have lots of daycare options, too.”

“Well, money will do that for anybody, I suppose,” she mutters, and I wait a beat for her to connect the dots. “Wait a minute. Are you saying you’re pregnant?”

And there it is.

“I am saying that,” I confirm.

She’s quiet on the other end of the line.

Imagine that.

My mother: speechless.

I never thought I’d see the day.

“Are you happy?” she asks softly.

“Happier than I ever imagined I could be,” I say.

“Congratulations, then. I guess you turned out better than I ever could have hoped you would.”

I’ll take that as a win.

I hang up with her, and Cooper leans over and kisses my cheek. “What’s that for?” I ask.

“Your volume is really loud. I heard every word you both said, and I just wanted to tell you that I love you, and I’m proud of you.”

“Right back at you, Captain,” I say with a grin.

He chuckles. “She may never say the things you want her to or be the type of mother you deserve, but that conversation seemed like a step in the right direction.”

I nod. “I think it was,” I murmur, and he kisses me again before putting the movie back on and I go back to staring at my ring.

That is, of course, until the phone rings again.

And this time it’s Mia calling.

Just like a few minutes ago, Cooper reads the screen and pauses the movie.

“News must be out, huh?” he says, nodding at my screen. “Are you going to answer that one?”

“You know, I think I will.” I shoot him a sugary sweet smile, and he gives me a warning look like I should probably play nice.

But maybe I don’t want to play nice right now.

“Hi Mia,” I answer.

“You got engaged?” Mia shrieks.

“I did, despite what your boyfriend did to try to tear us apart.”

She clears her throat. “Ahem. My ex -boyfriend.”

“You broke up with him?”

“Yeah. I’ve been such an asshole, Gabs. I’m so sorry. I stopped by your dad’s house a few days ago but nobody answered, and I’ve been wanting to reach out and call but I couldn’t work up the nerve. It had to have looked like I chose him over you, and it was never like that.”

“It was exactly like that, Mia, and it hurts that you agreed with him. I got the full-time position, and I got it on my own merits. You can believe what you want to believe, but that’s the truth.”

“I know what a hard worker you are,” she says softly. “I know you got it because you deserved it. As it turns out, I think Dylan might’ve been using me to try to get to Troy.”

I sink back into the cushion at her words.

I never thought about how being the daughter of a celebrity could affect the people around me, and I’m sure the same can be said for being engaged to a different celebrity as well. Cooper reaches over and squeezes my hand as if he has the same thought at the same time I do.

“Oh, Mia. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I was stupid and I was blind, but I hope we can find a way to get our friendship back,” she says. I can hear the emotion in her voice, and I have to admit…I miss her.

“It might take some time, but I think we can,” I say, my own voice emotional, too.

We’re both quiet a beat, and then she says, “So you’re engaged?”

I giggle. “Yeah. And knocked up.”

I think I shock her into silence for a beat, and then she squeals. “Holy shit! Congrats, girl!”

“Thank you,” I say.

We chat another few minutes, and I do feel like eventually we can get our trust in each other back, though it might take some work on both ends—work that’ll be hard with a job where I travel and eventually with a baby at home, but work I’m willing to put in if she is.

I feel like I have it all. A big circle of friends, a brand-new job, my father and my mother in my life along with a better group of future in-laws than I ever could’ve imagined, a baby on the way, and most importantly, the man sitting beside me currently lacing his fingers through mine.

When I sat down at that blackjack table on my twenty-first birthday, I never could’ve imagined the curveballs life was about to throw at me.

And I couldn’t be happier.