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“Before I left, Mackenzie told me it wasn’t fair I was in contention for the job since my dad’s the manager,” I tell Cooper later that night as we sit down to dinner at my dad’s kitchen table. He’s not home, and we’re feasting on some chicken Cooper ordered in from some restaurant nearby.

“Did she say anything about Justin?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Apparently it’s different since Justin’s dad is a business manager, not the team manager.” I shrug.

“Nepotism is nepotism, right?”

I shrug. “I think only when it’s me.”

He points his fork at me. “My guess is she knows you’re hotter than her and she’s jealous.” He winks, and I laugh.

“I’m certain that’s it. Or, you know…the fact that Joanie put me on shadowing you and not her.”

“I like having you as my shadow. I don’t even know which one Mackenzie is.”

I hold up a hand. “See? My point exactly. She’s jealous I get to spend time with you, and you don’t even know who she is.”

He wiggles his eyebrows. “She’d be really jealous if she knew exactly how much time you get to spend with me.”

I giggle, and I’m about to lean in to kiss him when we both hear the front door open. My dad walks into the kitchen a few beats later.

“You two together again,” he says. “What’s going on here?”

My eyes widen as I feel very caught, but Cooper jumps in.

“We both got back from the stadium at the same time, so I ordered in.”

He studies us a beat as if he’s piecing things together, and then he grins. “What are we having?”

Relief rushes up my spine.

“Lemon chicken and veggies from Desmonds,” Cooper says.

“My favorite,” he says, and he grabs a plate and a fork without asking whether there’s enough for him. It’s a tiny bit of insight into how close Cooper and my dad actually are. You don’t do that with people who are nothing more than houseguests.

“It is pretty delicious,” I say as I take another bite. I moan a little at the taste as I close my eyes and lean my head back, and then I feel Cooper’s foot as it connects lightly with my shin.

I open my eyes and Cooper shoots me a look before he shifts in his chair.

I can’t help my small giggle, which thankfully goes unnoticed by my father.

“Coop, Mike and I are heading to Boston to talk with management there about AJ Winters and I’d like you to come along. We leave next Monday morning.”

I’m pretty sure the Mike he’s referring to is the team’s general manager.

He nods. “Of course. Let me know how many nights to pack for.”

“I’ll have Joanie send you the details,” he says.

“Joanie?” I ask, interjecting myself into their conversation.

My dad nods. “She’s not just the head of marketing, you know. She started out as my assistant and earned her newer title all on her own, but I wasn’t about to give her up as the best assistant I ever had. She still helps out, but she splits the title with Heather.”

Is he banging Heather, too?

I feel like that question would be grosser even in my own head if he’d raised me from birth rather than coming into my life when I was already an adult.

“Anyway, we’ll be gone two nights, maybe three,” he says.

My chest tightens a little as I think about three nights away from Cooper. We just got back together, and he’s already leaving.

I suppose that’s a feeling I’m going to have to get used to. My dad wasn’t lying when he said he doesn’t want me to be with a baseball player since they’re gone so much. The travel must be insane, and I’d imagine most guys don’t bring their girlfriends along for every single away game.

All the more reason to win the competition so I can interview for the social media manager job. Then I’d get to travel with the team because of my job in what I can only describe as the best-case scenario.

I can’t imagine an entire season of being away from him, but that could very well be our reality.

They chatter about AJ Winters and I’m clueless as to who he is, but I decide then and there to get to know more about the game.

And what better person to teach me than Cooper Noah?

“Who’s AJ Winters?” I ask.

They both stare at me like I have three heads.

I hold both palms face up. “What?”

“He’s only one of the best shortstops to ever play the game,” Cooper says. He glances at my father. “Are you sure you two are related?”

My dad laughs. “I’m sure. She has the DNA results to prove that.”

“I blame my evil mother. She was so hell bent on keeping me from anything baseball that I never learned a thing about it. So why would this guy leave his team to come play for you?” I ask.

Cooper fields the question even though I directed it at my dad. “Right place, right time,” he says. “Your father is a baseball legend, and his name alone will get players to the team. He’s the kind of guy who’s been around this game a long time, and from where I sit, I feel like we’re assembling a championship team right out of the gate.”

“Is that usual for these expansion teams?” I ask.

My dad shakes his head. “Typically expansion teams take a few years to get off the ground. But with Cooper on third and Brewer on first, we’ve already secured big names other guys will want to play with, and being in Vegas is a huge draw for a lot of these younger, single guys. Right, Coop?” my dad asks, elbowing Cooper in the ribs.

He clears his throat. “Damn straight. Between the women, the tables, the booze, and the fact that there’s no state income tax in Nevada, we’ve got a hell of a set up here.”

I raise a brow and purse my lips, carefully treading the line of showing my boyfriend I’m disappointed in his words while keeping my dad from sniffing around us. “Is that all Vegas is to you single guys?” I ask, clear disappointment in my tone.

“Well, no,” Cooper says. There’s a clear twinkle in his eye that tells me he’s just kidding around, but I think I can also tell he’s about to say something for my father’s benefit. And I’m not wrong. “There’s also the strip clubs, the horny bachelorettes, and the first-class entertainment.”

My dad barks out a laugh, and I want to smack Cooper for his words. I shake my head. “Freaking men,” I mutter.

My dad gives me a pointed glance. “See? Just like I was telling you the other day. Ballplayers are assholes, so you should stay far, far away.”

“You got that right.” I shoot Cooper a look.

“We’re not all assholes,” Cooper mumbles, but he keeps his eyes focused down on his plate.

My dad lets out a snort. “Yeah we are.”

“Speak for yourself, man,” Cooper shoots back.

“Look, any guy on the team will tell you ball comes first in our lives in season. Even out of season, look how much time we’re spending at the stadium. Even if you’re not an asshole, that still doesn’t mean you have time to focus on a relationship,” my dad points out. He digs into his chicken, grabbing a huge forkful and shoving it into his mouth.

“What about you and Joanie?” I ask.

“That’s different,” my dad says around the chicken in his mouth, and I narrow my eyes as if to ask how it’s different for them. “For one, she puts up with a lot of shit from me. And for another, I wasn’t in season when we got together. I started as an assistant coach when I retired, but then I moved into the front office with the Rockies. I did a lot of that remotely from here in Vegas as I started investing both time and money in other ventures. We grew close because I was out of the game, not in spite of it.”

“So you’re telling me not one single baseball player has ever had a successful relationship during the season?” I ask. That simply can’t be true.

My dad shakes his head. “No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying it’s hard. It’s a lot of time away, and it’s difficult to build a relationship with someone you never get to see. Which is why Coop here is swearing off women for the next three years, right, man?”

It’s Cooper’s turn to offer a snort, and I can’t help a small giggle at that.

“I was just telling Gabriella the other day that she deserves so much better than what a ballplayer could offer her. Don’t you think?” he asks Cooper.

Cooper nods. “Absolutely,” he says a little absently, avoiding eye contact with me.

What my dad doesn’t know won’t hurt him, but it’s clear he really believes in the things he’s trying to sell us. I’m just starting to worry he’s selling Cooper on the idea, too…and that’s a little concerning given how strongly I feel for him.