Cooper: Cleared to go back to work next week.

I was having so many mixed feelings about that news. On the one hand, I was thrilled. I’ve never seen anyone as focused as he’d been these last five weeks. He trained religiously and in my personal opinion, was in better shape than before he got hurt.

However, there was a selfish part of me that didn’t want to give him up. It was nice waking up every morning next to him. He would stop by my office for lunch out of the blue. Help out at the center. He’d been to every one of my doctor’s appointments and tests. I knew, as soon as he went back to playing, I’d only get a small fraction of his time.

But I couldn’t be jealous. Baseball was in his blood. He needed to be back on the field just as much as I needed to help people.

Emily: Proud of you!

I sent three hearts and a thumbs up emoji. My phone buzzed right away.

Cooper: I’m in the mood to celebrate. I have a surprise for you when you get home.

His surprises these days generally fell into one of two categories; either naughty or overly sweet and caring. So he was either planning on attacking me when I reached the door or had a bath waiting. And even though my sex drive was still off the charts, the way my back was aching right now, I kind of hoped it was the bath.

Emily: I’m on my way up right now.

Emily: I was on my feet most of the day, and I’m exhausted.

I added, just to hedge my bets.

I swiped my key fob that unlocked his floor and pushed the penthouse button. Despite being a lifelong New Yorker, I’d never once lived in an apartment. As soon as I turned eighteen, I bought my little brownstone with money from my trust. So staying with Cooper had been a new experience. I could see the appeal. The pool was a nice amenity. Especially in my current condition. And the security fobs and doorman made me feel safe. I like the neighbors and even the stuffy doorman, Calvin. He was starting to grow on me.

I wasn’t sure this was where I wanted to raise our child, but I was seriously considering his offer to move in. I was going to sell the brownstone either way. I could donate a lot of my stuff to one of my transitioning families, and figure out how to make his place feel more like home.

I unlocked the front door, but Cooper wasn’t anywhere in sight. As a matter of fact, the house was dark. It didn’t look like he was even home. I flipped on the lights, set my purse down, and headed back to the bedroom, thinking he might be there. I only made it halfway there when the front door opened.

“I didn’t realize you were already here,” Cooper called from the front of the apartment. “I ran back from the park as soon as I got your text.”

“I left a little early. It was a long day.”

When I came around the corner, I stopped, trying to figure out what I was seeing. Cooper was bent over in the entry, unhooking a leash from a big ball of fluffy white fur. The dog, at least that’s what I thought it was, shook as soon as it was free and ran off into the living room.

“What’s that?”

“That’s your surprise. I haven’t given him a name yet. I figured we could do that together.”

I stared back at Cooper, still not grasping why there was a dog doing laps around the sofa.

“I take it you’re surprised?” he said, hopefully.

“Surprised is one word. Why?”

“I’m running again, and since you don’t like to run and the guys are on the road half the time, I needed a partner. I thought a dog would be nice. Besides, our baby needs a puppy. What do you think?”

He was serious. He went out and bought a dog. The little fur ball had finally noticed me and was now sniffing around my feet. “I think we should have talked about this first. I don’t think we can juggle a puppy right now.”

His shoulders fell, and he looked as if I’d just kicked the puppy. “I thought you’d be happy. You said you’ve never had a pet before.”

“For a reason. My hours are erratic. I can be away from home for twelve or more hours.”

“I hate to break it to you, but that’s going to have to change once the baby comes.”

I crossed my arms over my stomach and glared at him. “And I told you that I wasn’t quitting my job just because I’m having a baby.”

He crossed the room, pulled me into his arms, and kissed my forehead. “I don’t want you to quit,” he said, firmly. “But things are going to be different once the little guy is here. Even with a nanny, which you haven’t started interviewing for yet, you’re going to have to balance your time. I know you. You’re going to want to go to doctors’ appointments and plan birthday parties and trips to the zoo.”

“I know that,” I said with a sigh. “Just like I know you didn’t get a dog to have a running buddy. So why did you really get a puppy?”

“I don’t want you to see me as that flaky, hot-headed baseball player you met all those months ago. I was talking with Ben yesterday, and he said I wasn’t domestic enough for you.”

“First off, that’s not how I see you. I know we had a rough start, but you’ve stepped up.” I pressed a hand against his cheek and made sure he was looking at me when I said the next words. “You don’t have to worry. I have no doubt at all that you’re going to be an amazing dad.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely.” I kissed him softly on the lips and rubbed my nose against his.

“Then why won’t you move in with me?”

“I just needed some time to think about it. That’s who I am. And now that I’ve thought it over, I think you’re right. We don’t need two houses. I’ll move in.”

He threw his arms around me, picked me up, and kissed me hard on the lips.

“I can’t believe Ben was right.”

“Did Ben really tell you the best way to get me to move in was to get a dog?” I bent down to scratch behind the ball of fluff’s ear. It was pure white with pointy ears and a little black nose. The sucker was adorable.

“He said something like that. I think his exact words were ‘show her you can take care of something besides yourself.’”

“Well, it was bad advice,” I said and picked the dog up from the floor. It proceeded to lick my face, tickling my neck with its soft fur. The stupid dog was too darn cute. “And since when did you start taking relationship advice from Ben? The man who dated his twenty-two-year-old receptionist who was embezzling funds from his company and got sued for sexual harassment after he fired her. Ben, who—according to you—only dates women with giant neon signs flashing trouble. What possessed you to listen to his advice?”

“So you don’t like the dog?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I had a hard time denying the fact that I wanted to eat up the loveable little bundle of fluff. Even the dog realized I was a softy. It yipped and licked my face again. “I don’t hate it. But you do realize that this is the worst time to get a dog. You’re going back to work. The baby is going to be here in a few months, and I’m going to have my hands full. I can’t take care of a dog, and you’re not going to be here to help.”

He waved off my concerns. “The building has a dog walking service. They’ll come walk the dog five times a day if we want. I already talked to Calvin about setting us up. Someone from the service will be by tomorrow.”

I looked down into that sweet face and just couldn’t say no. “You’re going to handle everything?”

Cooper’s face cracked into a huge smile. “Not a problem. I’m all over this.”

“Fine, we can keep him, but you have to promise to talk to me before you make any big changes. If we’re going to live together, raise our child together, we have to be a team.”

“I promise.” He took the dog out of my arms and set it down on a big plush bed I hadn’t noticed earlier. “Now, that your surprise is out of the way, let’s get back to celebrating our good news. I’m going back to work, and you’re moving in. I think that calls for a little naked celebration, don’t you?”

He started unbuttoning his shirt and stalked my direction. I took a step back and feigned a yawn. I took another step back towards the bedroom.

“I don’t know, I’m awfully tired,” I said, but had already pulled my shirt off.

He grinned wolfishly and pounced. I squealed and turned to run, but smacked into the wall. Thankfully, Cooper was right behind me and kept me from falling.

“You need to be more careful.” He swept an arm under my legs and hoisted me up. “I think our new goal should be to go more than six months without either of us ending up getting injured.”

“Deal.”

He carried me all the way back to the bedroom, and we did indeed celebrate all our good news well into the night.