Playing to Win

took him to her car and drove him a couple blocks to a restaurant. They got a booth in the bar and ordered drinks.
    “So you’ve talked to her?” he asked as soon as they got their drinks.
    “What the hell’s the mater with you?” she asked.
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “I’m not supposed to be talking to you at all. I promised Savannah I wouldn’t. But it’s obvious you need some coaching in how to talk to women.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Seems to me I was doing just fine without your help.”
    “You asked her to move in with you.”
    “She told you that?”
    “Yes. And how did you ask her?”
    He frowned. “What?”
    “Did you tell her how you felt about her?”
    “What? I don’t remember exactly what I said.”
    “From what I gathered, it was like inviting one of your fraternity brothers to be your roomie.”
    He stared at her. “It wasn’t like that at all.”
    “Wasn’t it?” She stirred her drink. “Maybe you should think on it and reevaluate how you feel about her.”
    “I know how I feel about her.”
    “Really? How?”
    “I—” He frowned again. “None of your goddamned business. That’s between me and Savannah.”
    “Have you told her how you feel?”
    “Well…” He thought on it, thought about what he’d said that night. About how they were compatible. How he liked her. He hadn’t been able to get the words out. Not about how he really felt about her. They’d stuck in his throat.
    How that must have sounded to her. “Shit.”
    “Exactly.”
    “I thought she knew how I felt.”
    “And she would know this, how?”
    He dragged his fingers through his hair. “Fuck.”
    “She told you about her childhood, didn’t she?”
    “Yeah. And the thing that scares her the most is someone not being there for her. Someone not loving her.”
    “Now you’re beginning to see the light. There may be hope for you yet, dumbass.”
    He paid the bill and they got up to leave.
    He went over to Liz and took her hand.
    “Thanks. I needed to hear this. Now I have to find her and tell her how I feel. I love her, Liz.”
    “Oh, you prick. You’re going to make me all teary-eyed, and I’m not wearing waterproof mascara.”
    He laughed. “Sorry.”
    “I’ll drive you back. Now go make it all better for your girl.”



TWENTY-TWO

    SAVANNAH HAD PUT IT OFF LONG ENOUGH. SHE HAD never been a coward and she wasn’t going to be one now. She had to talk to Cole and tell him how she felt. He’d made the first move and had suggested they move in together. So he hadn’t given her the whole I-love-you hearts-and-flowers spiel. So what?
    And what had she done? She’d focused on what he hadn’t done, instead of what he had done. He’d made an amazing step toward a committed relationship. She’d been the one to fumble the ball. She was supposed to be the one with the amazing communication skills. Instead of opening up and talking about things, she’d gotten all emotional, closed up, and thrown him out.
    Now she had to fix it.
    If he didn’t want to move forward with her after that, so be it. At least she would have put her cards on the table. She could walk away with a clear heart then.
    She was going to invite him over tonight. She knew he hadpractice earlier today, but as far as she knew he had nothing on his schedule tonight.
    She’d lain low for a week now, not answering his calls, too afraid to talk to him or see him, too afraid he might not feel the same way she did.
    But she missed him. And she had to know. One way or the other, she had to know.
    She picked up her phone, stared at it, formulated in her mind what she would say.
    Failure wasn’t something she had much experience with, except on the other side, where she coached her clients. She’d coached many of them through failure, taught them to come out stronger because of it. To be on this side of it was humbling. It hurt to fail, made her want to curl up in a ball and not try again. She’d worked so hard her entire life to be a success, and she had been. She hadn’t stumbled—not even once. She’d set goals for herself and she’d met every one of them, because she was determined to go it on her own and never have to depend on anyone again.
    But she had depended on someone—Cole. She’d put her heart in his hands and he’d disappointed her.
    That’s what humans did. They tried, but they often disappointed those they loved the most. She’d learned that with her mother, which was why she’d