Playing to Win

at than the aforementioned shopping centers and lights.
    “So, you haven’t bought a house?” she asked after he drove a few miles and pulled into a condominium complex and parked.
    He got out and grabbed her stuff, then helped her out of the car.
    “No. I’m single, have no pets, and who knows if I’ll end up being traded again. No sense in putting down money on property right now until I see if it works out with the Traders.”
    She followed him to his front door and waited while he unlocked it. “That makes sense. Though with your income, I would imagine you’d need some tax breaks.”
    He looked at her and smiled. “I have investments.”
    “Good to know.”
    He opened the door and turned on the lights. She stepped into a place she hadn’t expected. Definitely a bachelor pad, decorated with a lot of black and chrome, with a huge flat-screen television mounted on the wall, along with multiple game equipment. But it was neat and tidy, with leather couches and stellar décor, from lamps to tables and even a few throw pillows and accent rugs.
    “This is very nice. You decorate it yourself?”
    “Thanks. And no, I don’t have decorating talent. But I do have a sister. She did it for me.”
    She followed him down the hall and into one of the bedrooms—she counted three. The master was huge, with a king-size bed, two dressers, and an enviable closet. This place might have more square footage than her house.
    The bed had a light brown comforter and about nine pillows, which made her want to dive in and make herself at home.
    “I’ll just lay this stuff on the bed. You can change before we go out.”
    “That’ll be fine. Thanks.”
    He led her into the living room, then turned. “Would you like a drink?”
    “Sparkling water if you have it. If not, plain water is fine.”
    “Sparkling it is.”
    She took a seat on the sofa. “You keep your bar well stocked?”
    “Yeah. For all those wild parties I throw.”
    She cocked a brow, trying to determine if he was serious or not. “Seems to me you do plenty of public partying.”
    He brought her the glass. “I don’t throw wild parties here. The last thing I want is to have a bunch of people at my place trashing it.”
    “So you were joking.”
    He sat on the loveseat across from the sofa. “You need to work on your sense of humor, Savannah.”
    She bristled. “I have a sense of humor.”
    “Do you?” He smiled behind his glass.
    She decided at that moment that he was mean and she’d no longer have fantasies about him. She was cured.
    “So, now what do you do with the rest of your day?”
    “Since it’s before the season starts, I might play some video games until it’s time to go out.”
    She grabbed her phone. “Too early to go out. So you’ll just hang out and play games?”
    He reached over and took a binder from the coffee table. “No. Since I’m with a new team this year I have to learn the playbook. I need to study.”
    She gave him a critical look. “Really.”
    “Yeah, really. You don’t walk onto the field knowing every play. But if you’d rather play some games…”
    “No, by all means. Do whatever it is you do. I have work of my own to do. I won’t get in your way.”
    He opened the binder and started reading. She got out her phone and checked her email. After answering several, she pulledout her laptop, typed up some reports and made a few notes. She looked up occasionally to find Cole’s brows furrowed in concentration. He didn’t deviate as he went over page after page of the playbook. Not once, but three times.
    She gave him credit for being thorough.
    “How long does it take to learn the playbook?” she asked.
    He didn’t look up at her. “A while. I need to know every play.”
    “And there are a lot.”
    He finally glanced up at her. “Yeah.”
    She laid her work down next to her. “You work hard at your job.”
    “Yes.”
    “You want to be appreciated for what you do.”
    “On the field. Not off.”
    “Then why is so much attention paid to what you do off the field?”
    He laid the book down and focused on her. “Wish I knew the answer to that.”
    Interesting. She sensed the frustration in his voice. Maybe there was more to Cole than she thought. But that remained to be seen. They were only in the beginning stages. He was charming, no doubt. Polite enough, but he obviously had serious issues with his temper. She’d glimpsed that earlier, and she barely knew him.
    But she knew enough that she wanted