Playing to Win

as the remnants of love and family surrounded her.
    Speaking of family…She searched the darkened ballroom. She spotted Cole, standing next to a couple who must be his parents.
    He’d been avoiding her and she knew why. She stood and headed toward him. His back was to her as he stood with his mother and father and a stunning brunette who looked to be a few years younger than him.
    “Hello, Cole.”
    He turned and looked decidedly unhappy.
    His parents smiled at her, then looked expectantly at Cole.
    “This is Savannah Brooks. She works for the team, and with me. Savannah, these are my parents, Jack and Cara Riley, and my sister, Alicia.”
    Savannah shook their hands. “It’s very nice to meet all of you.”
    “Nice to meet you, too, Savannah,” Cara said. “What exactly do you do for the Traders?”
    “Public relations.”
    Cole rolled his eyes at her.
    “Oh. That’s nice. So you’ll be working on some things with Cole.”
    “Yes, I will. Since he’s new to the team, it’s my job to work closely with him, get him acclimated to the team, associate his image with the Traders.”
    “Good deal,” Jack said. “He’s a great player, and we’re happy as hell to have him playing for the home team now.”
    “I’m sure you are. The team is very happy to have him.”
    His mother put her arm around Cole’s waist. “We’ve missed him since he started playing football. He travels so much and is rarely home except in the off-season. It’ll be nice to have him around for family dinners. You should come, too, Savannah.”
    “No.”
    Everyone looked at Cole.
    “Cole, that was impolite.”
    “Sorry. But you know how I feel about work and home life mixing.”
    She smacked her son on the arm. “And you know how I feel about you being rude and obnoxious.” She turned to Savannah. “Since the season hasn’t started yet, do come. Sunday dinner is at five o’clock.”
    Cole would hate that. What a perfect opportunity to get to know him better through his family. “Thank you for the invitation. I’d love to.”
    She could feel Cole’s gaze on her, but decided to ignore him. Instead, she turned to his sister. “Alicia, what do you do?”
    “I’m in sports medicine. I’m working with the St. Louis Rivers baseball team. It’s a relatively new position for me, so I’m very excited.”
    “Oh, what an excellent field.”
    “We’re so proud,” Cara said, obviously beaming with pride.
    “It’s a great career,” Alicia said with a grin. “Fortunately, my family has always been filled with jocks for me to experiment on.”
    Savannah laughed. “I’m sure that’s true. And the Rivers. What an amazing team. Congratulations.”
    “Thank you. I’m thrilled to work with them. They have an excellent team of doctors and therapists.”
    “And athletes,” Savannah added. “They’re lucky to have you. I’d love to know more about what you’re going to be doing for them. Sports medicine is such an interesting field.”
    “Let’s dance.” Cole grasped her arm.
    She tore her gaze away from Alicia. “What?”
    “Dance. Music. Dance floor.”
    “Oh. Sure.” She looked at his parents and sister. “Excuse me. It was lovely meeting all of you.”
    She knew what he was doing. She could have said no to the dance, but that would have been impolite, and he was doing a fine job of that, so she didn’t want to add to it.
    He swept her against him—tight. “What are you doing here?”
    “I was invited.”
    “You didn’t mention that the other day.”
    She shrugged. “You just assumed I wasn’t going to be here.”
    “And so you finagled an invitation from Elizabeth.”
    She sighed. “I’ve known Elizabeth for five years. She and I have become friends. She invited me to her wedding. Would you like me to dance you over to her so she can confirm that?”
    “No.”
    His body was tense as they swayed to the music.
    “What was that all about with my parents and sister?”
    She lifted her gaze to his. “I introduced myself to your family.”
    “And I said no.”
    “It would have been inappropriate for me to ignore you. We work together.”
    “No one needed to know that.”
    “You hardly need to shove me in a closet, Cole.”
    He lifted his head and looked around. She squeezed his hand to grab his attention. “What you and I do together is between us. I didn’t say anything to your family that you need to worry about.”
    He gave her a terse nod.
    “Though I don’t think you need to be ashamed