Playing to Win

getting those words out.”
    “Hey, I know how to apologize when I’m wrong.”
    “Then we’re taking a step in the right direction, aren’t we?”
    “ We as in you and me, or me as in my…image?”
    She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. “I thought we already established that I wasn’t here to work tonight.”
    He leaned back in the chair and took a long swallow of beer. “So you’re here solo tonight?”
    “Yes.”
    “Dating anyone?”
    “Not at the moment.”
    “I imagine someone as beautiful as you has a pretty active social life.”
    She frowned. “Cole, you’re not by any chance hitting on me, are you?”
    He smiled at her. “Nope. Just trying to get to know you. If we’re going to work together, this should be a two-way street. I figure I should find out a little more about you, too.”
    “I don’t think that includes discovering anything about my dating life.”
    “Why not? You get to know all about mine.”
    “You don’t have one.”
    It irked him that she seemed so confident in that statement. “I could have a girlfriend.”
    “But you don’t.”
    He cocked a brow. “How do you know?”
    “That’s part of my job.”
    He leaned forward. “You know all about me, but I don’t know nearly enough about you. I’ll be more comfortable working with you if I get to know you.”
    She swirled her drink around the glass. “Nice try.”
    “So you have secrets.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “Everyone does, Savannah.”
    “I have nothing to hide. I just don’t think my personal life is any of your business.”
    He enjoyed this sassy side of her, but he wasn’t sure if she really wanted him to mind his own business, or if this was her way of coy flirting. Only one way to find out. “Now see, when you say that it makes you mysterious, like you have juicy skeletons in your closet.”
    Especially when she gave him that cold Southern stare.
    “Maybe an ex-husband, or some scandal?”
    She covered it up with a salty smile. “Remember, Cole, this is all about you. Not me.” She stood and grabbed her bag.
    “You’re leaving?”
    “Yes.”
    “Party’s not over.”
    “It is for me.”
    “So you’re a coward.”
    She stilled. “I am not.”
    “Then why are you running as soon as I try to dig into your personal life?”
    She laid her bag down on the table. “That has nothing to do with my life. I thought you were more content to avoid me tonight. Didn’t you want me out of the way?”
    “I want you out of my personal life.”
    “That’s not going to be possible. So make up your mind what you want.”
    What he wanted was her stripped naked and in his bed. He supposed that was as personal as it got. But he could also separate her from the rest of his life. If he could manage that and do what he wanted to do with her, then he’d be satisfied.
    When a slow song played, he held out his hand. “Let’s take another shot at that dance.”
    She looked up at him. “You weren’t so good at it the first time.”
    “Now I’m insulted. I need to redeem myself.” He took herhand and led her onto the dance floor, pulled her against him, and wrapped an arm firmly around her back.
    Her gaze met his, and like always when he was close to her, he breathed her in. The smell of peaches surrounded him. She felt good in his arms, like she fit. Her skin was soft, and it was a little bit perfect in the way their bodies nestled against each other. She didn’t grind against him or run her hands all over him like the girls at the club did. Instead, she let him lead, content to just “be” in his arms.
    He had to admit he liked that, too. There was no frenzy involved in this, even though he had a lot of dirty thoughts running through his head at the moment.
    “I’m being honest with you now, Savannah. I’d really like to get to know you. We spend a lot of time talking about me. Tell me about you.”
    For a flicker of a second, he saw wariness in her eyes before she masked it. “Not much to tell. I was raised in Georgia, went to school there. Right after college graduation I got my first job in PR, which evolved into my current career as an image consultant. I’ve been doing that ever since.”
    “That’s a brief bio.”
    “I’m very good at being concise. I can work with you on that. You might find it useful in interviews since you tend to run at the mouth.”
    She was good at deflecting. “I like talking about myself. Obviously more than you do, which leads me to believe you