Playing to Win

leaned against the center island.
    “What are you hungry for?” she asked.
    He leaned across the other side and brushed his lips across hers. “You.”
    She kissed him back, her lips warm and eager. But then his stomach grumbled and she pulled back, laughing.
    “As much as I like that suggestion, let’s feed you first.”
    She made grilled turkey sandwiches with salad. He ate two sandwiches, drank two more glasses of water, and ate three cookies for dessert.
    “Are you sure you’ve had enough?” she asked, arching a brow.
    “Hey, I worked hard today.”
    “I pity the poor woman who marries you and has to feed you.”
    His stomach twisted at that comment, but he left it alone. “My mom said the same thing when I was a teenager.”
    “I’m sure she did.”
    They cleaned up the dishes and went into the living room. He stretched out on the sofa and slung his arm over the back. Savannah curled up next to him. He liked that she was comfortable enough, even when they were about to discuss business, to sit by him.
    “So what did you want to talk about?”
    She shifted to face him. “We’ve talked about your contributions to charity in the past.”
    “Yeah.”
    “A lot of players start their own charities. I think this would be a good idea for you, not only from an image standpoint, but more important, from a humanitarian one.”
    “I’ve never done it before because I wasn’t in a place that felt like home to me. Now that I am home, this is a good place to begin one.”
    She half turned to face him, a look of surprise on her face. “What? No arguing?”
    “I know. Surprise, huh?”
    She grinned. “Totally shocked, actually.”
    “Smart-ass.”
    “But seriously, I’m glad you agree with me. Is there anything that comes to mind?”
    It was something he’d already been thinking about, so he already had a half-formed idea in his head. “When I was a kid, I lived at the local parks. My friends and I would hang out on the equipment, or play basketball or football. A lot of the playgrounds aroundhere need refurbishing. Cities don’t have the money in their budgets to spend on parks and recreation anymore, and kids don’t have places to go. When they don’t have a place to hang out and have fun, they get in trouble.”
    “That’s very true. So what’s your idea?”
    “I want to refurbish some existing playgrounds and build some community centers where kids have a safe place to hang out and play sports.”
    “You’re talking a lot of money.”
    He shrugged. “I have a lot of money. I’ve been in the league for a while now. I’m single and I’ve been investing. I’ve got money to put into this.”
    She laid her hand on his arm and gave him a smile that warmed him from the inside out. “I love this idea. This is a such a worthwhile investment, Cole.”
    “For my image, you mean.”
    “No. For you. For the kids of the communities you’re going to help.”
    “Good. Let’s get it started. I want to be as hands-on with it as I can. I know with the season about to start I’ll be busy a lot, but I don’t want to staff all of it out.”
    “You don’t have to. A lot of it will be hands-on building and rebuilding. You can be involved in that, and get your family and friends to participate. The more volunteers we have on these projects, the better.”
    “I know my family would love to get involved. Some of the guys on the team will, too.”
    “I’ll get in touch with an attorney who’ll help start the foundation paperwork so you can get the money funneled into it. In the meantime, we can go search for parks and locations.”
    He stood. “Let’s go.”
    “Where?”
    “To look at locations.”
    “Now?”
    “Yeah.”
    She laughed. “You’re excited about this.”
    “Shouldn’t I be?”
    She stood and slipped her hand in his. “Yes, you should be. You should be very excited about it. But the Cole Riley I met the first day wouldn’t have been.”
    He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “That guy doesn’t exist anymore.”
    SAVANNAH STOOD IN A FORMER PLAYGROUND IN South City overgrown with weeds and debris. Equipment—at least the equipment that still stood—was broken and long ago rusted.
    Kids ran up and down the neighborhood, and some ran through the playground, but none stopped to play. Then again, why should they? There was nothing to play on. No swing sets, no basketball nets, and the grass had long ago stopped growing.
    It made her sad, but also hopeful, because she saw