“So why did you do it?”

“Because I was in love with him.”

“Oh.”

Liz laughed. “My situation is a little different. I had been in love with Gavin for years before we ever got together. My head and my heart weren’t in sync. Logically, I knew that getting involved with him could be a career ender for me, especially right after that debacle with Mick. But my heart wanted him. And once we got together, there was no going back for me.”

“So you risked it all for him.”

“I guess I did.”

“I don’t understand that. I guess maybe because I never had a role model to show me that great kind of love.”

“Honey, neither did I. Well, that’s not true. I had Gavin’s family, his parents. I’ve never known two people who were more in love. They’re the best role models for a lasting relationship. Being around them for years showed me that if you want something badly enough, you make it work, no matter the obstacles.”

“But you’re not using your parents as role models.”

Liz snorted. “My parents were the worst role models for anything. Love, relationship, parenting. I couldn’t get away from them fast enough.”

A kindred spirit. “Yet look how you turned out. A smart, strong, capable career woman.”

“Thank you. And so are you.”

“Despite no role model of my own.”

Liz frowned and squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine how much that hurt. I had a shitty childhood and lousy parents, but at least I had parents. No comparison.”

Savannah shrugged. “I got through it. Like you, I learned to rely on myself. Put myself through school and everything.”

“Then let me return the compliment. Look at you now. A smart, strong, capable career woman. You did that all yourself.”

“I appreciate that. Sometimes a woman needs a boost, especially when she’s out there all alone.”

“But you don’t have to do this alone. You have friends like me. And you have Cole—or you can have him, if you allow yourself.”

She shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t jeopardize my career for a man—for anyone. My mother gave everything she had for men, drugs, and alcohol, and I watched what they did to her, what she did to herself. She lost herself and she gave up everything that was important. I refuse to ever give up any part of myself. My career satisfies me.”

Liz nodded. “I understand. The past is sometimes hard to let go of. But you do realize that you can’t blame Cole for the sins your mother committed. And you’re nothing like her.”

She nodded. “I know. I’m not weak like she was. I’m strong. But look how easily he distracts me. That scares me.”

“Love is a damned frightening thing, Savannah.”

Her eyes widened. “Love? Who said anything about love? I’m not in love with him. It’s just sex. Mercy, that’s frightening enough.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Are you sure you’re not selling yourself short by not giving you and Cole a chance?”

“A chance at what?”

“At having…something.”

She looked out over the field, her gaze instantly landing on Cole, her body warming just looking at him.

“It’s just physical. It’s not love.”

“He scares you,” Liz said.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

FIFTEEN

TWO GAMES DOWN IN THE PRESEASON AND COLE thought they were doing pretty good. They’d won the first, lost the second by only one point, but Cole hadn’t pissed off the media or gotten into a fight with his coach or any of his teammates.

He’d gotten the ball regularly during the first half of the games when the first string played. He was getting plenty of play time, just the way he liked it. Things were syncing with his team.

So far, so good.

He met with Savannah regularly, which he liked, though she was doing a damn good job maintaining her distance on a personal level.

That part he didn’t like, but he was laying back and giving her space.

He wasn’t about to give up, though. He wanted her, and he saw her looking at him when she didn’t think he could see her. She wasn’t giving him just business looks, either. When she thought he didn’t notice, he caught her looks of hunger, of desire.

So why was she denying herself?

It was midweek and they’d just finished practice. He’d stepped out of the locker room after he’d showered and packed up to find Savannah waiting for him.

“Okay, the party planning is going well,” she said.

He frowned.

“Party. Your place. I know we pushed it back a week. But it’s on for tonight.”

“Oh, yeah. That.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. That. Invites were sent out. Teammates and wives and girlfriends and coaches.”

“Okay.”

“I have someone coming over at four to clean your place, and the caterers will be there at five. Can you let them in, or give me a key? Or maybe I can just follow you home. I have my clothes with me.”

She was acting so formal, like she needed to ask permission to be at his house. “Peaches. Come home with me. It’s fine.”

She nodded. “All right.”

She followed him to his place. Once there, she was a whirlwind of activity. The cleaning crew came in and suddenly it was all dusting and vacuuming and bathroom cleaning. Once the caterers showed up, he didn’t have a spare second to even talk to Savannah, because she was directing setup.

He did his best to stay the hell out of everyone’s way while they transformed his place. He decided to go out back with a beer and took a seat, enjoying the quiet. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He must have fallen asleep because Savannah poked him.

“What are you doing?”

He looked up at her. “Drinking a beer.”

“You need to go inside and get ready.”

She had changed into a dress. A pretty sexy one. It was blue. Simple. Sleeveless. Clung to her. She looked hot.

“What time is it?”

“Six. Party starts at seven.”

His lips lifted. “It doesn’t take me an hour to get ready.”

“No, but some people might arrive early. Go.”

This was her deal, not his, so he might as well not add to her stress since she already looked like she might start pulling her well-put-together hair out any second. He got up. “Yes, ma’am.”

He showered, shaved, and changed clothes, then came back into the living room. Savannah was arranging cups of nuts or something on a table.

It didn’t even look like his house anymore. They’d rearranged the furniture, which, according to Savannah, would make for more mingling space and had made room for the caterers to bring in tables to lay out the food. The bar was set up. Everything looked ready to him.

Whatever stress Savannah had seemed to have disappeared. She was relaxed and smiling as she came over to him and tilted her head back.

“You look nice.”

“So do you.” He took a step forward. She took one back, obviously trying to maintain professional distance. He grasped her wrist, felt the fast thump of her pulse as he rubbed his thumb over her skin.

“Nervous about the party?”

Her gaze met his. “A little. I want it to go well for you.”

“It’s just the guys from the team, Peaches. Don’t sweat it.”

“But you don’t like entertaining here and I know I forced you into this. I don’t want you to be stressed over it.”

He laughed. “I’m not the one who’s stressed. You’re flitting around here like freakin’ Tinker Bell. Maybe you need a drink to calm down.”

“I’m fine. Not worried at all. This is what I do.”

He ran his hand up her arm. “Then maybe it’s something else that has your pulse racing.”

Her eyes widened and she pulled her arm away. “No, it’s nothing else.”

“You can’t keep running away from me. From us.”

The doorbell rang and she offered up a smile. “Yes, I can.”

Two of his offensive linemen were at the door along with a girlfriend and a wife. They made a beeline for the snacks, claiming that, after today’s workout, they were starving. Savannah played hostess and greeted everyone while Cole held down bartender duties.

Within an hour his place was crowded with people. He was actually surprised that nearly his entire offense showed up. So did the coach, though he assumed Coach showed up to make sure his guys didn’t get wasted, since they had practice tomorrow and a game this weekend. The only people drinking hard liquor or mixed drinks were some of the women. A few of the guys had a beer or two, but mostly stuck to water or soda. They all knew what practicing with a hangover was like—it was unpleasant, especially if the coaches knew you were hung over. They’d make your day a living hell.

Cole found himself huddled with Lon and Jamarcus. Kenny had made friends with a couple other rookies, so he hung out with them.

“Your assistant do all this?” Lon asked.

Cole searched the room and found Savannah talking to a few of the women, encouraging them to come to the food table to get something to eat.

“She did.”

Savannah caught his gaze and blushed, then smiled.

Jamarcus’s girlfriend, Tanya, came up and slid her arm around him. “This is very nice of you, Cole. Thank you for inviting us.”

“Thanks for coming.”

“And Savannah is so sweet. We’re both from Georgia, so we’ve been catching up. Makes me miss home.” She looked at Jamarcus. “We need to go to my mama’s house for Christmas.”

Jamarcus laughed. “Whatever you want, baby.”

Savannah saw them looking her way, so she came over. “How is it going? Can I get you anything?”

“We’re great, honey. You should take a break and enjoy some time with your man,” Tanya said.

Cole fought a smirk as Savannah cast a worried look in his direction. “Oh, we’re not together. I just work for him.”

He loved when she blushed like that. He loved seeing her entire body cast in that pretty pink shade when he made her come.

His dick twitched just thinking about getting her na**d and making her squirm under his tongue.

When she met his gaze, he knew she knew what he was thinking about. She cast him a warning gaze, then turned to his friends.

“If you’re all okay, I’ll see if anyone needs anything. Excuse me.”

She wandered off.

“Wow.”

Cole turned to Tanya. “What?”

“I don’t mean to be gossipy, because that’s not in my nature, but there were some serious fireworks exploding between you and Savannah.”

He grinned. “You think so?”

“I know so. Don’t you think so, too, Jamarcus?”

Jamarcus looked at Cole, then back at Tanya. “No comment. I’m not getting my ass kicked over that one.”

Cole laughed and clapped Jamarcus on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, man. Tanya is right. There’s something going on. I just don’t know what it is yet.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, she’s beautiful. Nice, polite, and friendly. If I were you I’d grab her and never let her go.”

“I agree,” Tanya said. “If you don’t, someone else will snatch her up and you’ll regret not taking the chance.”

They were probably right. But it was difficult when the object you were chasing was doing her best to avoid getting caught.

SAVANNAH WAS SO PLEASED. THE PARTY WAS FANTASTIC. Cole had spent the majority of the night hanging out with Jamarcus and Lon and mingling with his offensive line. He’d had some major one-on-one time with Grant Cassidy, the Traders’ quarterback. The two of them had huddled in the corner, having an intense conversation. When she’d inched over to eavesdrop to make sure they weren’t simply talking about women or sports cars or something else innocuous, she heard them dissecting plays.

Perfect. It had gone much better than she’d hoped. He was bonding with his teammates, who all seemed to be having a great time. Cole was even talking with the coach, who had come up to her and told her that Cole’s performance and behavior was better than he expected—so far.

She had hope. Of course, it was still only preseason, but she intended to take this one step at a time. Entrenching him with the team was a giant first step. Once they all had one another’s back, she’d concentrate on his personal image. Team play was vital, though, and this was an important night.

Everyone started to filter out by eleven thirty or so, since they all had practice in the morning, and under the coach’s watchful eye, no one wanted to party too hard. She hadn’t intended for this to be a raucous night of debauchery, anyway. Just a night of food and drink and a chance for Cole to feel more like part of the team.

After the last player left, the caterers came in and cleaned everything up. Savannah and Cole helped them carry the platters and tables out to their van, the furniture was restored to its rightful place, and his condo looked like it had before the party. The van drove off and she went into the closet for his vacuum.

“What are you doing?” Cole laid his hand on her wrist.

“Finishing the cleanup.”

“I have a service that does that.”

“I told you I’d take care of everything.”

“You’re dressed way too nice to act as maid service. Though the mental visual of you in a short little maid’s uniform…”