Page 16 of Her Coach

“The hard part isn’t the losing,” she said after a while. “It’s that life just keeps going. Like it doesn’t even notice.”

I looked at her then. Really looked. “Yeah,” I said. “That’s exactly it.”

Even with the pity in her voice, my name on her lips made my heart thud against my chest.

I sat with that for a second. One conversation. She was the owner’s daughter, she was a decade younger than me, and she was exactly the kind of woman who made men like me make exactly the kinds of decisions that ended careers. I already knew she wasn’t someone I could push away and leave alone. That was the whole goddamn problem.

I needed someone like Victoria. Not someone like Brynn.

Shit.

I’m so fucking screwed.

And I hoped to hell on high, it was by her.

6

BRYNN

“Hey, hey, hey,” I said with a smile as one of my regulars bellied up to the bar. “What’s it gonna be, Mikey?”

He waved his hand dismissively in the air before raking it through his thinning blond hair. “Just the usual. But make it a double.”

“Oof,” I said as I grabbed a bourbon glass, “that bad, huh?”

He groaned. “Rejected. Again.”

My heart went out to him, truly. “They turned your book down again?”

He slid his hand down his face before propping his elbows against the bar. “That’s the third one this week alone.”

“Don’t tell me you’re keeping score,” I said as I placed a round ball of ice into the glass.

He eyed it. “You’re doubling it, right?”

I grinned. “Sure you don’t wanna triple it?”

He considered the offer for a second. “Nah, I’ll just have another one if I need it.”

“You got a ride home?”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “No. I’m just gonna mow down half the city before I try to get home. Yes, of course, I have a Lyft scheduled.”

I nodded before pouring the healthy helping of bourbon into the glass. It was the only one we had in stock, and we kept it in stock specifically for Mikey. It was the only thing he drank, so my boss made sure to always order a bottle every month just to keep it in stock.

I guess we’re all family at the The Hideout like that.

“Well,” I said as I placed his double bourbon on the bar in front of him, “don’t stop trying, all right? I told you, I’ve done extensive research into the traditional publishing industry. I wouldn’t be shocked if you got a dozen or two more rejections before someone finally snatches up your book. Sometimes, you just have to hit those editors at the right time.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “A dozen or two more times? I’ve already had seven rejections.”

I snickered as I wiped down the bar. “Well, my best friend? Dani? The one I talk about sometimes?”

“Sometimes?” he asked as he picked up his glass and took a long pull. “More like, all the time.”

I pinned him with a cheeky look. “Anyway, Dani’s an editor, and she’s rejected seven manuscripts just this week. Rejection is part of the game.”

His eyes twinkled. “She’s an editor, you say?”