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“Serg, please,” Camilla exclaimed, throwing Cole an exasperated look.
Cole was used to drama from his family. He’d had a lifetime of it.
“You fought hard to get the contract to build the Pershing gym, and now you’re planning to sell the company?” Serg asked accusingly. “I was starting to think you had my competitive business instincts.”
Cole was ready. “I do, and that’s why I believe selling the company is the best thing.”
“Camilla, bring me my meds,” Serg instructed at the same time that he waved Cole away. “I need to rest.”
“The offer is a good one,” Cole said again, and then stood because he’d known before he’d arrived that he needed to let Serg get used to the idea. “Let me know when you’re ready to hear more of the particulars.”
One meeting down, one to go. On the way out the door, Cole texted Marisa to meet him at the Puck & Shoot after work...
Eleven
When Marisa walked into the Puck & Shoot, she was nervous. Cole had asked her to meet him, and she knew she needed to mention Sal’s visit.
She slipped into the booth and sat opposite from Cole, not giving him a chance to rise at her entrance. A waitress appeared, and at Cole’s inquiring look, she ordered a light beer.
Cole’s cell phone buzzed, and she was saved from having to say anything more. Apologizing for having to take a work call, he stood up and walked a few feet away.
The last time she and Cole had been at the Puck & Shoot, she’d thrown herself at him when Sal and Vicki had appeared, and their charade as a couple had started. How fitting would it be if they buried their faux relationship here, as well?
When the waitress returned and set her drink before her, Marisa took a swallow. She was nervous, and she sensed something was up with Cole, too.
Cole slipped back into the booth, pocketing his phone.
Marisa felt her pulse pick up. She wanted to slide into the booth beside him, sit in his lap, twine her arms around his neck and brush his lips with hers. But she no longer knew whether she was allowed to. She didn’t know where they stood. Neither of them had talked about anything substantial since the end of the fund-raiser days ago.
As if reading her mind, Cole stared at her intently. “We’ve done a good job pretending to be a couple.”
“Yes.” It was the pretend part that she’d had trouble with.
“I’ve been offered a coaching job with a hockey team in Madison, Wisconsin.”
Marisa’s heart plummeted.
Cole, however, looked pleased. Could their relationship—okay, their pretending—have meant so little to him? She wondered why he’d brought up the coaching job right after mentioning their charade. It seemed like a non sequitur...unless this was Cole’s way of breaking things off? It’s been good, but now I’m moving on, sweet pea?
“Sal wants to get back together,” she blurted.
She knew it was a defensive move, but she couldn’t help herself. Cole hadn’t said he was taking the job in Wisconsin, but...he seemed happy. And he knew she was tied to Welsdale and her job at Pershing School—not that he’d said anything about having her move with him.
Her mind was racing, but she just couldn’t bear to hear the words it’s over, baby. She’d been dumped by Sal and had survived, but she wasn’t sure she could pick up the pieces after Cole. He meant too much. Still, she couldn’t blame Cole for leaving. The fund-raiser was finished, and she’d been the one to insist their pretend relationship would end with it.
Cole blinked, and then his face tightened. “Don’t tell me you’re considering giving that jerk a second chance.”
No, but right now she needed her walls up where Cole was concerned. She had to keep him at a distance. She’d fallen in love with him, but he’d never given any indication that he felt the same way about her. In fact, he was leaving.
Cole nodded curtly. “If you go back to Sal, you’ll be playing it safe.”
“I’m a teacher. It’s a nice, safe profession.”
He leaned forward. “If you think you’re not passionate and daring, you’re wrong, sweet pea. I can tell after our time together.”
She wasn’t passionate, she was greedy. She wanted it all, including Cole’s unwavering love and attention. But Cole had never shown any inclination of settling down, and as far as she could tell, he wasn’t starting now. “You’re passionate about hockey. You should pursue the dream.”
It hurt to say the words. She felt a heavy weight lodge in her heart. But if there was one thing she’d learned from the past, it was that it was futile to stand in the way of dreams.
