The Practice Proposal

by Tracy March

  Mack nodded. “You could say that.” He put the truck in gear and headed toward DC. Cole pulled out his phone and speed-dialed Frank.

  “Evenin’, Cole,” Frank answered, sounding wide-awake even though it was past midnight. “How’d it go, son?”

  Cole took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I think we’re gonna need a plan B.”

  Chapter Five

  Liza pushed herself harder on her Saturday morning run, letting a little angst over her job fuel her energy and distract her from thinking about last night’s date with Cole—which was pretty much all she’d thought about since. Everyone had such high hopes for it, and she had to admit she’d had a little hope too, although she wasn’t sure for what. Certainly not for that crazy proposal stunt Cole had pulled.

  Think about work… Think about work… She kept a steady pace alongside Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, excited about the plans she was making for the BADD camps next year. She loved that part of her job. But the foundation was small and depended on “collective development,” a fancy way of saying that most of the management-level employees had to meet an annual fund-raising goal. And Liza had missed hers by several thousand dollars last year.

  The economy wasn’t rosy, and her donors had been maxed out. She’d gotten dinged in her performance appraisal despite the outstanding job she did otherwise. When her mom found out Liza had come up short on her goal and not asked for money, things had gotten pretty tense. But Liza would rather fail on her own than be propped up by her parents. And failure was likely to happen, since it was already September, and she was nowhere near on target for this year’s goal.

  She did pretty well recruiting the pro players to teach at the camps, and that probably counted for something. But raising money? Outside of the donors she already had, who could she ask that her parents hadn’t hit up already?

  At the end of her fourth mile, Liza slowed to a walk, shifting her thoughts from work to Wes. Breathing hard, she swept her hand across her sweaty forehead and wiped it on her shirt. Wes would be proud that she now could run four miles without nearly passing out. They’d been training before he died, hoping to run a half marathon together someday. She’d done a couple of 5Ks in memory of him, but she wasn’t sure about ever finishing a half marathon. A welcome cool breeze blew in from the harbor, smelling briny and carrying a hint of autumn. Another season without him.

  She was amazed how life had gone on, as if the world hadn’t noticed he was missing. But she noticed every day. When she heard something funny that she knew would make him laugh. When she got a text, and for a blissful moment thought it might be from him. When she went to bed at night and longed to have him there beside her…

  She found an empty bench near the harbor and slumped down on one end of it, still a little out of breath. The bench was cool against the backs of her legs, but the sun warmed her face and danced over the harbor’s wavering surface. She took a slug of water from the bottle she’d brought along as several pigeons cluttered around, hoping to get fed.

  Her thoughts circled back to Cole again. He’d been way more down-to-earth than she’d expected him to be, and even sexier than she’d imagined. She shivered, recalling the whisper of his breath in her ear, the touch of his perfect lips to her palm. Those could’ve been playboy moves, but the lost look in his eyes when he talked about his grandma had been totally real. Even so, he’d taken things too far with his ruse to the reporters. But he had seemed genuinely sorry, and he’d even sent her a tweet last night after he’d left.

  Cole Collins @ColeCollins

  @LizaSutherland No threat of fiery hot dogs at Nats park. Leaving tix at Will Call. Surprise date after the game? #youwillneverguess

  He hadn’t given up, and it made her happy for him to publicly ask her on a real date, even though it was hard to believe. Yet she hadn’t responded. She wasn’t up for the drama—at least that’s what she told herself. Now she could stop worrying about how the date would go and get back to her life. Baseball games, BADD camps, Wes…

  A large, middle-aged man dressed in a red wind shirt ambled over and sat at the other end of the bench. She glanced at him quickly and nodded. He looked like an average weekend-morning bench-sitter with a newspaper tucked under his arm and a venti Starbucks cup that looked like a tall in his hand. His hairline was quickly receding from a heavy-featured face. She vaguely recognized him, but she couldn’t figure from where. Ex-athlete maybe, from back in her dad’s era?

  “Good morning, Miss Sutherland,” he said pleasantly.

  So she must have met him before. Lots of people knew of her because of her parents and because of her job. People she might not recognize right away, if at all.

  “Have we met?” she asked.

  “Frank Price.” He laid the newspaper on the bench and offered one of his beefy hands.

  The legendary sports agent? No wonder he looked familiar. He represented at least one Oriole player that Liza knew of, and lots of other big-name athletes.

  “I know your folks,” he said, “and I’ve seen you around with them. But I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meetin’ you.”

  She shook his hand, thinking it was a cool coincidence that he’d sat with her. Things really were going pretty well today. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Price,” she said, feeling self-conscious in her Lycra shorts and sweaty Under Armour tee.

  “Call me Frank,” he said.

  “Are you in Baltimore on business?”

  “You could say that. I’m workin’ on a pretty important deal.”

  Liza raised her eyebrows. “That’s exciting. At least to me.” She shrugged. “Guess it’s everyday stuff for you.”

  “Not this deal. It’s one-of-a-kind.” He shifted on the bench and faced her. “And it involves you.”

  Me? She scrunched her face. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m Cole Collins’s agent…”

  Liza’s stomach sank, then fluttered.

  “…and I liked the idea that you two got together on that date last night.”

  She crossed her arms, suddenly chilly and breaking out in goose bumps.

  Frank opened the newspaper to a specific page, folded it into a rectangle, and handed it to her. It was the sports section of today’s Washington Post, featuring a full-color photo of her and Cole, sitting close on a hay bale, just after he’d fake-proposed and asked her to smile. He was tugging on a lock of her hair, smiling too, and they looked completely into each other. The headline read, “Practice Proposal: All-Star Collins Serious about More Than Baseball.”

  Liza’s pulse thrummed in her temples, and her stomach went a little queasy. If she had seen the picture of Cole and another girl, she would’ve believed the headline, no question. But she was that girl. She shook her head and handed the newspaper back to Frank. “You must know he wasn’t serious.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” He set the paper on the bench between them and gazed at the photo. “You two look pretty cozy to me.”

  “He was joking around with the reporters…and me.”

  “He mighta been kiddin’ about the proposal, but he still thinks you’re special.” Frank seemed pretty sure of himself. “You had him reelin’ when you turned him down for another date.”

  Liza smiled skeptically. “He seems to think lots of girls are special.”

  Frank shook his head and frowned. “The boy has a reputation when it comes to the ladies, and I can see why that might scare you off. But I’ve gotten to know him pretty well over the years, and I can tell you this for sure: he’s just looking for something meaningful in all the wrong places. You’re not just any girl to him. You two had a connection back when you were kids, and he hoped there was still something there.”

  Really?

  He had officially asked her out. Excitement welled inside her at the thought of seeing him again. But could she
do that to Wes? She’d been coaxed into going on the auction date, and that had eased some of her guilt. Going on a real date would be harder to justify.

  “I was happy to see him again,” she said. “But things have changed a lot since we were teenagers.”

  Frank furrowed his forehead, his thick eyebrows shading his eyes. “I understand you’ve had a challenging go of it, with your fiancé passing and all, so I could see why you might hesitate to take up with Cole.”

  She swallowed hard. Frank had no idea. “So Cole knows about Wes?”

  “No. I figured it wasn’t my place to tell him.”

  Liza was thankful for that. Imagine how much more complicated things might’ve been if pity was thrown into the mix last night. She glanced down at the picture of her and Cole. The camera might fool her into thinking he really did like her, especially considering Frank’s claims. If Wes hadn’t been in her life, she might’ve picked right up with that crush she’d had on Cole, despite his reputation. But Wes had been in her life, and left her. He hadn’t hurt her intentionally, but the pain was just as real. Even if she could get past her grief, she wasn’t about to take a chance on a guy like Cole.

  “I hear he invited you to his game today,” Frank said. “You should go. Then you two can get together again and see what happens.”

  Liza watched a cargo ship sail slowly across the hazy horizon. “It was nice of you to come, and it was very cool to meet you.” She shrugged. “Cole’s a good guy, and I’m sure he has a bright future…but it won’t be with me.”

  Frank nodded. “I think it just might.”

  Jeez. She’d politely told the guy no, so he should politely give up.

  “I’ve got a deal for you,” he said.

  Liza sighed. “I’m not interested in a deal—whatever that means.”

  Frank propped his elbows on his knees and rolled his coffee cup between his hands. “I understand you’re pretty dedicated to BADD, and I really respect that. Cole does, too. You do a fine job with those camps for needy boys.”

  “Less fortunate,” she said absently. It was starting to creep her out a little that he knew so much about her.

  “I bet five hundred thousand dollars could pay for a lot of less fortunate boys to go to camp next year.”

  Her stomach swirled. She narrowed her eyes, wondering if she’d heard him right. “You want to donate a half-million dollars to BADD?” That would beat the crap out of her fund-raising goals from now until forever. She imagined how shocked her coworkers would be when she announced she’d raised a cool half-mil—on her own.

  “Not so fast. I said a deal, not a donation.”

  No wonder so many athletes wanted him for their agent. Now that he had her dreaming about landing a donation like that, he was going to tell her exactly what she had to do to get it. And it’s going to involve Cole. She gulped down some water and braced herself. “What’s the deal?”

  “It’s really simple. It would make Cole happy if you’d give him a chance. I don’t like to interfere, but when Cole is happy, he plays some mean baseball. When he’s not…well, things can get ugly.” Frank gazed out over the harbor, looking pensive. “This is an important time for him and the Nationals. It’s in my best interest to keep him squared away. Sure, it’s about business for me, but it’s more than that.” He picked up the newspaper. “I really like the kid. I know he was foolin’ around with those reporters, but it’d be nice to see him look that happy all the time.”

  She was touched by Frank’s attachment to Cole, even though he stood to gain from his player’s success. At least he’d been up-front about it. “So if I give Cole a chance, you’ll donate a half-million dollars to BADD?”

  “I wouldn’t put it that way.” He gave her a fatherly smile. “I want you to give yourself a chance, too. A couple months is all I’m asking. Go out with Cole. Get to know him. Have a good time. You’re gonna fall for him, I’m sure. He’s already falling for you.”

  “If he is,” Liza said, “it happened pretty fast. One charity-auction date and a phony headline in a newspaper aren’t enough to convince me.”

  “Hear me out, now. These are the terms.” Now Frank was really starting to sound like an agent. “Date Cole for two months, and be yourself. No shenanigans. You’re gonna be totally smitten with him again. If you’re not, I’ll donate five hundred thousand dollars to BADD.”

  Liza shook her head. Something like this had happened in a romance novel she’d read, and it was too far-fetched to believe it was happening to her, in real life. “I don’t think I’m going to be smitten with Cole.” Am I? “Didn’t I make that clear?”

  He raised his eyebrows, his lips turned up at the corners. “Then it’s easy money for BADD.”

  She stalled by retying the loose lace of her running shoe. After what seemed like a long time but was probably only seconds, she said, “I don’t think I can do that.”

  He nodded. “Then you need to think some more.”

  This guy doesn’t give up.

  Surprised and a little disturbed that she was giving his offer further thought, she considered the pros and cons. Two months hanging out with Cole. Her heart beat a little faster. How bad could that be? He was interesting to talk to about baseball, and incredibly easy to look at. And super sexy, too. Besides, he was busy playing right now, and he’d be traveling a lot—especially if the Nationals made the playoffs. She started wishing they would.

  There was no risk of falling for him anyway, because she had her memories of Wes.

  But people will think I’ve forgotten him.

  The corners of the newspaper fluttered in the breeze, drawing her gaze to the picture of her and Cole in the Washington Post. The word was out. Even before the picture and the article showed up in the paper, there were tweets about their date—from BADD, and Paige, and others. Although it wasn’t true, it already looked like she’d moved on. Her heart knew better, and that’s what mattered. Right? If she did this, she’d be doing it for BADD, and for those boys who dreamed of playing college baseball and just needed a chance.

  “I thought you were a shrewd dealmaker,” she said. “But now I’m not so sure.”

  Frank looked amused. “Why’s that?”

  “You can’t negotiate people’s emotions.”

  He nodded. “Unless you’re pretty sure—and I am.”

  “What about Cole?”

  “Don’t tell him,” he said sternly. “This stays between you and me.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” She couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “What if he really does fall for me?” Could I resist him then? And if she could, she certainly didn’t want to hurt him, as far-fetched as the possibility might be.

  “Then you’ll be one lucky lady.” His tone told her that negotiations were closed.

  He pulled an envelope from between the pages of the newspaper and handed it to her. “Here it is in black and white.”

  She opened the envelope and pulled out two identical official-looking documents detailing Frank’s offer.

  I, Liza Sutherland, agree to:

  —Date Cole Collins through the end of the current baseball season, which includes attending Nationals games when asked, and functions when invited.

  —Be myself. No games or manipulation.

  —Keep this arrangement confidential.

  If I adhere to the aforementioned and do not fall in love with Cole Collins, Frank Price will immediately donate $500,000 via Liza Sutherland to the BADD Athletes Foundation.

  Frank had signed both copies, and there was a space for her to sign as well, with her name typed beneath it.

  Liza grimaced and folded the papers. “BADD really needs that money, but I can’t do something sleazy like this to get it.”

  Frank raised one eyebrow. “It’s not sleazy to raise money for a chari
ty that’ll send poor kids to camp. Did you think it was sleazy for Cole to donate a date to BADD’s auction? There’s really not much difference in that and what I’m asking you to do.”

  He kind of had a point. Even so, she felt like she needed a shower, and not just from being sweaty.

  “I still can’t do it,” she said.

  He gave her a wry smile. “Can you really afford not to?”

  BADD could use the money, and she really did want to see Cole again…but she’d never admit that to Frank.

  “It’s really counterintuitive, though. I don’t fall for Cole, and you donate the money to BADD.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got it figured out.”

  “I think I do.” Don’t I? She risked considering what would happen if she did fall for Cole—a long shot that no sane person would bet on. She’d end up empty-handed for BADD, which was no worse off than she was right now. But what about her heart?

  “Then have we got a deal?” He reached in his pocket, pulled out a Montblanc pen, and handed it to her.

  She pressed her eyes closed for a few seconds. Could she really say no? Her hands trembled a little as she unscrewed the cap from the pen and signed her name on the papers. She kept one for herself, put the other back in the envelope, and gave it to Frank along with his pen.

  “Nice doing business with you.” He smiled again, flashing lots of big, white teeth. “Now run in and get yourself dolled up.” He tossed his coffee cup toward a nearby trash can, and it bounced off the rim and went in. “You’ve got a ball game to get to.”

  Chapter Six

  Cole stepped into the on-deck circle and practiced his swing with a weight on his bat, keeping an eye on the action of the game. The Nationals needed this win against the Braves, and usually the first team that scored ended up winning. The game had been hitless through two and a half innings until the guys at the top of the lineup got a couple of knocks, and were now on first and third with one out. Momentum was going their way.