by Amy Vastine
“I’m just going to say congratulations and that I think a party in your honor is well deserved. It’s not every day a person earns a doctorate—right, Flynn?”
Gaze glued on Iris, he agreed, “Right.”
With a breezy wave of her hand, Iris said, “I worked hard for it, that’s true. Let’s not talk about the fact that a doctorate in economics doesn’t have quite the same cachet as a medical degree.”
She was obviously joking, but Flynn seemed a little irritated by the self-deprecating comment.
“Iris, seriously,” he said. “Ask twenty people here about asymmetric shock and reserve currency and see what answers you get.”
Iris furrowed her brow and looked like she was going to argue.
Ally pitched her expression to serious and jumped in before Iris could speak. “Plus, I’m very familiar with Flynn’s work. Trust me—his job is not that hard. Everyone knows it’s the nurses and the paramedics who do all the work.”
Iris laughed and linked an arm through one of Ally’s. Tilting her head toward the gazebo, she said, “Come on. Let’s get you introduced to some people.”
* * *
AFTER LUNCH, EMILY announced it was time for all basketball players to gather on the court. Janie read off the teams and went over the rules.
“We’re doing three on three to twenty points or twenty-five minutes’ total game time. Because we’ve got five teams, we’ll draw for the first game, and it will be loser out. The winning team will take the bracket spot and continue from there. My handsome husband, Aidan, has a bum shoulder, so he’s going to be our referee.” She then informed the crowd they had five minutes to find their teammates and discuss strategy before the first game began.
“You’re with my cousin Gareth and his friend Cody.” Ally turned to find Tag behind her. He waved toward the opposite side of the court. He pointed at Ally, and a tall teenager held up a finger in an “I’ll be right there” motion.
“Cool. Thanks.”
“So, you play basketball?”
She shrugged. “Yeah.”
“Did you play in high school?”
“No. I didn’t go to high school. I was homeschooled.”
His forehead knitted like he was puzzling out her meaning.
“Something wrong?”
“No, uh…” He shifted from one foot to another. “Nothing. It’s just that my family is extremely passionate about sports, basketball especially. We can be a little, um, intense and aggressive.”
“I understand. I can be that way, too, about certain things.” She added a chuckle, but he still wore a pained expression. “Wait, are you worried about me?”
“A little. Please don’t call me a chauvinist but you’re tiny, and if you haven’t played much I’m afraid…”
At least he was honest. Ally placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t be. I’ll be fine. It’s just a game, right?” His arm was so much bigger than hers. She might have let her touch linger a little longer than necessary, she realized, when she noticed him staring down at his forearm.
She removed her hand, but his expression only held more angst as he said, “No, Ally, that’s my point. It’s not just a game with us. It’s…” His words faded away as his expression turned sheepish. He squeezed her shoulder. “Well, you’ll see. And I apologize in advance for the over-the-top behavior you’re about to witness.”
“Oh-kay, I guess?”
“What I’m saying is that I can’t let you win.”
Sliding her gaze toward the hand still on her shoulder, she said, “Thanks for the warning. Better be careful, though. All this looking out for me and I’ll wonder about your intentions.”
He went hands up, palms out, eyes wide, like she’d just caught him robbing a bank. “No, no. I don’t… I’m not thinking about you…like that. I promise.”
An invisible pain hit her in the chest, so sudden and powerful that she brought a hand up and placed it there. She glanced away, forcing a smile that felt brittle enough to crack her face. How could she have been so stupid? He could have any woman he wanted. Why in the world would he consider…whatever it was she’d been thinking?
“Of course not,” she managed. “I was only…kidding.” Liar. And she knew she sounded like one. She tried for eye contact, but her eyelids felt heavy, her vision blurred. Why had she flirted with him? It was all that pretend-wife talk and the looks and the touching. She had zero experience with flirting, and clearly she was not a natural.
“Hey,” he said, but she still couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. Her cheeks were flaming with embarrassment. Not until the very tips of his fingers found the tips of hers and squeezed, making her breath catch a little, did she look at him. He let go, but that deadly green glint was blazing in his eyes, and his voice held a desperate kind of urgency as he whispered, “That was a lie, Ally. I was lying. I shouldn’t say this, but if you were a decade or so older, my intentions would be exactly what you implied. But you’re not and so I promised myself I would let it go.”
His eyes roamed over her, and it felt like a panicky hummingbird had been turned loose inside her chest, darting every which way. She wanted to argue, to convince him age didn’t matter, but that would probably sound…desperate. And maybe he was just being nice and letting her down easy. But, no, the way he looked at her, watched her, had her believing every word. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him, either. And when they touched, the air went all heavy and thick between them, like a thundercloud gathering. She might not have much experience, but their attraction was about as straightforward as it got. And now he was admitting it only to assure her he wouldn’t act on it? Because of her age? She didn’t know how old he was and she didn’t care.
A whistle blew, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Game time. Further ruining the moment, Tag gave her a buddy-type pat on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. You should do fine with Gareth on your team. He’s really good. Almost as good as me. Don’t hate me after.” Walking backward, he tapped his chest with one finger before pointing it at her. “You young ’uns can learn something from us old guys.” Adding a cocky wink, he left to find his teammates.
And that’s when Ally’s blood began to boil. Why did he get to decide she was too young? Or he was too old or…whatever? Why did he get to give her advice and tell her how things were done? Why could he assume that she would be careless where her job was concerned or that she couldn’t operate her seat belt or that she hadn’t played much basketball? Maybe it was time someone showed Tag James a thing or two, that the world wasn’t always just as he saw it.
Maybe, Ally thought, she should be that someone. And perhaps she should start with a basketball game.
CHAPTER SEVEN
GARETH AND CODY jogged over to her, and both boys gave her hand a quick shake.
The taller one said, “I’m Gareth. Good to meet you.”
“You, too. You’re Tag’s cousin, right?”
“Yep, my mom is Janie. My stepdad is Aidan.” He hitched a thumb toward his companion. “This is my friend Cody. We play on the high school team together.”
Cody smiled, and Gareth wasted no more time getting down to business. “I’m assuming you’ve played at least a little if you’re willing to subject yourself to one of our family melees?”
“Some.” She added a smile because he’d managed to figure this out and Tag hadn’t.
“So, looking at the teams today, Tag, Freddie and Brittany are going be our main competition. It doesn’t matter who Tag plays with—he almost always wins. But, with any luck, we won’t be playing his team until the championship game, anyway.”
He went on to give a quick rundown on the strengths and weaknesses of the best players.
Ally was impressed. “Got it.”
“Do you think you can handle the ball? Dribbling and stuff? I mean, I was thinking since you’re shorter maybe y
ou could play point?”
Should she ease his mind and tell him she was more than a decent player or just wait and let him figure it out? As usual, she decided to let her actions do the talking. “I think I can handle it.”
The teams drew straws to see who would be matched up for the initial loser-out match. Unfortunately, luck was not with their team, as Gareth and Tag both drew the short straws, meaning they would play Tag’s team first.
They flipped a coin for first possession, and Tag’s team won. His teammate, Freddie, began the game with the ball at the top of the court. Ally allowed him to pass it to Tag, who made a simple jump shot, putting his team up by two.
Ally started play for her team. She easily moved around Freddie to pass the ball to Cody. Brittany was all over him, and Tag was on Gareth. Ally got around Freddie, and Cody called out a play and passed it back to Ally. When Gareth moved around Tag, she fired the ball to him, and he put the ball through the hoop and tied the game.
They went on like this for a few minutes, with Tag’s team scoring and theirs tying it up. Ally held back, assessing the skills of everyone on the court. Tag was just as good as Gareth said, probably better. Like her, she felt he was holding back. But, she suspected, not nearly as much as she was.
A few minutes in she could see it would eventually come down to an under-the-basket matchup between Tag and Gareth if she didn’t do something. From what she’d seen so far, this wasn’t a strong bunch of three-point shooters.
She called a time-out.
Gareth looked concerned. “Hey, what’s up? You okay?”
“Yep, good.”
“You can obviously handle the ball a little better than you let on, huh?”
“A bit.” She added a grin. “I just need to know how bad you guys want to win?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve seen enough to know that we can win this game if you want to, or we can just keep playing, and you and Tag can duke it out under the basket and see who comes out on top.”
Gareth peered at her and lowered his voice. “You’re a three-pointer shooter.”
It sounded like an accusation and Ally laughed. “I am. And I can handle Freddie. But what’s going to happen is this—I’m going to sink a couple of threes before Tag figures out that I can play. He’s going to call a time-out and then he’s going to guard me. That will put Freddie on you and free you up under the basket. Then we can have some fun.”
Cody stared at her, his face an expression of hope and disbelief. Then his mouth curved into a little grin as he seemed to catch up with the plan.
“Are you guys okay with this?”
Gareth put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. “Heck, yeah.”
* * *
TAG WATCHED ALLY fist-bump Gareth and Cody in their little huddle. It looked like she was giving them a pep talk. Cute. He was relieved to see that she could handle the ball pretty well. All in all, he thought their teams were pretty evenly matched with his having a slight advantage.
Aidan blew the whistle, indicating the time-out was at an end. Ally passed the ball to Cody. He faked a drive and threw it back to Ally, who had already moved around Freddie and was heading to the baseline corner. Tag spun around to guard Gareth, expecting her to pass the ball to him. Only when the crowd erupted with a cheer as the ball slapped loudly onto the court behind him did he realize she’d made a three-point shot.
Huh.
Their possession. But as Freddie passed the ball, Ally batted it away and Cody grabbed it.
Turnover.
This time when Ally darted around Freddie, she looked like a streak of lightning. She launched the ball from beyond the top of the key and scored another three points.
Just like that, they were down by four points, and he realized that Ally, the little con, could play basketball.
“Time-out!” Tag waited for his fellow players to approach. “Guys, what do you think?”
“I think the quick one is making me look like a doofus.” Freddie chuckled and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“Let’s switch. I’ll take her, and you go under the basket.”
Freddie nodded. “Okay, but you know I won’t be able to shut him down, right? If Gareth gets the ball, we’re toast.”
“Just do the best you can.”
Tag had no intention of allowing that to happen. Ally appeared calm and unflappable. Holding the ball against his right hip, he waited for Aidan to call the action. Narrowing his eyes, he gave Ally a menacing smirk. She responded with an amused smile, but kept her attention on Aidan.
As the whistle blew, Ally lunged, her right arm shooting forward and stripping Tag of the ball. Stunned with disbelief, he whirled to defend against her. Too late. She fired the ball to Cody.
He caught it. Brittany was glued to him as he pivoted toward the basket. Tag moved that way, planning to intercept the impending pass to Gareth. Cody fired the ball back to Ally, who promptly scored again.
“Three points!” Gareth lifted a fist skyward. “Way to go, Ally.” More fist bumping. Not nearly as cute now, Tag silently acknowledged.
On the next play, he managed to pass the ball to Brittany. Barely, because Ally was like an irritating mosquito and he had to rely on his height advantage to throw it over her head.
“That’s it, Brittany!” Tag called when she hit a jumper and scored two.
This time when Ally started play, Tag went tighter. She drove hard to her right, flipped a behind-the-back pass to Cody, who zipped it to Gareth. His nephew dunked it to the roar of the crowd.
Brittany groaned. Freddie shrugged.
Tag sighed and threw up his hands because that was the moment he knew: the game might not be over, but ultimately, he was going to have to accept defeat. And all because of Ally.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t reeling when, a few plays later, Gareth walked up to him, dribbling the ball from side to side, a cocky grin on his lips. “Good game. First time for everything, huh?”
“Apparently.”
“So, when are you two getting married?” Gareth quipped, and Tag knew it wasn’t the last he’d hear of that old family joke. He should probably warn Ally.
He couldn’t help but grin. “We already are. Sort of.”
* * *
THE CRUNCHING SOUND of feet treading on loose gravel alerted Ally that someone was approaching. Her team had gone on to win the next two games. After accepting the wows, congratulations and at least one confusing comment about marriage, Ally had departed with a slice of “winner’s cake” and a cold drink to a relatively secluded bench next to the river where she’d been cooling off. She turned to find Tag approaching. Finally.
“Hey.” He sank down onto the bench beside her. His gaze traveled over her and, although it was quick, Ally felt the same intense pull of attraction, boosting both her heart rate and her confidence.
“Hi.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. It was fun.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were a basketball prodigy?”
She chuckled. “Prodigy is a bit of an exaggeration. And I told you I played.”
“Mmm-hmm. No, not like that you didn’t. I asked if you played in school.”
“And I said no. Because I didn’t.”
“Yeah, so I assumed—”
She interrupted, “You have an assuming problem, are you aware of that?”
He scratched his chin, looking uncomfortable, which made her laugh.
“We have a basketball court in my village. I didn’t have a television or video games or a screen of any kind. Not until I was a teenager, and then the computer was only for learning. Basketball was what I did for fun.”
“Wow. Flynn knew, didn’t he?”
“Yep. We used to play when he’d visit. And he stayed with us for
a couple of summers when he was in high school to study with my grandpa.”
“I’m impressed. And I’m not often impressed by someone else’s skills. It’s your strategy, too.”
“Well, strategy is vital when you have a distinct and fixed disadvantage, right? All great military leaders know that no matter how great a weakness you have, if you can turn it to your advantage, you’ve got a chance.” “I have bad news, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Now we have to get married for real.”
“What?” She laughed.
He was grinning. “I’ve always made this joke to my family that if I ever found a woman who could beat me at basketball I’d marry her. You’re undoubtedly gonna hear some jokes about it, too, so I thought I better tell you.”
“I heard one already, but I didn’t get it.”
“Although…” Leaning back, he stretched one leg out and Ally admired its lean, muscled length.
“Although?” she said without bothering to look away. But she didn’t immediately meet his gaze, either. Instead, she let her eyes inch slowly up, pausing briefly on his mouth. Smiling slowly, she watched his eyes darken as his gaze flickered to her mouth and away again.
He blinked, nostrils flaring, chest expanding as he slowly inhaled a deep breath. Ha. His smoldering gaze landed on hers again like…like he couldn’t help himself? Or didn’t want to help himself? She waited, wondering if he was going to see past the years between them and acknowledge the attraction simmering here.
“I suppose I could adopt you, instead. You’re a sweet kid.”
A loud sigh accompanied her eye roll while he sat there looking satisfied with his stupid joke.
“Are you…serious with this?” Slipping an arm behind him to grip the back of the bench, she inched toward him, studying his reaction. “Do you really not…?”
She scooted closer. Desire and terror looked to be at war on his face. He stared at her lips and leaned away from her at the same time. She would have laughed if it wasn’t so exasperating.
“Not what?” The question sounded strained. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.