Mila leaned over. “That is Ben, my husband.”
Ben’s shoulders rose then fell, his gaze focused on the ball. He pushed off his toes and ran toward the black-and-white patterned sphere.
Mila cupped her hands around her mouth. “Whoop! Go Ben!”
Ben’s foot connected with the ball and sent it sailing. Up…up…and over the net.
“I call interference.” Ben threw up his hands. “My beautiful wife distracted me.”
Seth jogged around the net and collected the ball at the same time as Ben ran toward Mila and Amber, catching Mila up in a hug.
“You did that on purpose,” he said as he returned her to her feet.
She shrugged. “Now you have an excuse for why you did not make the goal.”
His brows created a V low on his forehead. “Are you saying I could not score a goal?”
“Against Seth Marshall?Nien.”
“But he isn’t even a goalie.”
She patted her husband’s cheek. “He is still a professional player,Knuddelbär.”
He growled at her but then pulled back as Seth jogged up.
“Better luck next time, mate.” Seth’s gaze circled the group, his eyes widening when they locked onto Amber’s.
From far away, she hadn’t been able to make out the color of his eyes, but now that they were trained on her, she found herself cataloging every detail. Rich brown with warm undertones of golden flecks. There was a dark ring around the outer edge, and she couldn’t help but wonder if such a border were a reflection of his character somehow. She blinked but didn’t look away. His eyes seemed to have a fathomlessness about them, and she found herself falling headlong into their depths.
Mila cleared her throat. “Amber Carrington, Seth Marshall. You two will be working together quite intimately for the foreseeable future.”
One side of Seth’s mouth lifted as he glanced at Mila. “Is that right?” He looked back at Amber. “Do you know anything about football?”
Amber pinched the outside of her thigh. She needed to get a grip. Like, yesterday. This girl who lost her head around a good-looking guy? Not her. She was cool. Calm. Self-controlled.
She plucked the ball out of his grasp. “Shall we find out?” Oh goodness. That didn’t come out like she was flirting with him, did it? Jet lag. She so blamed jet lag if it had.
The other side of his mouth joined the first, stretching into a full smile. “Yes, ma’am.” He gave her one last searching look before turning around and jogging back to the goal.
Amber walked to the penalty spot with measured steps. What had she been thinking? Why couldn’t she have just said that, yes, she knew the rules of the sport and how to play. Instead she’d issued some sort of challenge. One she wasn’t altogether sure she could pull off. It wouldn’t be too embarrassing to miss. Ben hadn’t made it either, after all.
She set the ball on the white painted line and took a few steps back and to the side. She looked over to Mila. “You should have told me to pack cleats.”
Ben slung his arm over his wife’s shoulders. “Use it as an excuse if you miss.”
Despite herself, Amber grinned. She glanced up at Seth in the goalie box.
“I’ll put one hand behind my back as a handicap.”
Her eyes narrowed. It may have been a few years since she’d played, but she’d never needed a handicap in her life. Pushing off her toes, she sprinted to the ball, lining her foot up just right to send it sailing up into the left back corner of the net.
The ball rose into the air, arced. Seth dove, his fingers brushing the underside.
Right into the corner. Her sweet spot.
Shouts erupted from the sidelines, and Amber pumped her fist into the air. Boy, that’d felt great. Her smile stretched across her face.
Seth dug the ball out from the net, then kicked it over to her. He clapped his hands as he sauntered in her direction, his mesmerizing gaze saying something she couldn’t discern.
