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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.
