Page 108 of Sweetheart

"Hey, I'm not in this," Sam said with his hands up. "Think of me as Switzerland. Plus,it would be weird. You're my coach."

"That's right. And as your coach, I'm ordering you to play—sorry, it's on the losing side."

Sam shrugged. "Alright, if you insist."

"Fine," Bo said with a shake of his head. "But don't be mad at us when we win."

"You won't," Ash said, "so that's not going to be a problem."

Uncle Becks turned to me. "You okay with this, Scarlett?"

I thought it over for a moment then said, "Promise me you and Ash will come back next week to teach the kidsandthat you'll stay after to talk to them about going pro?"

I stared down my uncle and Bo's dad until both men nodded.

"You got it," Becks said while Ash added, "Of course, I'd love to work with them."

"So?" my uncle asked again.

Before I could answer, one of the kids came over and tugged on my arm. "Miss Scarlett,we're tired. Can we take a break now?"

"Of course," I said, giving her hand a squeeze, "I brought waters for everyone. I'llpass them out in just one second."

Looking at the faces gathered around, specifically Sam's, who was smiling at me as if he knew I'd make the right call, I caved.

"We're about to get to see a real, live soccer match," I said.

I just hoped no one ended up in the hospital.

CHAPTER 16

Soccer was never so entertaining.

"Holy cow," Freya said. "Did you know Uncle Becks could play like that?"

"Honestly, when my dad told me, I thought he was exaggerating," I said.

Viola was shaking her head in awe as her dad—my uncle—scored yet another goal. "My mom told me stories too," she said. "But she loves Dad so much. This is just…unbelievable."

"Bo hates losing," Charlotte said.

"Same with Dare. He and my dad are so competitive, especially when it comes to soccer."

"But man, what a good game."

"They're killing them," Aurora said.

It was true.

Dare, Bo, and Sam were fantastic players. They really were.Both Dare and Bo had expressed their intentions to go pro, and I had no doubt, when they got there,they'd take the world by storm.But even if they were youngerand arguably more in shape, there was just no touching Becks and Ash when they got into a groove. Uncle Clayton played well too, but he and Sam didn't have anyreal stake in the game.They were simply having fun, hamming it up for the kids—who, I had to say, were loving every minute.

The group went crazy a second later whenAsh dribbled the ball down the field with Bo hot on his heels.Father and son duked it out, vying forcontrol of the ball, while Dare covered Uncle Becks. The terms of the game were the first to seven. As it stood now, the adults were winning 6-4. They only needed one more goal to win. We watched as Becks broke away, and Ash waited until the perfect moment to lob the ball his way. In a gravity-defying move, Uncle Becks jumped up, spun in the air,kicked the ball and sent it sailingdirectly into the net. The kids screamed, and my cousinsand I were no better.Aunt Lillian, Aurora, and Freya rushed the field while my sister, Viola, and I hung back.

"What the what?" I said, elbowing Viola in the arm.

"I know," she said.

"That was amazing!"

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