PLAYING FOR KEEPS SERIES #1 Sariah Keilani Alcuaz has no time for basketball. Not when she's busy surviving nursing school, taking care of her siblings, and trying to keep her family together. So when Trace Blaine Fonacier, the captain of the Archers and the most talked about basketball player in San Aurelio University, suddenly starts appearing everywhere she goes, Sari is more annoyed than impressed. He's loud and annoying. Worst of all, he seems way too interested in her. But the more Sari gets dragged into Trace's world, the more she realizes that there is more to him than the smiles, the teasing, and the attention everyone sees. Because behind the campus favorite is someone carrying pressure he never talks about, and behind Sari's sharp tongue is a girl who has spent years carrying everything alone. They were never supposed to cross paths. But somehow, one basketball player and one girl who hates basketball keep finding their way back to each other. ** START: 05/22/26 END: ---