Touchdowns and Temptations: A Football billionaire Romance

6

I can”t get the phone call with Noah out of my head. It remains a mystery to me why he wants to go out with me so badly. What does he expect to get out of it? He doesn”t really believe that I would consider a relationship with a professional athlete.

I don”t want to end up like my mom. Always alone and waiting for football not to come first. Of course my dad loves us more than anything and without his job and career we wouldn”t have much. But I often wished he would have come to my school plays or my graduation. Instead, he was usually at the other end of the country playing football.

Life with a famous father is not always easy. I didn”t have many friends at school because they often tried to get free tickets to a Boston Foxes game through me. Also, they would always ask me about my dad and were more interested in him than me. One of my ex-boyfriends, Marco, actually managed to talk to my dad the whole time at a dinner with my parents, completely ignoring my mom and me. My dad was flattered, of course, but I thought it was just awful. The next day I ended things with Marco. He said it was okay with him because he wanted to get to know my dad, and he did. And it usually was like this. Once they found out that my dad was Michael Corse, ex-quarterback of the Boston Foxes, they were blown away. More than once, my date knew all of my dad”s stats by heart. It’s not really something you want to hear on a date night.

“Ms. Corse?” My assistant, Katie, pokes her head through the door and smiles at me. “Do you have time for a quick chat?”

“Yes,” I say, pushing my phone aside. I have to stop thinking about Noah and what might happen between us. Because nothing is going to happen. At least nothing serious. There”s no question that he”s hot, and with his broad shoulders, ripped muscles, and blond hair, he”s exactly my type.

“Is this an official appointment? I”m a little distracted.” I look at Katie and she shakes her head.

“You don”t have your first appointment for another hour. Mr. McCarter wants to see you now.”

Katie grins at me meaningfully.

“Noah”s here?” I ask.

“No.” Katie shakes her head. “His brother Alexander.”

I dimly remember Noah mentioning his brother during our phone call and I was shocked at how little I knew about him.

“And what does he want?” I ask hesitantly.

“I think he wants to work with us, don”t you?” Katie looks at me as if she can”t believe I”m asking.

“Hm.” I tilt my head. “Let him in.”

Katie nods with a smile and I straighten up at my desk, clasping my hands nervously. This can”t be happening; I am meeting Noah”s brother. My resolution was to have nothing more to do with McCarter. I don”t care which one.

“She”s ready,” Katie says. I jump at the sound of his voice. It”s not his brother, it”s Noah. He told Katie he was Alexander because he knew I”d have him thrown out immediately if he wasn”t. But since I always look for the good in people, including Noah, I wait. My heart begins to race as his footsteps approach.

“Hello,” he says, and I open my eyes.

This is Noah as he lives and breathes!

With brown hair, but this is Noah!

Stunned, I squint my eyes to express my displeasure.

“I”m Alexander McCarter or Alex. Nice to meet you, Ms. Corse.”

He offers me his hand in a friendly manner. But I don”t take it.

“Are you kidding me?” I snap at him. “You”re Noah!”

“I”m...” He stumbles, visibly shocked that his cover has been blown after only a few seconds. “You think I”m Noah?”

“I know it,” I answer confidently and cross my arms over my chest. He has to get up early to fuck with me. I know that Noah will try anything to get a date with me, but pretending to be his brother is a really strong move. Does he think I won”t notice?

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I”m not Noah,” he continues, insisting on his identity. “I am Alex. His brother.”

“Do you think I”ll go out with you like this?” I ask. “Pretending to be someone else? How stupid do you think I am?”

Noah looks at me and licks his lips. Then he puts his hands on his hips and laughs. This asshole is laughing at me. This can”t be true. He”s trying to betray me and gain access to my office in the most despicable way, and now he”s laughing too. Unbelievable.

“For the daughter of our legend, you don’t know much about the club.”

He looks at me amused.

“I”m a sports agent, not a Boston Foxes fan,” I say.

“You”re Corse”s daughter! You must be a Boston Foxes fan,” he sniffs.

He looks almost horrified and I really start to think that this isn”t Noah. Noah wouldn”t react like this. He would flirt directly and this guy... his brother... He does nothing of the sort.

“Not really,” I repeat. “And who the hell are you?”

“So, you don’t think I”m Noah anymore?” he asks with a grin.

“No,” I answer curtly. “So?”

“I”m still Alex,” he says, holding out his hand. “Noah”s brother.”

“Noah”s brother,” I murmur and take his hand. “You look frighteningly ... similar.”

My eyes sweep over the man in front of me. The same blue eyes. The only difference is the color of his hair. But I have to admit that Noah is slimmer and, in my opinion, much better trained.

“We”re twins,” Alex solves the mystery. “Identical twins, to be exact.”

My eyes get huge.

“Twins?” I blurt out, running my fingers through my hair. “Holy shit, you”re identical twins. I can”t believe it. You”re...”

“Identical twins,” he repeats my words. “Just because you say it over and over again doesn”t change anything. How can you not know that?”

Alex raises his eyebrows skeptically. I shrug and continue to study him. They look incredibly alike, but the longer I look at him, the more I like Noah.

“Maybe you don”t look so much alike,” I think aloud, rubbing my chin with my finger. “The hair, the eyes, the lips, but ... Noah is kind of...” I can”t find the right words.

“Smaller? Weaker?” Alex suggests.

“Hotter!” I blurt out, covering my mouth with my hand.

Ashamed, I look away and try to make light of the situation by randomly reaching for my documents. I definitely shouldn”t have said that.

“Hotter?” Alex echoes and takes a step towards my desk. He puts his hands on the tabletop and leans over to me. “So why are you torturing the poor guy?”

“What?” I gasp.

“You heard me,” he replies. “Noah asked you out.”

“Stop!” I raise my hand to stop him and shake my head vehemently. “He blackmailed me, told me I could go out with him or forget about working with him. There”s a difference.”

“He asked you and looked at the possibilities to get you to do it. I see it more as a kind of leveling the playing field.”

“Leveling the playing field?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. “You”re a funny guy.”

“Thanks,” he says with a grin and straightens up. “So? What”s it going to be? Are you going to give my brother a chance?”

I know even less about Alex”s performance than I did about Noah”s yesterday. Both his meeting with me and the phone call afterwards. These brothers seem to have absolutely no scruples or inhibitions when they want something.

“It”s really sweet of you to stand up for Noah, but no,” I decline this offer as well. “I don”t date football players.”

“Why?” he asks promptly and I tilt my head back.

“It”s none of your business!”

“I think it is my business when it comes to my brother”s happiness,” he replies. “Noah and I are identical twins, we”re soul mates. Let me tell you how deep that goes. We went to different colleges. He went to Georgia and I went to Utah. He got hurt and at that very moment I felt pain in the same place.”

“That”s bullshit!” I hiss. “Are you kidding me?”

“Maybe,” he says with a grin, making me smile. Even though I don”t want to admit it ... he is funny. Damn it. I can”t find Alex sympathetic. That might influence my decision. A nice family makes my plans not to date a football player falter. Because I really like being with my family.

“What I want to say is this: When he”s uncomfortable, I”m uncomfortable. We have a special bond.”

“And let me guess,” I sigh. “If I hurt Noah, I indirectly hurt you, too, and you can”t let that happen?”

“Exactly!” Alex winks and points at me. “And now you”re going to give him a chance, right?”

“No!”

“No?” he asks. “How can you be such a hard nut to crack?”

Alex is very entertaining; I have to admit. “Do you do this often?” I ask. “To get women?”

“Not anymore,” he answers honestly. “We”re getting older.”

“Okay.” I throw my head back with a laugh. “And are you here because you”re looking for a new agent?”

“No, no,” Alex says, waving his hand. “I”m very happy with my agent and...”

“Am I interrupting?” I flinch violently and Alex spins around to reveal Noah. He”s standing in the doorway of my office with Katie. His hands are buried in the pockets of his jeans, his mouth is set in a thin line, and his eyes are narrowed to slits. His eyes dart between Alex and me.

Oh God, this can”t be true. Judging by his tight-lipped expression, I think he believes that Alex is hitting on me…

“No!” Alex laughs. “Cara and I were just talking.”

And suddenly Noah grins, as if he”s struggling to keep his face straight. I feel my tension melt away and am relieved that he”s not mad at us. Or should I have been happy that he was? That would be a much better starting point, wouldn”t it? Then I”d be rid of him in no time. That”s what I want, isn”t it? To make Noah angry and to alienate him so that he doesn”t want to go out with me anymore.

“I can see that,” he says. “Hey!”

“Hey,” I reply and Alex looks back and forth between us with a grin. “I”m off,” he whispers. “Nice to meet you, pretty lady.”

“Get lost,” Noah grumbles and Alex slaps his twin on the shoulder. “Oh and Cara?”

“Yeah?”

“Think of the pain.” He winks at me and disappears. Noah looks after him and throws his head back.

“Please don”t tell me he tried to lull you with our magical twin connection?”

“Uh,” I mutter. “Maybe.”

I grin at him and he grins back. Noah licks his lips and comes over to me. I”m glad I still have my desk between us and can keep my distance. I look at Noah and think he looks nervous. And he”s actually smaller than Alex. Definitely. They”re more different than I thought.

“I wanted to talk to you again and apologize for my brother,” he says.

“You don”t have to apologize for him,” I tell him. “He was nice.”

“Nice?” Noah turns as if to check on Alex again. “Alex was nice?”

“Yeah,” I say. “And funny.”

“And funny?” Noah asks, still skeptical. “Was he flirting with you?”

I”m surprised at the question. He should know Alex well enough to know if he was flirting with me, right?

“Would it bother you?”

“Yes!” Surprised by his clear answer, I gasp. “Of course, it bothers me if my brother flirts - and in the worst case, successfully - with the woman I want to go out with.”

“He wasn”t flirting,” I reassure him. “He was standing up for you.”

“Then I must make it clear that I did not instigate this action!”

“No?” I ask with a grin. “He was very ... persistent.”

“Persistent?”

“Yes!”

“What do you mean, persistent?” he asks. “Did he say anything that would get me in more trouble?”

“No,” I wave him off. “He was very charming and said you wanted to go out with me. At first, I thought you were pretending to be him. After that misunderstanding was cleared up, he tried to explain to me the magical connection between twins.”

“And?” he asks, looking at me with a sigh. There”s a glimmer of hope in his eyes, which I immediately snuff out. “Have my chances of getting a date gone down even further?”

I groan in annoyance and throw my head back. “Noah,” I sigh. “My mind is made up.”

“Why?” he asks. “When we saw each other in the bar and ... and you dropped your fork. Cara there... there was something between us. Give me a chance.”

I”m tempted to say he looks desperate, but I don”t dare. The man doesn”t look desperate, does he? He can have any woman in Boston. He doesn”t have to tell me that there was something between us. He should find another woman to do something with.

“No,” I say again. “Would you like something else?”

“Please,” he sighs. “One date, one evening. Nothing more.”

“No,” I repeat, resting my fingertips on the tabletop. “I don”t go out with football players.”