Touchdowns and Temptations: A Football billionaire Romance

22

The night on Emily”s couch was anything but restful. That was partly because I lay awake half the night thinking about my fight with Noah. I still can”t believe he talked to Daisy about me. To her of all people. Noah knows I want nothing to do with her.

I made a mistake and I wouldn”t be traveling to this goddamn small town in Tennessee if I didn”t care about him. I want to be with him.

“Don”t look like that!” I jump up and look at Emily. She”s sitting in the chair in front of me with a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. “It gives you wrinkles. Coffee?”

I pull myself up and take the cup from her.

“Thanks,” I mumble. “That wasn”t necessary.”

“No problem,” she says with a grin. “You look like you could use it.”

“Hm,” I say, sipping at my coffee. “I have to book a flight home.”

Emily bites her lip and sighs.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she says and sighs again. “Okay, but... you... you can”t just leave like that. Don”t you want to fight for Noah?”

“Fight for Noah?” I hiss, almost spilling the hot coffee on my hand. Emily takes it back and puts it on the coffee table. “He told Daisy I was a spoiled brat. Why would I fight for him?”

“Because you love him,” Emily says, standing up. “And my sister likes to dramatize things.”

“He admitted he said that.”

“He said he didn”t say it that way, and I believe him. He wouldn”t say you”re a spoiled brat. Never!” I roll my eyes and grab my coffee. “Cara!”

“What?” I hiss and Emily flinches. “I”m sorry... I ... I shouldn”t take my bad mood out on you. How can you put up with that ... that person?”

“With Daisy?” Emily raises her eyebrows. Then she smiles. “For one thing, she”s my sister, and one day she might be all I have. And for another, she”s okay ... most of the time.”

“She throws herself at two guys at once,” I continue. “If Alex isn”t available, she”ll just spread her legs for Noah and...”

“She”s still my sister!” Emily interrupts me harshly. “She can be a pain, yes. And what she did yesterday wasn”t okay, but she”s still my sister. Please don”t talk about her like she”s a slut. You don”t know her, Cara.”

“I”m sorry,” I say, burying my face in my hands. “I ... I just don”t know what to believe anymore. He can”t... he didn”t...”

“Noah with Daisy?” Emily asks and I nod. “No way. She can hit on him all she wants, he”s nothing like Alex.”

“Isn”t he?” I ask hopefully and Emily laughs and goes into the kitchen. I get up from the couch and follow her. Her apartment is tiny and would be way too small for me.

“Tell me,” I urge. “Isn”t he?”

“No,” Emily says, leaning against the counter. “He isn”t. Alex never cheated on Daisy, but he would sometimes flirt. Noah, on the other hand, was never like that. For him, it was always about football.”

“And yet you always liked Alex more than Noah.”

It just slipped out, even though it”s none of my business. Besides, Alex is her big sister”s ex-boyfriend. Emily”s face turns bright red and she turns away. She is busy putting things together on the small table when I interrupt her.

“Em?” I ask shyly. “I”m sorry.”

She sighs and turns to me. Her gaze is blank and her lips are drawn into a thin line.

“Don”t be sorry,” she assures me, trying to smile. “He”ll never notice me anyway.”

“Never notice...” I shake my head. “Don”t say that!”

“Cara,” she says, “let it go, okay? I”ve known Alex for over a decade. He dated my sister and still goes to bed with her. He”s not interested in me - not like that.”

“But at the Fall Fair...”

“He likes Daisy!” she hisses at me and apologizes immediately. “I didn”t mean it like that ... he ... forget it.”

“No,” I say, reaching for her hand. “If you and Alex ...”

“Alex doesn”t like me and never will. I”m like a little sister to him and Noah and look at me...” She points at her figure and then at mine. “And look at you or Daisy. That”s what the McCarter twins are like.”

“Don”t make yourself so small,” I beg her, “you”re so pretty and...”

The ringing of the doorbell interrupts our conversation. Emily spins on her heel and rushes to the door. It”s probably more than convenient for her that we can cut our conversation short.

I lean against the counter and wait for her to return. As soon as she leaves for work, I”ll have to book a flight and have Marina pick me up in Boston. I”m going to miss Emily when I”m back in my life. Maybe we”ll manage to stay in touch, but it would be better for everyone if we cut it off. She”s part of Noah”s friends, his life, and there”s no place for me in it.

“It’s for you,” Emily says with a smile and steps aside. Noah appears next to her. My heart immediately starts beating faster. He looks tired, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“I”m going to work and hopefully you”ll still be here when I get back. The Tennessee adventure isn”t over yet.”

I can”t help but laugh as she comes over and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“Don”t screw it up again,” she whispers, “neither of you.”

With a knowing smile, she waves and leaves the apartment.

Noah and I are left alone and I look at him in anticipation. What is he doing here? Is he going to take me to the airport to make sure I”m really leaving Nashville or is he going to give me another piece of his mind?

“Hey,” he says quietly. “Are you free?”

“I don”t have any plans,” I answer with a grin and he returns it. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

“Okay,” I say hesitantly, knitting my eyebrows together. “And... and then?”

“Shall we talk?” he answers. “Even if I don”t deserve it after last night, I”d like to talk to you again. About everything.”

“Everything?” I ask, my eyes widening. My stomach tingles treacherously and I grin at him. “You mean about us?”

“Yes,” he says. “And how it should continue.”

“Okay,” I agree, brushing back a strand of my hair. “Then ... then I”m going to get dressed.”

“I”ll wait for you here.”

***

At first, Noah and I walk side by side in silence, lost in our thoughts. I hadn”t expected this turn of events. After all, he made it very clear to me last night that I should disappear from his life. And then he suddenly shows up at Emily”s door and wants to talk. It”s really confusing. For my head and especially for my heart. I want to be with him, and I”ve fallen in love with him. Noah is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.

“I didn”t say that you were a spoiled brat,” he finally breaks the silence. “I would never say that about you.”

Noah puts his hands in his jacket pockets and looks over at me.

“I get along with Daisy, always have. But I don”t want anything from her.”

“Hm.” I shake my head. It”s hard to believe, especially after her performance yesterday. There”s no doubt she”d take him in a heartbeat if Alex wasn”t around.

“Huh?” Noah asks, raising his eyebrows. “Hm, you don”t believe me that I don”t want anything from Daisy, or hm, you don”t believe me that I didn”t say that to her?”

“I believe you said it ... well ... at least not in those words,” I reply. “And as for the other thing... I don”t know.”

“I never had anything to do with Daisy and I never will,” he says clearly. His voice gets louder towards the end. “She”s Alex”s ex-girlfriend. That”s a no-go for me. Besides, I”m only interested in one woman.”

A gentle smile plays around his lips, telling me that he can only mean me. Heat rises inside me and my heartbeat accelerates again.

“I know how it all must have affected you yesterday, but damn ... I felt totally ambushed. You have to admit, I didn”t expect you to show up here.”

“What was I supposed to do?” I ask and stop. “You”ve been ignoring me for weeks, even forbidding Alex to contact me. What are you doing, Noah?”

“I needed space,” he justifies.

“For so many weeks?” I retort, and raise my eyebrows. “You can”t be serious.”

“Yes,” he insists. “I am serious.”

I puff out my cheeks and shake my head.

“What happened at the awards show was ... a disaster, and I felt so insulted.”

“You felt insulted?” I ask. “You announced that I was taken when I was never taken. How was I supposed to react?”

Noah takes a deep breath and within seconds there is nothing left of his gentle expression.

“All you had to do was admit that you felt more than friendship for me. That”s all I asked, Cara. Of course, I didn”t think it was funny that this Dick...”

“Brick,” I correct him.

“Brick,” he snarls. “Was hitting on you. I heard you say it. We were never just friends, Cara. At least from my end. I wanted to know you from day one.”

“Noah, I...”

“No,” he cuts me off harshly. “You listen to me now! I understand that you”re scared and worried about your childhood and your father. And yes, I can”t offer you a life like a mechanic or a lawyer can, but I ... I just want you. You”ve been the only woman in my life for weeks. When we first met... you... you walked into the room and... and I was completely taken by you. After Alex finally persuaded me to talk to you and I blew it the first time, you weren”t there when I came back.”

I look at him with a grin, because I remember our first meeting very well.

“I tried everything to convince you and after we had sex for the first time, you got to know my family and we spent more and more time together ...” He takes a deep breath. “I ... I thought it would be easy.”

“Noah ... you can”t believe that,” I mumble. “We didn”t just get together out of the blue. It didn”t even come up that you wanted a serious relationship.”

“But we”re not teenagers anymore and we”re always asking if we”re together,” he replies. “And to me, that”s what we were - together.”

“Noah, I...” I stammer. “I made a mistake, and yes, it shouldn”t have escalated like that at the awards show, but I... I felt so trapped and I... I had my principles.”

“Fuck your principles!” he yells. “Forget them, Cara. I”m here and I want to be with you. I want to make you happy and...”

“And you”re a football player.”

“That”s right,” he says. “But we both live in Boston and we might be apart two days every two weeks. Sometimes three weeks in the summer because I”m at training camp. And ... and if you don”t want kids because ... because I don”t have time, we”ll wait. That”s not a problem, but please, give us a chance.”

I stare at him open-mouthed and can”t make a sound.

Noah sighs and takes a step towards me. “Please?”

“Maybe I got a little carried away,” I admit. “And maybe I should have done things differently.”

“Maybe?” Noah raises his eyebrows and grins. “Don”t you think you should take the ‘maybe’ out of that sentence?”

“Yeah, okay!” I call. “I”ll cross it out. I should have given you a chance and not put my stupid principles before my happiness.”

“It”s okay,” he says, taking a step toward me. “Seriously, Cara. I want this. I want you and no other woman. I”m not interested in another woman.”

“Daisy?”

He groans in annoyance and rolls his eyes.

“I mean it this time,” I insist. “What did you say to her? Where did you get the idea to tell her that?”

He runs his hands over his face and moans.

“I was frustrated and I got drunk with her...”

“With her?” I hiss. “Noah!”

“Nothing happened between us and nothing ever will. Daisy loves Alex.”

I roll my eyes. The stupid cow should stay away from both McCarter twins. It would be best for everyone.

“I was drunk and I told her that you were acting like a brat and that everything had to be your way. And that”s exactly what you did, Cara!”

“Pff!” I look at him in disbelief. “I can”t believe you”d say that.”

“Jesus Christ!” he shouts, grabbing my hand to pull me toward him. “I want you, only you. You”re the only woman I want to be with, Cara Catherine Corse. And either you tell me right now that you want that too, or...” Noah stops dramatically and I open my eyes.

Why is he doing this?

My heart races, afraid that everything between us might be over again.

“Or?” I whisper.

“Or we go our separate ways forever,” he answers. “I want you. Only you, but you have to want me as well. It won”t work otherwise.”

“I want you too,” I say, putting my hand on his cheek. I stroke it gently and smile at him. “I want you and that”s why I”m here. I shouldn”t have done all this and ... and I should have allowed my feelings for you. It was easier for me to talk myself into the friendship thing than to really deal with where it was taking us. That was wrong, and enough people have told me that by now.”

“Oh yeah?” he asks. “Who?”

“My mom, Alex, Emily...” I sigh. “You want me to list others?”

I tug on his jacket and smile. Noah returns my smile and leans into me. Our eyes lock and despite his clothes, I can feel his heart beating hard beneath my fingers.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you too,” I reply, sealing his mouth with mine.

Noah kisses me back and pulls me closer. His arms wrap around me and I wrap mine around his neck at the same time, pulling him closer.