Page 57 of Touchdowns and Temptations

“He sings amazingly,” I whisper to Emily and she nods immediately.

“Unbelievable, isn't it?” she asks. “And you always have to make him do it.”

Noah's eyes are closed and even I can tell he feels every single note. The chorus completely blows me away because he opens his eyes and looks at me at that moment.

He is singing a country song from the early nineties that I don't know, but I find it very beautiful. His voice completely envelops me and I hardly notice anything but Noah's soft tones and the sounds of the guitar.

I'm speechless. It's absolutely amazing. I can't believe he can sing. And so well. If he wasn't a quarterback, he'd be the perfect country singer.

Everyone in the bar stands up and claps when he finishes. Noah grins sheepishly and puts down his guitar. He seems uncomfortable with the applause, and I can hardly believe it. My heart is beating faster for him. His voice has absolutely enchanted me and made me even more enthusiastic about this man than I already am. This trip to Nashville makes our relationship even more blurry.

“Thank you,” he says. “We can get back to our evening.”

He hands the guitar to Fred, jumps off the stage and comes back to our table. The others have sat down, but I'm still standing, looking at him with big eyes.

“You can ... sing,” I say and he laughs when he reaches me.

“A little,” he says shyly. “It's no big deal.”

“No big deal?” I ask. “You sang incredibly. Just amazing and...”

“Cara,” he stops me. “It's no big deal.”

Noah sits down in his chair, and I do the same. Noah takes my hand and smiles at me. I slip my fingers between his and grin. The song was incredibly beautiful. The others think so too. They shower Noah with praise - especially Daisy, but then she snuggles up to Alex again. That woman is a mystery to me. She always hits on Noah and then goes over to Alex. Strange ...

“When are you going back?” Emily asks in our direction. I'm about to answer when Alex and Daisy stand up.

“We're off, guys,” he says, raising his hand.

“Bye,” Daisy says, waving. I wave back briefly and turn back to Emily. But her expression has completely changed. Her eyes are fixed and her incisors are digging into her lower lip. There's no sign of the happy young woman she was a few minutes ago. I look back at Alex and Daisy, who are leaving the bar hand in hand, and then back at Emily.

“I'll be right back,” she says suddenly and disappears. I open my mouth to shout something after her when Noah catches my attention.

“Are we going too?” he wants to know and smiles at me.

“I... I don't know,” I mumble and look for Emily again, but she's gone. “What about Emily?”

“I don't know.” Noah shrugs. Typical man. “I think she thinks our siblings' behavior sucks as much as I do.”

I don't think that's the reason, but I'm not going to tell Noah. She didn't seem angry, she seemed hurt. After all, Alex swept her across the dance floor yesterday and who knows what happened between them? And today he's screwing her sister? Holy shit. These small-town dynamics can be weird. But who am I to judge?

“I want to say goodbye to her, okay?”

Noah nods and smiles at me. “I'll go ahead and pay for us.”

It doesn't take me long to find Emily in the bathroom.

“Hey,” I say. “Are you okay?”

She stands at the sink and runs water over her wrists.

“Sure,” she replies, turning off the faucet and grabbing wipes from the dispenser.

“Really?” I ask, grabbing her forearm. “I saw you and Alex yesterday and today...”

“There was nothing going on between me and Alex,” she replies hastily. “He likes my sister.”

Emily looks at me for a moment and then storms out of the bathroom. I'm speechless for a few seconds before I follow her. Something is wrong, but that's not my business. I leave the bathroom as well, and Noah is standing in front of me. He has our jackets in his hands.

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