Page 65 of Touchdowns and Temptations

I turn to him angrily and look at him.

“Tell me, are you completely nuts?” I bark at him. Noah opens his mouth to say something, but I don't let him get a word in. “What was that all about? Why are you pretending to be my boyfriend?”

I shake my head in disbelief.

“I'm not going out with you and I don't intend to. You know that. So would you please stop pretending that we're together?” I continue to vent my anger.

“Come on!” he growls, grabbing my wrist. I have trouble keeping up with him in my long dress and high heels. Noah drags me down the hall behind him. Past my parents, Alex and Toby and a few other familiar faces and, unfortunately, members of the press. We're at a big event where everyone's just waiting for a scandal to break, and we, of all people, are going to provide it? Noah knows how much I hate all of this. And now he's making sure I'm the absolute center of attention.

“Noah!” I call. “What are you doing?”

Ignoring me, he just keeps walking until we pass the security guard at the entrance and come to a stop in front of the building.

Furious, I yank his hand away and place it on my hip.

“Tell me, are you okay?” I yell at him, pointing at the entrance. “What was that about?”

“What... that...” He shakes his head. “You better tell me what it is about this Dick...”

“His name is Brick!”

“I don't care what the guy's name is,” he yells. “What was that about, Cara? Can't you see how he adores you?”

I want to throw a snarky ‘Like you?’ at him, but I don't dare.

“He has a girlfriend. And even if he did,” I answer, trying to calm myself down. This is an absolutely fucked-up situation, and we're in public, at the NFL Sports Awards after-party. We can't be here arguing and sorting out our relationship status. “You’re making a scene.”

“A scene?” he asks. “For making it clear to all those slobbering bastards, including my brother, that you're taken?”

“I am not taken!”

“Yes, you are!” he shouts. “By me.”

I can't help but laugh, because he's probably going crazy right now. I'd probably know if I'd agreed to a relationship with Noah McCarter.

“You're out of your mind!” I yell, shaking my head. “We're not together and we never will be.”

I start to walk past him, but Noah grabs my hand again and stops me.

“Cara, please,” he whispers. “Why can't you just admit that you're in love with me too?”

His question hits me with full force. Like a punch I didn't see coming, knocking me to the ground. My heart begins to race and the spot on my wrist where he touches me threatens to go up in flames. Noah's eyes go right through me. He seems so vulnerable right now that I want to throw myself into his arms to comfort him. But I can't, and even less so after his performance earlier. If we're unlucky, tomorrow the whole country will know we're screwing. Including my parents. Even if I have feelings for him, he's still a football player.

“Because it's not like that,” I say. “I'm not in love with you. We're friends who occasionally sleep together. Nothing more.”

19

Cara

Last night was an absolute nightmare. After Noah and I had a fight in the street, I took a cab home. I definitely didn't want to party anymore.

I didn't want things to escalate. I kept trying to reach Noah, but he wasn't answering his cell phone.

“Can you explain this to me?” my dad shouts.

His head glowing red, he slaps a Boston daily newspaper in front of my face. It takes me a moment to react and glance at the front page. My blood freezes in my veins and I swallow hard when I see the headline.

“This!” my father continues, tapping the front page with his index finger. “Explain it to me!”

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