Page 78 of Touchdowns and Temptations

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.”

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