did you get to see the interview?”
“I did.” I reached out to squeeze his arm. Somehow, being with him centered me again, easing some of the sense of panic. “The game was fantastic—you were on fire. And the interview was excellent. I think it’s going to get a lot of people excited about the foundation.”
“Let’s hope so.” He ran his fingers up and down my arm, frowning down at me. “Did you like the box? You didn’t have any problem getting in or anything—and you got to meet a lot of the wives and everyone?”
I really didn’t want to get into the details of my evening while we stood in his kitchen with his parents. “Everything was wonderful. Everyone was very nice.” I paused. “I’m sorry things were so crazy afterwards. Your mom and dad thought it would be better if we got out of there. Jenny’s going to pick me up here.” I checked my phone. “She should be here pretty soon.”
“Oh.” Noah’s face fell. “When my mom said you were all meeting me here, I figured we’d have some time to hang out for a little while.”
What I wanted to say was that if we were alone, I’d be all over that. I would have loved to have settled down at the kitchen table with a beer and dissect the game. We could have talked more about the interview, and maybe I even would have confessed how uncomfortable and out of place I’d felt with the wives.
But as it was, his mom was watching us with what I could best describe as concerned interest. It might have leaned heavier toward the concerned side than the interested one. Or maybe I was just misreading the expression of a mother who was eager to spend some time with her son, who she didn’t get to see very often.
Either way, I knew I had to disappoint Noah. I hated it, but there wasn’t any choice tonight.
“I’m sorry.” I said it firmly so that he wouldn’t try to talk me out of it. “Jenny and I have to be at the hospital early tomorrow, and we have an hour’s drive to get there. I don’t want to keep Jen up late. She did me a favor by driving over with me tonight and letting me stay at Nico’s house.”
“Yeah, I know.” He sighed. “I guess maybe it wasn’t that great of an idea to drag you over here for this football game. I’m sorry. I thought it would be fun.”
“It was, Noah.” I laid my hand on his wrist and circled my fingers. “I’m very glad I came over, and I had a really good time at the game. Thank you for inviting me and letting me sit in the box.” My phone buzzed. “Oh, that’s Jenny. She almost here.” I hitched my purse higher onto my shoulder. “I’ll just go outside and wait for her.”
“You don’t have to do that. Jenny can come in, and—”
“Noah.” Mrs. Spencer spoke up. “The girls don’t want a late night before an early morning. Let Emma get some sleep.” She spared me a quick smile before turning back to her son. “Your father and I would like to get settled in our rooms and maybe have a cup of decaf—oh, and I brought some of your favorite cookies, the ones with the macadamia nuts.”
“All right. That sounds good, Mom. Just let me walk Emma out.” He offered me his arm.
I gave both of Noah’s parents a quick hug and then slid my hand into the crook of Noah’s elbow. He led me through the shadowy hallway into a living room where a few dim lamps burned. At the front door, he turned a deadbolt but didn’t reach for the knob.
Through the side panel windows, I could see the headlights of Jenny’s car easing down the drive, and I moved to open the door.
“Emma, hold on. I feel like—” He raked one hand through his hair. “I feel like this was a giant mistake, the way I handled everything tonight. I didn’t even think about how hard it might be on you to drag yourself over and back when you have to work the next day. Or about how rough all the wives might’ve been on you. Or that maybe spending the evening with my parents, who you’ve only met a few times in passing, might not have been your idea of a good time. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it all. Really. I had a good