Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1) (2 page)

Isabel tossed the phone down on the table.

“What’s up?” Cara asked.

“Nothing,” she muttered.

Cara looked over and studied Isabel’s face. “Alright,” she said quietly. “When are you leaving?”

“He will be here in a few minutes,” she said without looking up.

“Okay then,” she replied. “Is everything alright? You don’t seem quite so excited now.”

“Everything is fine,” she said.

Cara sighed. “You aren’t acting like everything is fine. What did he say?” she asked. “Does he not want to go now?”

“No, it’s okay. He said that he still wants to go,” Isabel said then paused for a moment. “It’s nothing that he actually said. It’s just how he said it. Everything seems different now. I don’t think that he actually wants to go. I suppose he would just feel guilty if he backed out of it.”

Cara shook her head. “Come on,” she said. “I think you are just reading too much into it. You’re nervous. I understand that. It seems like you are probably just overthinking things.”

Isabel shrugged her shoulders.

“Really, I bet he is just nervous too,” she said. “He probably doesn’t know what to say to you. I’m sure he just isn’t sure what to expect from this weekend.”

“Well,” Isabel replied. “It doesn’t sound like he is expecting anything too great to happen. He wants to come home early.”

“Early?” Cara repeated. “How early?”

“He wants to leave on Sunday night,” she said.

“Oh. Well, that’s no big deal. What was your plan? You were going to come back on Monday morning, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, we wanted to have an extra night to relax up there,” she replied. “But now he doesn’t want to be stuck in a hotel room with me for another night.”

“I doubt that is the reason. Why did he say he wanted to come back early?” she asked.

“He claims that he has an important meeting,” Isabel said.

“Well, if that’s what he says then maybe it’s true,” Cara said. “Don’t make yourself crazy. You guys have a great relationship. You know that he loves you. Why don’t you just give him the benefit of the doubt. Have a little trust.”

“I don’t know. I think I’ve really messed up things between us,” she said.

Cara sighed. “You did the right thing,” she said. “Just see how this weekend goes. You know that he has been obsessing about his career lately. The last time we were out, he couldn’t stop talking about this idea of his legacy. You know that he’s worried about getting older and just being seen as a trust fund baby. I know that you’re upset but you’re not the center of the universe. He is worried about his career and his future. He’s got a lot on his mind. Don’t think that everything is about you.”

“I know that,” she replied.

“Well, don’t make yourself crazy then,” Cara said. “I’m sure if he’s acting strange, it’s not about you.”

Isabel nodded. “Yeah, I suppose,” she muttered. “Alright, I need to get upstairs and grab my bag. He will be here soon,” she said.

“Okay,” she said with a half smile.

Cara walked over and hugged Isabel. “Just try to relax,” she said. “The festival is going to be great. Enjoy yourself.”

Isabel nodded.

“Keep me updated,” Cara said as Isabel walked toward the door.

She walked up the stairs and into her apartment. She kicked off her heels and set her keys down on the dusty entryway table.

“I should just stay home and spend the weekend getting things organized here for once,” she muttered to herself.

Isabel walked to her bedroom and rolled her suitcase to the door. She went back to the living room and her phone buzzed right as she sunk down into the couch.

“Hello?” she answered quietly.

“Hey,” Andrew said. “I am downstairs. I can’t find any parking so I’m just going to stay in the car.”

“Okay,” she replied. “I will be down in just a minute.”

“Great, see you soon,” he said.

She hung up and quickly walked back to the entryway. Her hands were shaking as she grabbed onto her bag. She ran down the stairs with her suitcase dropping hard onto each step. She smiled nervously as she looked over at Andrew sitting inside of his car. He rolled down the window as she approached.

“Hey, nice to see you,” he said. “I’ll pop the trunk so you can put your bag back there.”

“Thanks,” Isabel said as she walked to the back of the car.

She tossed her suitcase on top of his then got into the front seat. “Thanks for picking me up,” she said.

“Not a problem. It’s nice to see you,” he said as he pulled away from the curb. “But you seriously need a new studio. This neighborhood is insane.”

Isabel laughed nervously. “Well, it was the only place I could get that had an attached apartment. We can’t all afford your neighborhood.”

Andrew was silent. She took a deep breath.

“So, how is work going?” she asked.

“Fine,” he replied.

“Good,” she said. “I’m glad to hear.”

He nodded. Isabel fidgeted with her seatbelt as they sat in silence.

“And how are things going for you at work?” he asked.

“Great,” she responded a little too loudly. Her cheeks reddened. “Everything is going really well with the line,” she said quietly.

“I’m glad to hear,” Andrew replied.

“Yeah, it has really been a ton of work. Cara and I have basically spent every waking hour at the studio for the past three months,” she said.

Andrew nodded.

“But I think everything has finally come together. The models are coming in for their final fittings on Tuesday then we’ll have the fashion show on Friday,” she said. “It’s incredibly exciting really.”

He smiled and stared forward.

“Everyone really did a great job and we got an amazing selection of models. I think this is really going to be the big show that could change everything for us,” she said.

He didn’t reply.

“So, I’m really happy,” she said.

“That’s great,” Andrew said.

“And it is so incredibly nice to be out of the studio for a change,” she said quickly. “I don’t think I could have spent another minute in there. I am so burnt out at the moment.”

“Well, I am glad that you could make the trip,” he said. “I know that you have been under a lot of pressure with this collection.”

“Thanks,” Isabel replied. “I am really glad that we could go together.”

He nodded.

“Look, I know that things have been a bit strange-” she began to say.

“Everything is great,” he interrupted. “This is a weekend for us to get away from it all. We’ve both been so busy at work. Let’s not stress about anything.”

“Oh, yeah,” she stammered. “Okay.”

“I downloaded a few great podcasts that I think you’ll really like. Why don’t we listen to one for a while?” he asked.

She took a deep breath. “Not in the mood for chatting?” she asked.

“Nah,” he replied. “I am burned out from work today.”

“Oh okay. Let’s hear what you’ve got,” she said.

Isabel looked over at Andrew and watched the air conditioning vent blow his thick, dark hair. She closed her eyes and sighed quietly as the podcast began.

Isabel could feel herself drifting off when she suddenly the vibration of her phone startled her awake. She opened her eyes and looked over at Andrew. He was staring forward with no expression on his face.

“Sorry I fell asleep,” she mumbled.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he said. “It hasn’t been a very exciting drive. We are just about to get back to your place though so your timing is good.”

“Okay, great,” she said as she reached down to pick up her phone. She smiled when she saw that she had a new message from Cara.

“Are things going any better?” Cara asked.

Isabel sighed and looked over at Andrew again.

“Not really,” she replied. “He’s been quiet most of the weekend and has basically just been trying to avoid us having any alone time together.”

She stared blankly at the screen as she waited for the next message.

“I am sure it’s not so bad,” Cara said. “Maybe you are just overthinking it.”

“I doubt it. Really, I’ve known him most of my life. My entire adult life. I know when he’s being weird and he’s being weird,” Isabel wrote.

Isabel looked out the car window and watched as they entered into her neighborhood. She looked over at Andrew and smile wearily. “Home, sweet, home,” she said quietly.

“Yeah,” he replied. “We should have you back home in just about 15 minutes or so.”

Isabel nodded. “Yep,” she mumbled.

Andrew looked over at his old friend. “Look, I’m sorry if I haven’t really been my usual self this weekend,” he said. “I do hope that you’ve had a good time on the trip. I know that you were looking forward to it and the last thing I wanted to do is rain on your parade. You deserve a good time. I am sorry if you didn’t have one.”

“No, it’s okay,” she replied. “I did have a good weekend. The festival was great and I am definitely glad that we went.”

“Oh, come on, Isabel. I have known you for a long time. You don’t have to put on an act for me,” he said.

“I know that,” she said. “And I’m not. I’m being honest with you. I had fun. Really. Don’t even worry about it.”

Andrew sighed.

“It’s fine,” she said.

He turned on to Isabel’s street. She looked down at the clock and knew that she only had about five minutes left before they arrived at her place. She knew that she would be relieved to finally get out of the car but she hated the idea of ending such an awkward weekend on such an uncomfortable note. Things hadn’t been fine. Not only was she disappointed that it hadn’t turned into the romantic weekend that she had been dreaming about for so long, she was also afraid that she had pushed away her best friend.

Andrew reached over and touched her shoulder. “You look miserable,” he said. “I know how hard you and Cara have been working. You really do deserve a great weekend away and I feel like I have let you down.”

Her body tingled just feeling his hand on her shoulder. “Well, it certainly isn’t our last weekend on earth. We will have plenty more,” she said. “And I did have fun. Don’t even worry about it. I really appreciate you organizing everything and driving us up there. I was a good weekend all in all.”

He nodded but a tentative look remained on his face. “I really don’t want you to think that I’m upset with you or that there is some problem between us. You have always been a great friend to me,” he said.

“And you have been a great friend to me. Let’s not even worry about it,” she said.

“You might say that but I know you. I know that I have been different. I know that we haven’t been connecting like we used to,” he said.

“Well, we have both been busy,” she said. “I understand that. I haven’t had much time lately and I know that you have a lot going on.”

“We used to always make time for each other,” he said. “But things have really been changing for me lately.”

“I understand that,” she said.

“My mind has been somewhere else lately. I really feel like I’m starting a new chapter in my life. You will always be an important part of my life but I am just not sure how you fit into it at the moment,” he said.

Isabel bit her lip. “Ah, well, yeah,” she stuttered. “People change. I know that. It’s nothing personal.”

Andrew didn’t reply.

She sighed and shook her head. “It’s fine,” she said with a huff. “Really, don’t worry about me.”

“Of course I worry about you,” Andrew said. “How long have we been best friends? I’ll always worry about you. You are never far from my mind.”

Isabel could feel tears coming on. She turned away. When she looked out the window, she realized that they were only a couple of blocks from her house.

“Let’s not be melodramatic. All that I am saying is that I have been busy lately and I’ve had a lot on my mind. I know that you are incredibly busy too. I’m sorry that we don’t have the same time and energy for each other anymore.”

She stared out on the window as the car came to a stop. “Let’s ignore the elephant in the room,” she said as she reached for the door handle.

Her eyes were welling up with tears and she didn’t want to look at him.

“What? You being drunk the other night?” he asked.

Isabel yanked the door open and got out. “Just open the trunk,” she yelled back at him.

He leaned forward and the trunk popped open. She felt tears running down her face as she grabbed onto her bag. She looked up and saw Andrew opening the car door.

“Don’t worry,” she shouted. “I’m fine. There’s no parking so just stay there. I’ve got it.”

He slowly closed the door. “Isabel,” he said quietly.

“I’ll see you around. Thanks for the trip,” she yelled behind her as she walked away from the car.

She rushed up the steps and into the stairwell of her building. She leaned against the door as it closed. She dropped her bag and her face flooded with tears. She sobbed as she imagined him driving away.