Romance: The Billionaire's Choice - Contemporary Romance (Romance, Contemporary Romance Book 1) Read Free Page B

“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