Friends Like These: A Romantic Comedy (A Love Like This Book 3)

by Carina Taylor

  “Who are you?” An older gentleman with bushy eyebrows barked at me.

  “I’m Page,” I shot back.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Eating appetizers.”

  He looked at me with a snarl. “I mean, what are you doing here with my grandson. You’re not the woman he needs at his side.”

  “Hmm, and you figured that out in thirty seconds, how?” I really didn’t like this guy. Even more so once I realized why I recognized him. He was Noah’s grandfather. There was no way I could pretend to be nice to such a big jerk. I didn’t even try.

  “You’re too colorful.”

  I glanced down at my cream dress and matching shoes. I ran my hand through my hair, straightening out the big tangle curls. “I know my hair’s a little browner than usual, I’ll have to switch back to my old stylist. That way, we can make sure we cater to your every whim.”

  “So, you’re a smart one too. You’d be horrible at reeling in potential members.”

  “And you’re comparing me to your track record?”

  He straightened up. “Why, yes, I am.”

  I laughed. I knew I was colorful. That was me, and I didn’t intend to change for anyone—Noah had helped reiterate that to me when I doubted myself.

  “You’re laughing at me?” The old man’s forehead was turning an unnatural shade of red.

  “Let me get this straight. You left a debt-ridden golf course to your grandson, and you’re telling me I can’t bring in new business? It sounds like you and I should get along fine since you didn’t bring in any business, either.”

  His face smoothed out, and his voice quieted. “Look around you. These are the upstanding business members of the community. Do you think that they are going to respect a little girl with no direction in life who turned a goat loose on a golf course?”

  His comment hit too close to home. I was different. I was only just now discovering my direction in life—and it scared me, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of bowing to his cruelty.

  “The thing of it is, little girls grow into women who change the world. And right now, the world I’m planning on changing is yours.”

  He looked at me in shock. I picked up another chocolate covered strawberry and bit into it as I went in search of Noah.

  No matter how I tried to block that man’s words, I couldn’t. I nodded as I passed a few people I’d met earlier in the evening.

  Finally, I spotted him standing at the center of the display of minute paintings that Lottie was gracious enough to share—even though I quit the gallery.

  Noah was talking with the woman I’d had the painting conversation with earlier that evening: the one who was interested in seeing more of my Picasso imitations. I knew it was only a matter of time before I met someone else who had impeccable artistry tastes.

  As I approached Noah, he turned slightly towards me, not much, but enough that I noticed. He continued talking with the woman and two other gentlemen. As I studied the group, I knew deep down in my soul that Noah’s grandpa was right. I didn’t have what it took to mingle and pretend to be a wallflower. I didn’t see myself as an extension of his business; I saw myself as someone who was complete as herself.

  Maybe I was too colorful for Noah. Maybe all the work at the golf course was an excuse to avoid me. He was such a gentleman that he probably didn’t want to break up with me. He was too good of a guy. I was the one who kept pushing myself into his life. I couldn’t do that to him anymore. I needed to give him the space he deserved. And I deserved to be loved as much as I loved. Spending my time with someone who loved me less was a waste of time.

  I couldn’t compete with a golf course.

  We’d seen so little of each other lately. Maybe he wanted to be done with our relationship. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt my feelings by breaking up with me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  NOAH

  When Alec made his way over to the group I’d been speaking with, I was ready for what I knew was about to happen. His one goal in mind: to make himself look good and make me look terrible. In his mind, he had an influential audience to woo. There were two bank owners: Paul Raglund and Gregory Toombs, and my friend Xavier, a well-respected restaurateur, who had finally made it down to visit.

  I knew to expect Grandfather’s sharp tongue, trying to make me look bad. What I hadn’t expected was for Page to follow right on his heels.

  Page slipped her hand underneath my elbow and leaned close to my side.

  “Page, I’d like you to meet my good friend Xavier. This is Gregory Toombs, and this is Paul Raglund, Hagen’s father.”

  “So nice to meet you all,” Page smiled at each in turn. When she got to Paul, she reached a hand out to pat his arm. “My sincere condolences on your son marrying a Boone.”

  Paul leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. “I’ll tell you a secret.”

  Page whispered loudly back at him. “I love secrets.”

  “I love my future daughter-in-law. I feel like it’s against the rules of being an in-law, but I can’t help but like Kylie, especially seeing her with Hagen.”

  Page grinned at him. “I think they’re good for each other, too.”

  Grandfather’s voice cut into their quiet conversation with his booming voice as he spoke to Gregory Toombs. Toombs ran the bank that held The Garden’s last loan about to be paid.

  “My grandson here is having trouble running a successful business. Dumb luck. I wish he would have inherited my sharp business sense,” Alec was saying.

  Page bristled next to me, “Remind me of the successful businesses you run? What are they again?”

  I could have kissed her right then. Maybe put my hand over her mouth—anything to stop her from becoming his newest target.

  Grandpa’s face was turning red again, and he took a sip—gulp—of his wine before he answered her. “I’ve retired. No more running businesses for me. Now it’s my turn to sit back while my grandson runs this place into bankruptcy.”

  “Funny you should say that because the course has reached a record high of members. Nearly double the amount there were when you were running it.” Page laughed as though she were merely commenting on the color of his tie. “But, silly me, we’re not here to talk business; we’re here to drink wine and admire art.”

  She spun toward me and grabbed my hand. “Noah, there’s a piece over there I wanted to show you.”

  She flashed a smile at my grandfather and his friends while I allowed her to pull me along.

  “You’re magnificent; you know that?”

  She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ve thought that about myself before, so it’s nice to have it confirmed.”

  “I saw my grandpa talking to you earlier. What did he say?”

  “I would imagine it’s his usual bluster.”

  “I’m sorry.” I squeezed her hand as we stopped in front of an imitation Picasso.

  “Why don’t mine ever look like this?”

  I shrugged, knowing it was best to keep my mouth shut. There is a time and a place for honesty, and this wasn’t it.

  “We’ve made the rounds enough; let’s get out of here and grab some dinner by ourselves.”

  “That sounds like fun Noah, but I’ve got a headache.”

  That would explain why she was missing her regular sparkle. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. Let me lock my office, then I’ll drive you home.”

  She rested a hand on my arm. “No, it’s okay. I’ll drive myself home. All I need is to lay down and sleep. It will go away.”

  I studied her eyes. “You do look tired. I’ve been putting too much on you. You’ve been doing amazing with these art nights, but you’re busy starting a business and running a coffee shop. You don’t need more things to worry about.”

  “Noah. I’m okay, really. Just a headache. I’ll talk to you later.” She reached out and squeezed my arm before heading toward the lobby.

  Grandpa had been busy.

  It amazed
me that one person could carry around so much bitterness for so long. I’d always heard that anger and resentment would eat away at a person. Not in Grandpa’s case, he seemed to thrive on it. No matter. I’d learned a thing or two in my short life, and it would take more than my grandpa spreading lies to cause me to file for bankruptcy. I wasn’t even going to acknowledge the rumors he’d started.

  I’d paid off one of the loans then refinanced the remaining loans. It wouldn’t take too much longer to pay those off, and then we would be entirely in the black. Toombs had been impressed with the art night and told me he’d be happy to work with me on the loan.

  The next big thing was spring golf tournaments. We were planning a March golf tournament that would hopefully cement us as a reputable golf course in town.

  I couldn’t get a hold of Page the next morning. I’d shown up to the coffee shop to buy a cup of coffee—that I never ended up drinking—and she was busy taking inventory and couldn’t come out from the back. Except when I walked back out to my car, I saw her face plastered to the window. Whatever the reason was that she was avoiding me, I would find out and fix it. Maybe I’d done something to make her mad. When I handed over all management duties to Kent, I planned on taking some time off to spend with Page. Of course, I had a few more business ideas I was throwing around in my head, but I would make sure they wouldn’t interfere with how much time I wanted to spend with Page.

  If I wanted to have a strong relationship with her, I needed to put the time and effort necessary for it. Maybe I was more like my grandfather than I thought—allowing the golf course to become the priority instead of relationships.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  PAGE

  I went through the motions as I made my (yes, my) regulars’ cups of coffee. I was so preoccupied that I didn’t even remember to smile at my best tippers. I’d have to make it up to them in the future with an extra shot of coffee.

  After I hid from Noah earlier that morning, I knew I had to make a decision—and fast. I couldn’t keep avoiding him. And I couldn’t help feeling like he didn’t love me as much as I loved him. It wasn’t right. I wasn’t a priority in his life.

  “You’re fired.”

  “Cletus, I’m not in the mood today.”

  Cletus leaned his cane against the counter. “Caroline isn’t speaking to me.”

  “Hmm, no surprise there.”

  “It’s your fault. You’ve been distracting her grandson, and now she feels like she needs to be there for him. I guess that lousy ex-husband of hers is causing problems.”

  “I don’t doubt that for a second. I finally met him.”

  Cletus’ eyes widened. “What was he like? Was he younger than me?”

  “Cletus, everyone is younger than you. He was exactly how you would expect: self-absorbed and manipulative.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said I didn’t belong with his grandson.”

  “He’s not wrong.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cletus.”

  “I mean it. I met some of Caroline’s friends. It was a stuffy crowd.”

  I nodded. I knew what he meant.

  “Maybe you and I are better off by ourselves.”

  “You might be right,” I admitted. I knew I didn’t fit in.

  “Better lonely than stifled,” Cletus grumbled.

  “I’m not sure if that’s true or not. I’ll give it some thought, but right now, there’s a line of people waiting for their coffees.”

  The next customer was a middle-aged woman with a cloud of hairspray preceding her. “Boyfriend trouble, honey?”

  The sympathetic look on her face,

  “It’s just—I don’t think he loves me as much as I love him.”

  “Did he tell you he loves you?” The woman asked.

  “Well, yes.”

  “Then, he loves you.”

  “But he’s too busy to spend time with me.”

  “Then, he probably doesn’t love you.” Another gentleman sitting at a small table close by added. “Men will make time for what’s important to them.”

  I sipped my iced coffee. “Good point. He’s an amazing guy. I love him. But I don’t know if I should stay with him if he doesn’t feel the same way.”

  Another woman, Tasha, a regular, came to stand by the counter next to me. “If he loves you, then he’ll make an effort.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Maybe he’s just reserved!” Mitchell, the blogger who came into the shop every day, piped up. He quickly buried his face behind his laptop again.

  “Mitchell’s got a point,” Tasha agreed. “Maybe he doesn’t know how to make an effort?”

  Edward, Cletus’ chess partner, walked over to the counter. The man rested a hand against the glass pastry shelf. “My wife says I should keep my hands to myself more often.”

  I snagged the cleaning spray and a rag and walked around to the outside of the counter. “Excuse me.”

  The man moved his hand, and I sprayed the fingerprints with the cleaner. “My boyfriend keeps his hands to himself. That’s not the problem.”

  I finished polishing the glass.

  Edward spoke up, “When I was young, men weren’t scared to say it like it is.”

  I nodded as I reached up and pulled Edward’s thick glasses off his face, quickly polishing them with my rag before I set them back on the end of his nose.

  “Your man might just need to have a chat with one of us old-timers to learn how it’s done.”

  “You’re probably right, Edward.”

  “Does he kiss you?”

  I’m not sure who asked. “Well, he kisses me back when I kiss him.”

  A collective groan went throughout the room.

  “He hasn’t initiated it?”

  “I, uh, well, not nearly as often as me.”

  I looked around at the sympathetic looks on their faces. That was when I realized something.

  I was a pity girlfriend.

  I’d barged into Noah’s life and commandeered it. Maybe he thought he loved me simply because I hadn’t given him a chance to think otherwise. Now that he knew he didn’t love me he probably wasn’t sure how to break the news to me.

  I think I felt my heart physically split down the middle at the thought. I couldn’t swallow.

  I knew what I had to do.

  I had to set him free.

  Knowing what you have to do and doing it are two very different things.

  I knew I couldn’t be a pity girlfriend. I knew I couldn’t even be a second thought girlfriend. I needed to be a priority. I’d been on the back burner with my parents ever since the twins were born. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone who would treat me the same way.

  When I parked my car at the golf course parking lot, I slipped inside through the caddy entrance. I didn’t want to have to stop and chat with Alisha or Mandy. Or worse, see Kent and have to explain why I was there. After peeking through a few doors, I headed upstairs. Noah needed to add some security to the club. It wasn’t tough to sneak past everyone.

  When I finally found Noah in his office upstairs, he looked surprised to see me.

  “I think we need to take a break,” I blurted out.

  “You’re right. We’ve been spending way too much time here. I’m sorry.”

  I bit my lip. “That’s not what I meant, Noah.”

  He stopped sorting through the papers on his desk.

  “What are you saying, Page?”

  “I’m saying we need to stop dating.”

  “What? Why?” He stood up and leaned his hands on the desk. His eyes were hard as he studied my face.

  Okay, scary-Noah was making a reappearance. I wasn’t sure I could face him right then.

  “You and I are so different, you know?”

  He shook his head. “Of course, I know that. We’re incredibly different.”

  I smiled with quivering lips. Darn those tears trying to sneak out. “The novelty w
ill wear off. And where will that leave me? Broken-hearted.” Ha. I’m such a faker; I was already broken-hearted.

  “You’re ending our relationship based on what could happen?” He walked around the desk and stopped in front of me, where he shoved his hands in his pockets.

  “Don’t make this harder than it is. You’re an amazing man, Noah. I’ve had a great time with you. But all good things come to an end.”

  “But I thought you—”

  His stormy eyes nearly shattered me.

  “I’ll see you around, Noah.”

  Then I ran—like the coward I was—down the stairs. I barely dodged Kent in the hall, my vision blurry as tears streamed down my face.

  All I wanted was to curl up in a ball and look up travel plans that I couldn’t afford.

  I couldn’t see Noah again. I was too weak. If I saw him, I’d leap into his arms and wrap around him like a boa constrictor. He’d have to peel me off like Velcro.

  That’s why I chose the coward’s way—a break-up and run. I couldn’t stay and talk it out. I would lose my resolve—and my self-respect.

  I called Jenny immediately after breaking up with Noah and demanded that she meet me at my house with a box of beignets and chocolate milk.

  I lay on my back on my fluffy rug, staring at the ceiling, waiting for some grand epiphany to hit me. Waiting for my life’s purpose to come drifting towards me, Mary Poppins style. Instead, all I saw floating towards me was dust and heartache.

  The door shook when someone knocked on it. I must have laid on that rug for a long time because there was only one person in the world who knocked like that.

  “Come in!” I yelled.

  Jenny marched inside, carrying two paper sacks. “What’s the occasion?”

  “I broke up with Noah.”

  “Huh. That’s a shame. I actually liked him.” She sat down on my bed and opened the bag. She pulled out a beignet and bit it in half. Jenny didn’t belong in the south with her uncouth manners, but it was something that made her fun—relatable even—though we didn’t dare say it out loud. Our parents would kill us. Every family has a black sheep and Jenny’s ours. She was well-loved by all of us cousins, though.