Page 86 of Mistletoe Mischief

“Hey, Fish. Look what I brought you.”

Pike eyed her suspiciously. “Interesting. Nick brought me coffee this morning, and now you’re bringing me lunch.”

“What? Can’t a friend just feed another friend with no ulterior motives?”

“Yes, a friend can, but you don’t normally leave your bed when you’re working nights. So the fact that you dragged your happy butt out of your sleep time to come bring me lunch means that you wanna talk about something.”

“What could I possibly want to talk about?” she said.

“I don’t know,” he said sarcastically, “but if it has anything to do with Anthony, you can save your breath.”

Noel huffed. “Come on, Pike, be angry for a week and then hear him out.”

Pike shook his head. “You act like he didn’t pay me back for lunch or something. He lied to me. He humiliated me. He gave absolutely zero fucks about our friendship while he was away having God knows how much sex. So, no, I’m not just gonna get over it like that.” Pike snapped his fingers to emphasize his point. “This is the man who has always had my back, and in a split second, he throws all that away.”

“Well, maybe he really likes her.”

Pike shrugged. “Maybe. I wouldn’t know. He never told me.”

Noel set the sandwich container down on the counter with a sigh. “Well, I thought that if I came by and kind of put everything into perspective, you might hear Anthony out, but I guess you’re just too stubborn.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it is. I’m the problem. I am so stubborn, and that is why I cannot forgive Anthony for going behind my back, sleeping with a woman I was interested in, and not having the balls to tell me.”

“And what if he really cares about her, and he couldn’t help himself? What if he wanted to tell you, but not over the phone? What if things just progressed, and he was stuck in a love bubble and wasn’t ready to come up for air?”

“When you have sex with someone, it doesn’t just happen. You have to weigh the pros and cons and then decide that you want to. You make a choice, knowing the consequences, and you accept them. He made his choice.” Pike scoffed. “‘Love bubble.’ Has being a happily married woman made you mushy?”

“It is absolutely a thing,” she said.

“Yes, but I never thought those words would come out of your mouth,” he said.

“Fine, I tried; that’s all I can do.” Noel paused, looking behind the counter at Jo’s cage. “By the way, when did you get a dog?”

“My sister bought it and gave it to my mom to give me as an early Christmas present,” he said.

“Well, that was sweet,” she said.

“Not really, since she’s already pooped and peed in here.”

Noel laughed. “You should take her out more often.”

“And leave the store unattended?” Pike said.

“Why don’t you hire somebody to be in the store to make appointments and sell product while you and Anthony take people on tours? Wouldn’t that make more money in the long run instead of taking turns?”

“Yes, but I’m not gonna be thinking about any new additions to the business until I figure out what I want to do.”

Noel reeled back, eyes wide with surprise. “What does that mean?”

“That means that I don’t know if I want to be in business with a man who has such little regard for me.”

Pike heard Noel counting under her breath before she exploded. “Oh, come on!”

Pike scowled at her. “If you can’t understand and respect how I feel, then you don’t have to come by and check on me.”

Noel didn’t say anything for several beats, and Pike regretted being so harsh with her. Noel had been his person for a long time. While he’d secretly been in love with her since high school, he knew that she would never love him back. When she and Nick got together, he’d been happy for them, but Pike needed to admit how he felt about her. Weirdly enough, they’d had the heart-to-heart in Brews and Chews after Noel discovered him moonlighting as a stripper. She’d finally acknowledged that Pike’s feelings were real for her, and they’d moved on. But just because he had a soft spot for her didn’t mean that she or Nick could put Anthony’s well-being above his.

“I’m sorry,” Noel said. “I know it isn’t fair what Anthony did. He should’ve been honest with you no matter what his reasons were. I just hate to see you guys lose a twenty-five-year friendship without even talking about it.”