Just Good Friends Read online

  “Good. I doubt his wife would want to share his affections with a blanket.”

  “If Amy does, I don’t think she minds. The last time she came to get some paper for the printer, he had a lipstick mark on his cheek when she left.”

  “You think they make out during business hours?”

  “Carmen and I sometimes make bets on how long she’ll be in there.”

  Tiffany gasped then laughed. “That’s horrible, Tyler. You two shouldn’t bet on things like that.”

  “Well, you work with Amy. Didn’t it ever occur to you that she might be doing something she shouldn’t when she picks up supplies from the boss?”

  “I never paid attention to how long she’s been gone.”

  “Next time, pay attention. It only takes five minutes to get to the building where Nathan and I work, and one time she stayed for a half hour.”

  She shook her head but couldn’t stop laughing. “That’s simply awful, Tyler. You and Carmen need a life if that’s what you do for fun.”

  He shrugged but continued smiling. “I’ll be on my best behavior during our trip to Montana. Besides, it’ll be interesting to see if your parents are as bad as you say.”

  “Oh, they are. I’m just glad they’ll have the wedding to focus on. I’m relieved my sister’s boyfriend finally proposed.”

  “How long were they going out?”

  “Five years. I’ve lost track of all the times they had ‘unresolved issues’ and had to take a break from each other.”

  He picked up his drink. “Unresolved issues?”

  “That’s the term my sister used. She never did explain what she meant by it.”

  “I hope they’ve resolved them now that they’re getting married.”

  “They did last through the past year of their engagement without breaking up, so I assume the counseling paid off.”

  He nodded and finished his meal. Grabbing a napkin to wipe his hands, he asked, “So, are we driving or flying?”

  “Flying. I’ll have Andy’s ticket switched to your name. Oh, and I’m renting a car in case I can’t take it anymore and need to bolt.”

  “Oh great. And then I’ll be stranded with them,” he joked.

  Playing along, she said, “Hey, when it comes to my family, it’s each man for himself.”

  “It’s nice to know in times of crisis, you’ll leave your friends behind.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” she began as she dug her fork into what remained of the salad. “If I’ve had all I can take, I’ll ask you if you want to go for a walk.”

  He shot her an amused smile. “Okay. Deal.” He finished his drink and set the glass down. “I don’t want to rush you, but the movie starts in fifteen minutes, and it takes ten to get to the theater.”

  She glanced at her watch and groaned. How was it possible time flew like that whenever she was away from her family? She just knew Thanksgiving weekend would be painfully slow. Sighing, she forced the impending trip from her mind. At least, she’d have her best friend with her to keep her sane. And that was actually much better than the prospect of going with Andy had been. So, all in all, Andy did her a huge favor without realizing it. She quickly finished her lunch, and they left for the movies.

  ***

  The next day, Tiffany stopped the fifteen-month-old boy before he plowed into her. “Watch it there, Jacob. I just had my manicure today.”

  The boy looked up at her with wide eyes. Her gaze went to her friend, Elizabeth Jackson. “Beth, your son is as reckless as Ryan.”

  Ryan was Tyler’s cousin. In fact, Tyler introduced her to Beth shortly after Ryan and Beth came back from their honeymoon in Alaska. And it wasn’t long after that Tiffany and Beth became good friends.

  Beth picked the boy up and put him back in the sandbox with his twin sister, Stacey Ann. “And here I thought going to the park would be relaxing. It feels like all I’m doing is chasing these two.”

  Tiffany laughed and leaned back on the bench. “Your kids just want you to stay in shape.”

  Beth settled next to Tiffany and shook her head. “You’d think I would have lost the weight I gained during the pregnancy with all the running around I do these days.”

  “Well, the weight gain was for a good cause, right?”

  “Yes, it was. I’m glad Ryan isn’t one of those guys who expect women to be thin after they give birth.”

  “He’d better adore you the way you are since you gave him children.”

  Beth chuckled. “You’re right.” After telling her daughter to get the bug out of her mouth, she unzipped her jacket and sighed. “It’s nice to sit down and let them play. I’m glad it’s warm enough for the park today.”

  That was one thing Tiffany liked about Nebraska. It had some warm days while Montana was pretty much cold all the time in the late fall and winter months.

  Clearing her throat, Beth asked, “So, you were telling me you asked Tyler if he’d pretend to be your boyfriend when you go to your sister’s wedding?”

  “I did, and he agreed.”

  “Good. At least you don’t have to go alone. Sometimes it helps if you can share something you dread with someone you like.”

  “That’s the truth.” Tiffany ran her fingers through her blonde strands. “I’m hoping it’ll ease the whole ‘poor Tiffany has no one’ thing.”

  “For your sake, I hope so.”

  Noting the hesitation in her friend’s tone, Tiffany asked, “But?”

  Beth shrugged. “What if it causes other problems?”

  “What kind of problems?”

  “They know you’ve been Tyler’s friend for a long time, so you already get along great with him. What if they expect this date to lead to more, like an engagement and then a wedding?”

  Tiffany considered her friend’s words and realized that was a good possibility. “Tyler and I will break up after Christmas. We’ll say we realized we were only good friends. Hopefully by then, my sister will be pregnant so my mom will be too busy getting ready for her grandkid to worry about my love life. I’m so glad my sister’s going to try for a baby right away.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s always trying to be the first one to get things done before you.”

  “I don’t care. She’s the one competing with me. I’m not competing with her.”

  “When I think of all the sibling rivalry out there, I’m glad I’m an only child.”

  Tiffany giggled and nudged her in the arm. “You better not tell Stacey Ann or Jacob that.”

  “But as you can see,” she motioned to her children who were fighting over the shovel and pail, “it’s true.” She stood up and went over to stop the girl from hitting the boy over the head.

  Tiffany’s cell phone beeped, so she pulled it out of her purse and checked the caller ID. It was her mom. But maybe that wasn’t so bad. She could tell her mom the good news. Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile on her face. Her mother claimed she could tell if Tiffany was smiling or not when she talked to her on the phone, and whether it was true or not, she didn’t wish to tempt fate.

  Pressing the button to answer the call, she brought the phone up to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Oh good. You’re smiling,” her mother greeted.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m smiling.”

  “I like it when you smile. It makes me think you’re in a good mood.”

  “I know.” She suspected her mother had a reason for calling, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear.

  “Guess who I ran into today?”

  “Who?”

  “Robin Owens! You remember her, don’t you?”

  “Kind of.” Tiffany had heard the name before, but she couldn’t recall the face that went with it. “Was she the one you hated because she lived in that big house and drove the BMW?”

  “I didn’t hate her. I was very happy her husband made all that money, even if he did make it a habit of staying late at the office.”

  Tiffany sighed.

  “Robin is the w
oman who had the son you had a crush on while in junior high.”

  Tiffany’s jaw dropped. Oh no. Not Peeping Jason who was caught hiding out in the girl’s locker room in high school! “Mom, I haven’t liked him since eighth grade. He turned out to be a creep!”

  “Oh come on, Tiffy. He was only caught in the girl’s locker room once, and that was in the tenth grade. You can’t hold that against him. Besides, he’s divorced now, so he’s available.”

  “Oh good grief. I’m not moving to Montana.” She’d poke out her eyes with a fork first. Living in Nebraska was close enough to her parents!

  “I’m not saying you have to marry him. I just didn’t want to see you without a date at Zoe’s wedding, especially since you’re a bridesmaid. And, your dad and I worry about you all alone down there in Omaha.”

  “Mom, I have good news. I have a date for the wedding.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. As it turns out, I’m going with Tyler.”

  “Tyler who?”

  “I only have one friend named Tyler.”

  “But I thought you said there would never be anything between you,” her mom argued.

  “Yeah, I know. But we recently became more.”

  “Really?”

  Tiffany detected the interest in her mother’s tone and knew her news had the desired effect. “Yes, really,” she replied, deciding to follow through and make her mother happy. “That’s why Andy changed his status to ‘available’. I had to break up with him.”

  “So how did you and Tyler know you were meant for each other?”

  Meant for each other? Tiffany didn’t recall saying that. She’d just said that she was going to the wedding with him. Well, that was no matter. She’d break up with Tyler after they got back. Clearing her throat, she said, “We were watching a movie, and we suddenly realized we were more than friends.”

  “How romantic! I know things like that can happen. You can be friends forever and suddenly know you two are meant to be together.”

  “Yes. It was just like that.”

  Beth returned to the bench, and Tiffany mouthed that her mom was on the phone.

  Beth mouthed the word, “Sorry,” and turned her attention back to her children.

  “So, I’ll finally get to meet Tyler,” Tiffany’s mother continued. “Did you tell him good things about your family?”

  “I told him what everyone’s like.” There. It wasn’t a lie, and she didn’t give away the truth either.

  “Good, so he’s familiar with us.”

  “Yes, he is.”

  “We’ll do our part to make him feel like he’s a part of the family. I certainly wouldn’t want to alienate a potential son-in-law.”

  Tiffany forced a laugh. “Of course not.”

  Beth glanced her way, so Tiffany pretended to slit her own throat. Beth stifled a giggle.

  “Are you still coming up on Wednesday?” her mother asked.

  “Yep.”

  “It’s a shame you already bought plane tickets. I would have suggested you leave sooner. Thursday is Thanksgiving,” her mother pouted.

  Exactly. Which made it perfect. “I only have a week’s worth of vacation days.”

  “What you need is a husband so you can stay at home. Then you can come up when it’s more convenient.”

  Inwardly shuddering at the thought, Tiffany shook her head. Even if she was married to a man who could afford to be the only one providing income for the family, there was no way she’d go up there unless she absolutely had to. Straightening up, she cleared her throat. “I got to go, Mom. Someone’s calling on the other line. It might be Tyler.”

  “Oh, okay! I don’t want to stand in the way of true love. I’ll talk to you later. Bye, sweetheart!”

  “Bye.”

  Tiffany hung up and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Beth motioned to the phone. “Don’t you have another call coming in? The one from Tyler?”

  She glanced at the phone and laughed. “No. I just said that because I knew Mom would get off the phone if she thought I was going to talk to him.”

  “I’m impressed with you. You’ve really mastered the art of lying.”

  “It’s a survival skill. It’s not something I want to do.”

  “Well, you’re great at it. I hope your ploy works and your mom backs off on the whole husband thing.”

  Tiffany put her phone away and ran her fingers through her hair before letting the strands fall softly to her shoulders. “I hope it works, too.” And truly, she did. Because if it didn’t, she’d hate to think of what her parents might do.

  Chapter Three

  “Sure, you can have the week off,” Nathan Rudolph said as he set his nine-month-old daughter in the playpen, which was next to his desk in his office. “It’s about time you did something fun.”

  Tyler adjusted his glasses. “I have fun.”

  Nathan handed his daughter a sippy cup and smirked. “Oh right. I forgot about that all-night alien marathon on TV last month.”

  “Haha. One has to wonder why Amy was forced into marrying you since you’re so witty.”

  “Hey, it was marriage by proxy, and I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to her.”

  “Nice to know marriage didn’t deflate that big ego of yours.”

  “What can I say? When you got it, you got it.” Nathan patted his girl on the head and turned to his desk calendar. “You got any more days you need off in the next month or two?”

  “No. I’ll just be gone for Thanksgiving week.”

  “Don’t you want to take time off to do something with your family?”

  Tyler shrugged. “They live right here in Omaha. I can see them whenever I want.”

  “Well, Amy and I are going to Florida from December 22 to January 3. Want to come along?”

  Tyler grimaced. “And be a third wheel? Pass.”

  “If you change your mind, you’re welcome to join us. Who knows? You might meet the woman of your dreams down there. It’s about time you got married. Speaking from personal experience, having a wife and child is the best.”

  “I’m fine with things the way they are.”

  Nathan looked at him as if he’d just grown a second head. “You’re kidding.”

  “No. I don’t need much to make me happy. I have TV, the Sci-Fi forums, and the gym.”

  Snorting, he said, “All of those are a total waste of time.”

  “Granted, the TV and forums can be, but the gym? Come on, Nathan. It’s good to keep in shape. You don’t want to become one of those guys with a beer belly, do you?”

  “I’m married to a wonderful woman who loves me no matter what. I can let myself go, and she’ll stay with me.”

  Tyler shook his head. What was the point? Nathan thought if it didn’t have to do with his traveling business or his family, it wasn’t important. “I guess the thought of breaking a sweat is too much for your pristine image.” He motioned to Nathan’s expensive suit and perfect hair.

  “Look, I play golf. That gets me outside and moving around.”

  Tyler laughed. “Oh sure, and then you follow the little white ball in a golf cart. I can see how straining that is.”

  “For your information, I’ve also been known to swim and play tennis.”

  Amused, Tyler decided to let the matter go and glanced at his watch. Now that he’d scheduled his vacation, he could get ready for his meeting with the marketing department. “As fun as this is, I’ve got to go to marketing.”

  “Good,” Nathan said as he turned to his computer. “Be sure to tell them we want to emphasize that our travel packages are family friendly.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  Shooting him an amused grin, Nathan said, “There will be no jokes at my expense.”

  “Of course not. We hold you in the highest regard.”

  “Nice sarcasm. If my daughter wasn’t in the room, I’d make a clever retort.”

  Tyler shrugged and turned to leave the office just as the secretary
knocked on the open door.

  “What is it, Carmen?” Nathan asked, glancing up from his computer.

  “There’s someone on the phone for the VP,” the older woman said, directing her gaze to Tyler.

  “Have them leave a message. I need to go to a meeting,” Tyler replied.

  “I already told her that, but she said it’s important.” Carmen shrugged. “She sounded like she meant it.”

  He frowned and checked his watch. “Who is it?”

  “Mrs. Clark.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. Mrs. Clark? As in Tiffany’s mother? “Okay. Transfer her to my office.” He hurried to his phone. He could only think of one reason why Tiffany’s mother would call him, and that had to be a car accident. “Mrs. Clark, this is Tyler Jackson. Is something wrong with Tiffany?”

  From the other end of the line, Mrs. Clark laughed. “No, Tiffany’s fine. I just wanted to call and tell you that I’m excited about meeting you.”

  In all the years he’d known Tiffany, he’d never talked to her mother, and suddenly she wanted to talk to him? Then it dawned on him why. “Oh, Tiffany told you I’d be up there for Thanksgiving.”

  “Yes, and I think it’s wonderful she finally found a good boyfriend. Hopefully, you won’t be a boyfriend for long. Know what I mean?”

  Wow. He stared at the phone for a moment, shocked the woman came out and said it. Perhaps Tiffany hadn’t been exaggerating when she said her parents were pressuring her to get married. Clearing his throat, he forced out, “I’m looking forward to meeting you, too, Mrs. Clark.”

  “What a refreshing change to talk to a polite young man. You’re not at all like the other men she’s gone out with.”

  His eyebrows rose in interest. “Oh?”

  “Most of them were okay. They mumbled a lot, so it was hard to understand them, though there was that one who told me it was rude of me to call him in the middle of his softball game. Like I’m supposed to know when he’s at bat, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “None of them ever called me Mrs. Clark. You can tell when someone’s been raised right by the way they address someone’s mother. Now tell me, Tyler. When did you realize you wanted to be more than friends with my little girl?”