Friendship Blooms in Honey Grove

by Anne-Marie Meyer

  Suddenly, she was rammed into what felt like a brick wall.

  “I’m so sorry,” she muttered. Then she turned to see Jonathan staring down at her.

  Heat raced to her cheeks as she dropped her gaze. She could feel him still staring at her as she just stood there like an idiot.

  “Hey, sorry,” Cody said, reaching his hand out to shake Jonathan’s.

  Jonathan glanced over at Cody and then back down to Tiffany. “It’s okay, man,” he said, reaching over to clasp Cody’s hand.

  They shook for what felt like an eternity. When they finally let go, Tiffany stepped up next to Cody. “We’ll try to be more careful,” she muttered as she grabbed Cody’s hand and silently begged for him to take her away.

  Away from Jonathan who was staring down at her like she’d just abandoned him. Away from the tall blonde who was giggling and grabbing onto Jonathan’s arm.

  She just needed some space and time with Cody, and then her ridiculous feelings for Jonathan would go away. That was all she needed.

  Time.

  She half-pushed, half-danced with Cody until they were on the other side of the dance floor. Once she could no longer see Jonathan through the throng of people, she let out her breath, the stress of her feelings lessened in his absence.

  Thankfully, Cody didn’t seem too keen on promenading her around, so they stayed in the corner, swaying to the music. Just as the song stopped, Cody pulled away from her and smiled down. “Hey, I gotta go run to the bathroom. Wait for me?“

  Tiffany wrapped her arms around her chest and nodded. “Sure.”

  He disappeared into the crowd as the next song—a slow one—started up. Glancing around, Tiffany made her way over to the wall and leaned against it. It was fortuitous that Cody needed a bathroom break right now. She wasn’t sure how she would feel about him pulling her that close and holding her.

  She closed her eyes and let the soft ballad wash over her. She began to sway a bit, relaxing as the rhythm flowed through her body. This was what she needed. She hadn’t thought about Jonathan in the last minute. Which was the longest she’d gone since her feelings had decided to suddenly change on her.

  “Can I have this dance?”

  Shivers rushed down her body as Jonathan’s deep, sexy voice washed over her. She stiffened. Great, now she was daydreaming about him. What was wrong with her?

  “Tiffany?”

  She peeked through her eyelashes to see Jonathan standing in front of her. He had an uneasy look on his face. When their eyes met, he pushed his hands through his hair, his shoulders slumping forward.

  “Cody’s in the bathroom,” she blurted out.

  Jonathan glanced toward the restrooms and then back to her. “Okay?”

  “He’ll be back,” she breathed. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she was telling Jonathan or herself. Like she’d needed to remind herself of the man who would help her forget the one standing in front of her.

  “I think he’ll be okay with me stealing a dance with my best friend,” Jonathan said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. Tiffany wanted to pull back, to refuse him.

  But as soon as the warmth of his hand met hers, it carried up her arm to her heart, and she was paralyzed. The only thing she wanted right now was to feel Jonathan next to her. To have him tell her everything was going to be okay.

  She nodded.

  A relieved expression passed over Jonathan’s face as he pulled her off the wall and out onto the floor—all the while holding onto her hand like a lifeline.

  When they got to the center of the dance floor, he turned to face her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. Their bodies touched and Tiffany’s head spun.

  She swallowed as she glanced up at him. He was definitely not holding her like a guy would hold his best friend. And when she met his gaze, her breath caught in her throat. He was staring at her in an open and unabashed way. Like he wanted her to know exactly how he felt.

  Fear coursed through her as she glanced down at his chest, where her other hand was resting. Every point of contact felt warm against her body.

  She swallowed as they began swaying to the music. Why was she acting like such an idiot? They’d danced together before. He’d held her close before.

  But right now, it felt like the first time ever. Like she was finally awake after a long sleep and Jonathan was the man who’d woken her up.

  Because from the way he felt, pressed against her, he was a man. The man.

  And she was in trouble.

  “I should go find Cody,” she rasped as she tried to pull back.

  Jonathan’s gaze dropped down to her, and he looked worried.

  She didn’t want him to pick up on the fact that she was literally falling for him in a way that she would only ruin, so she forced a smile. “I don’t want him thinking I ditched him.”

  Jonathan glanced around at the crowd and then back to her. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s survived this long without you. Besides, it’s not like you’ve known each other for—oh. I don’t know—since you were kids?”

  Tiffany turned to stare at him. “Excuse me?”

  Jonathan’s jaw flexed as he held her gaze. “What are you doing?”

  The desire to protect herself won out and she forced a shocked look. “What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m moving on from Sean. Isn’t that what we agreed on?”

  She stopped moving so she could focus on him. Why was he acting like this? It was sheer torture to stand there, watching Jonathan flirt with other women when all she wanted was to wrap her arms around him and kiss him.

  But she was such a failure at relationships, and failing at one with Jonathan would probably kill her. That was something she could never come back from. It was for the safety of their friendship that she pulled away. She couldn’t allow herself to get too wrapped up in what was happening inside of her.

  Jonathan was off-limits, and she had to keep telling herself that if her heart was going to survive.

  Jonathan leaned in, bringing his body inches from hers. He studied her gaze as if he were hoping to see the truth she was so desperate to hide. Her heart pounded in her chest as she held her breath.

  He couldn’t see her secret. It would ruin her.

  “Tiffany…” he said. His hand on her back tightened, as if he thought she’d pull away—which she did want to do but couldn’t find the strength.

  If she was going to keep her feelings a secret, she couldn’t run. If she did, he’d know.

  “Yes?” Good, at least she sounded confident, even if she didn’t feel that way.

  His sway slowly subsided as he paused, standing there on the dance floor. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. She shivered as his fingertips brushed the skin behind her ear and then ran the length of her neck.

  “I, um…” He brought his gaze up to meet hers. He held it with a questioning look in his eyes.

  “Jonathan,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper, “I’m so happy with our friendship. It’s exactly what I need. I know I can always depend on you when everything else in my life is falling apart.” She needed to stop him from saying the things she was starting to suspect he felt.

  If he confessed his feelings for her, she wouldn’t be able to find the strength to walk away. Being with him was the only thing she really wanted. And if she got it, she’d ruin it.

  She just knew it.

  It was better to pretend that they couldn’t be anything more than friends, than to try something she knew would fail. She couldn’t lose Jonathan. Not like that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jonathan stared at Tiffany, his head swirling. He heard the words leave her lips, but they weren’t registering in his brain. Like his body was literally rejecting the things she’d said.

  He wasn’t her friend. He couldn’t be that anymore.

  She was so much more to him than a friend, and he was getting tired of telling himself differently.

  It was pure torture to see her flir
t with Cody, and he’d tried to mask it with Shelby—the tall, blonde model—but nothing could mask the dull ache in his chest. All he wanted was Tiffany.

  She was all he’d ever need. If only she’d let him tell her that.

  But from the panicked look in her eyes and the way she was leaning back, his feelings were the last things she wanted to hear.

  Her hand came up and rested on his arm. She smiled up at him, and from the look in her eyes, he was not going to like what she had to say.

  “I love you like a friend. That’s all.” She paused as her gaze roamed over his face.

  Was he that obvious? Could she see that her words were killing him? His heart was breaking in a way that he doubted could ever heal.

  He’d broken up with so many girls in his past, but this was different. Getting rejected by the one woman who knew so much about him was worse.

  “Tiffany, I—”

  “Please, Jonathan, don’t do this.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper as she stared up at him, a pleading look in her eyes.

  “Do what?” What did she think he was going to do? And why was wanting to love her bad? Was it him?

  She swallowed. “Whatever it is you are going to do, please don’t. I can’t…I can’t lose you as a friend. You mean too much to me.”

  It felt as if she’d just slapped him in the face. Why was she fighting this? All he wanted to do was to love her and have her love him back. Was that so wrong?

  But she looked so small and broken, standing in front of him with a desperate look in her eyes, that he couldn’t just push past her concerns and confess. That wasn’t love, and he didn’t want to hurt her. It was his job to protect her—even if it meant protecting her from him.

  He sighed and then smiled as he reached down and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry,” he said with his lips muffled by her hair. The smell of her coconut shampoo surrounded him. It caused the hole in his heart to ache.

  As much as he wanted her, she would never be his, and he needed to accept that.

  Tiffany let out a soft sob as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his shirt. They stood there, in the middle of the dance floor, holding each other.

  It wasn’t until the song ended and a lighter, pop song started blaring from the speakers that they pulled apart.

  Jonathan smiled down at her, even though his soul ached to pull her back. To never let her go.

  Tiffany looked relieved as she wiped her eyes. Then she smiled up at him. “I should probably go find Cody,” she said.

  Jonathan nodded. “I’ll come with you.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “Really? Why? Don’t you have a leggy blonde to get back to?”

  Jonathan shrugged. “Shelby? I don’t know where she went off to. I think I annoyed her.” Truth was, he had ditched her. He didn’t want to string her along if there wasn’t anything that could happen between them. He doubted anyone would entice him anymore. Not when his heart belonged to the one woman who didn’t want him.

  Tiffany patted his arm. “Well, I’m sure we’ll find someone for you.” She waved her hand around the crowded bar. “There’s lots of eligible women here. I’m sure one of them will pass the Jonathan test.”

  Jonathan just nodded. He wasn’t comfortable with pretending to let Tiffany set him up anymore. If anything, he just wanted her to drop it.

  “There you are,” Cody’s voice pulled Jonathan’s attention over.

  It took all his strength not to reach out and punch Cody in his smug face. And then he felt bad. Cody didn’t know what was going on. To him, Tiffany was a girl that he was interested in. Someone who wasn’t tied to anyone else.

  Why should that make him mad?

  “Can we go get a drink?” Tiffany asked as she turned and smiled up at him.

  Cody nodded. “Of course. Anything for you.”

  Tiffany turned and studied Jonathan as Cody led her over to the bar. Jonathan couldn’t help but hold her gaze as she walked past him.

  He wanted to reach out. To tell her not to go. She should stay with him…he loved her. But she just smiled and shifted her attention over to Cody, who was telling her about the different types of drinks he liked.

  Now alone, Jonathan contemplated either walking over to join them or leaving. If Tiffany wanted someone here so she could save face with her family, Cody would fill that void just fine. Besides, it wasn’t like he knew anyone else here. What would it matter if he left?

  Turning, he kept his head down as he made his way off the dance floor and ran right into someone. Startled, he glanced up to see Beatrice standing there with a teasing look on her face.

  “Hey,” she said, reaching out to rest her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

  Clearing his throat, Jonathan nodded. “Yeah, of course. Why?”

  She studied him and then shrugged. “Nothing.” Then she smiled. “How’s your evening going?”

  It was almost nice to have someone other than Tiffany to talk to. It was more relaxed than trying to wade through the pain associated with his best friend.

  “Well…” He shrugged as he winked down at her. Flirting with someone when it meant nothing was actually calming. There was no stress that went along with it.

  Beatrice dropped her jaw in an exaggerated movement. “Well, we just might have to remedy that. Come on.” She slid her hand down his arm and into his hand. Then she tugged, pulling him along after her.

  Chuckling, Jonathan followed as she led him over to the bar—on the other side of Tiffany and Cody.

  Jonathan couldn’t help but let his gaze flick over to Tiffany, who was staring at him, aghast. When their eyes met, Jonathan mustered the courage to wave at her and then shoot her a thumbs-up.

  Tiffany closed her lips and smiled, returning the gesture. Then she moved her attention over to Cody, who looked as if he were waiting for an answer. Tiffany laughed—a bit too loud—and then leaned in to rest her hand on Cody’s arm.

  Standing there and staring at them wasn’t going to fix the hole in his heart, so Jonathan turned his attention over to Beatrice. She had picked up the drink that the bartender had just set down and turned to hand him one.

  Jonathan took it and smiled down at her.

  He needed to move on from Tiffany. Especially since it seemed like he was the only one whose feelings had changed. If he was going to even attempt to maintain his friendship with the woman who’d rejected him, he needed to find someone else and fast.

  And Beatrice was here, staring at him with a wide smile.

  She’d have to do.

  Jonathan spent the evening trying to carry a conversation with Beatrice while ignoring the fact that Cody was standing too close to Tiffany or the way his fingers were playing with her hair.

  There were a few times that he had to stifle the desire to walk over there and pull Cody off of Tiffany when he leaned in and almost kissed her.

  Thankfully, Tiffany didn’t notice and turned her head just in time, narrowly missing Cody’s lips.

  By the time he got back to his hotel room, Jonathan was exhausted. He bid a disappointed Beatrice good night and headed over to the elevator, where he pressed the up button.

  Thankfully, no one tried to board with him as the doors slid shut.

  Now alone, he let out a sigh as he leaned against one of the elevator walls. He stared at his hands as he tried to sort through all the emotions coursing through him.

  What was he going to do? How was he going to survive the rest of this trip? He hated having a front seat to Tiffany’s blossoming new romance.

  Ugh.

  He fisted his hands and exited the elevator. He swiped his room key and pushed into the room.

  The door shut behind him with a resounding thud.

  Exhaustion getting the better of him, he made his way over to the bed and flopped down face-first. He lay there until the sound of a keycard trying to open the door drew his attention.

  He heard Tiffany’s exasperated sigh and two muffled voices.

&
nbsp; He shook his head as he pushed off the bed and headed over to the door. He could do this. He could be strong. If he didn’t want to lose Tiffany as a friend, he needed to buck up and get over the feelings that were swarming his mind.

  He pushed down hard on the door handle and swung the door open to find a very startled Tiffany. Her eyes were wide and her lips parted in an “o.”

  “Hey,” he said, holding the door open with his arm.

  “Hey…” She glanced behind him and into the room. “I, um, I didn’t expect you back so early.”

  His gaze flicked over to Cody, who was leaning against the wall with an amused look on his face.

  “Yeah, I was tired. Beatrice was tired. We decided to call it a night.”

  Tiffany furrowed her brow. “Oh. I saw Beatrice in the lobby bar. So maybe she wasn’t as tired?”

  Jonathan shrugged. “Well, I was beat.”

  Tiffany nodded as she fiddled with the keycard in her hand. “Well, Cody was just dropping me off.”

  “Oh.” An awkward feeling fell around them, so Jonathan flipped the lock to the door and moved back into the room. “I’ll just leave this so you can get back in.”

  Tiffany’s cheeks flushed and she looked like she was going to say something, but Jonathan wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it. The last thing he needed was for her to define her new relationship with Cody. He wasn’t sure he could take another emotional hit like that.

  “I’ll be in here, not listening,” he said as the door closed on them.

  Frustration brewed in his stomach as he made his way over to the bed and sat down. After a few seconds, he let out a growl and went in search of the remote. There was no reason that saying goodbye should take this long, which meant only one thing—and that one thing was the last thing he wanted to be thinking about.

  He clicked the power button and began to scroll through the channels. He landed on the news and turned the volume up. He really wasn’t listening to what was being said, he just needed a distraction.

  A few minutes later, Tiffany slipped into the room, letting the door close behind her. Jonathan studied her expression from the corner of his eye. Did she look happy? Did she really like that guy?