Mixing Business With Pleasure (Love Conquers All Book 2)

by Persons, Cheryl

  “It doesn’t make you a horrible person; you wouldn’t want to see your father in that situation.”

  He nodded. “That’s true and so I know that he’s in a better place and that’s why I can’t be completely upset over it.”

  “He would understand that.”

  “Do you think we would?” Tiffany could feel herself starting to get emotional over it, so she just nodded. “Thank you Tiffany.”

  Tiffany laughed. “I don’t know why you would be thanking me; especially after last night.”

  “You know, I was thinking about that all night. I’m sorry about what I said; I didn’t mean it. I was just angry and so I apologize.”

  “Matt, I’m the one the needs to apologize. I was hurtful to you and you don’t deserve that. I’m just wallowing in my self-pity.”

  “Even after everything that happened last night; I hope you feel comfortable being there. I was afraid you would want to go back to New York by yourself. The truth is, I need you here Tiff; I want you here.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” She wiped a tear from her face as she gave him a hug. “I just want you to know that no matter what happens I do want to be your friend. I’m sorry if I can’t commit to more than that, but you are…”

  “You don’t need to say another word; I pressured you and it’s my own fault that I ended up hurt.” She couldn’t believe he was taking all the blame; she felt responsible and she was trying to claim responsibility, but he wasn’t letting her. “I thought in two days we will have a funeral and viewing together. Then we can go back to New York on Thursday.”

  “So, you do still plan on coming back. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “What? Of course it is what I want. Hopefully I still have a job there. Why wouldn’t I go back with you?”

  Tiffany shrugged; “I don’t know, I just thought maybe you realized there was more important people waiting for you here.”

  He shook his head; “Not at all. This is my past and I hope that New York still holds a future.” His phone rang; jogging her away from his small smile. “I have to take this, but I have a feeling we need to talk. Hello?” He replied into the phone, but he remained holding onto her hand as if to keep her from walking away.

  ___________________

  Matt held onto Tiffany’s hand as he finished up his 12th phone call. “I’ll talk to you soon mom; thanks for calling.” When he disconnected the call he moved closer to her. “I am going to try to get this out before someone else calls. You said you didn’t think I would go home because there would be more important people here. Do you mean my grandma and mom?” When she didn’t look at him, his jaw dropped. “Do you mean Suzanne?”

  “Matt…I…”

  “Wait a minute! You can’t be serious. Are you jealous?” She glared at him and he almost laughed. “Don’t be mad; I think it’s cute.”

  “Matt Oswalt, let go of my hand. I am no longer going to be speaking to you.”

  “Tiffany, look at me.” She shook her head and left the frown on her face. “Let’s sit down.” He tried to pull her to a chair, but she remained stationary.

  “I prefer to stand, if you don’t mind.”

  “Suit yourself. Suzanne and I are ancient history and last night was proof positive of that.” Even though she didn’t respond she stopped fighting him to leave and he let go of her hand. “I met her fiancée last night.”

  “What? She’s getting married?”

  “Yes; she is. She seems happier than I ever made her and I could tell that Tabitha really likes him.”

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “I want Tabitha to be happy. I am thankful that she may finally get the father she deserves. I will plan on seeing her, whenever I can. Suzanne said she would make it work.”

  “I wasn’t referring to Tabitha. Are you okay that Suzanne is getting married?”

  He didn’t have to think to answer the question; he simply nodded. “What I had with Suzanne; it was great. However, I think that when she broke up with me it allowed me to realize that I needed to find someone that would love me as much as I love them. She would have never been that girl. So, even though I was hurt, in the end I knew it was the right choice for both of us.”

  “May I be truthful?”

  “I would hope you feel like you could always be truthful with me.”

  “I suppose I was a little jealous.”

  “Were you just a little bit jealous?” He asked as he pulled her closer to him.

  “Maybe I was a lot jealous. I thought you would choose to stay with her and everything that happened this weekend would be thrown down the drain.”

  “Tiffany, that’s not going to happen,” he placed his hands on her cheeks and slowly pulled her face closer to his. Their lips connected in a way that he had never connected with anyone, including Suzanne. “I love you; when are you going to start believing that?” He asked as their faces were mere inches apart and he could feel her faint breath on his face. “Don’t ever doubt that.”

  “I won’t,” she whispered as she covered his mouth with hers and they relaxed into each other’s arms. It felt like a breath of fresh air was finally breaking free and no bad thoughts were going to take away the fact that he was so in love with Tiffany and for the first time, he believed she was in love too.

  ___________________

  Tiffany was walking down the aisle. She saw the man waiting for her and she knew she was exactly where she wanted to be. They smiled at each other as his hands connected with hers. “I love you Matt,” she whispered and he squeezed her hands in reply. She heard the minister saying the words, but the only thing she could focus on was the man in front of her.

  She then heard him asking if anyone found just cause why they shouldn’t be lawfully married. “They aren’t supposed to be getting married. They work together.” She turned and looked in the crowd as she saw Andy Harowitz, looking anything but pleased.

  “She can’t marry him; she’s in love with me.” She faced Robert who had his hands on his hips and was looking at her disgustingly.

  “Wait a minute; Matt I changed my mind, I still love you. Marry me; be the father to Tabitha.” She closed her eyes; it couldn’t be happening. Matt shrugged and walked away from her and went over to Suzanne. They kissed and then left the church, arm in arm.

  “Matt wait! I love you!” Tiffany yelled; she tried to get his attention, but he kept walking. “Don’t go.”

  She sat up in her bed; she was out of breath and panting. It felt so real. “What’s wrong?” She looked over at Matt who was still sleeping beside her and she closed her eyes. “Tiffany, what’s wrong?” He pulled himself up and kissed her softly on the lips.

  “Nothing; it was just a bad dream. Go back to bed.” She tried to smile, but knew it fell short.

  “I was hoping you would be too tired to dream; he responded with a smile.” His lips caressed hers and she fell back against the pillow. “You were amazing;” His words were quiet as they kissed again, this time it grew with intensity.

  As her heart was beating rapidly, she grabbed his face into her hands. “Matt; I don’t know what lies in store for us. However, I do know that I love you and nothing that happens from now on is going to change that.”

  He smiled as his lips lowered to hers and they slowly kissed. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered as his kisses trailed down her neck. She arched her back to his touch and her hands ran heavily through his hair. “We will make this work, as long as we have each other.” She knew he was right; no matter the outcome with work, funeral, or life in general; they were meant to be together.

  Chapter 15

  Matt held onto Tiffany’s hand like he was clutching to a life preserver. He was so happy they finally got to a good place and yet he was facing one of the hardest days of his life; he had to say goodbye to his dad. “I’m here for you.” She whispered as he tried to focus on Pastor Jason’s words.

  He slowly let out a breath as he prepared to end the service.
“You will be missed by all of your family and friends; until we see you again have a great journey. Thank you! The family would like to invite you to stay for a luncheon.”

  He left the podium and Matt turned to Tiffany. “I don’t know what I would have done without you here.”

  “You would’ve managed, but I am glad I could have been here for you.” She leaned in and kissed him and he smiled.

  “I won’t ever get sick of that.”

  “I hope not, because we’ll have plenty of times to keep doing it. Let’s go meet everyone; I’m sure there will be plenty of mingling going on.”

  He groaned; “Do we have to?”

  “It will be fine; you have no choice. You don’t want people to think your unsociable; do you?”

  “I guess not, but I don’t want everyone to feel sorry for me. I mean it’s not like we were super close.”

  “True, but you guys did patch things up and you have to give people the opportunity to pay their respects. It’s only courteous.”

  He knew she was right and he hated that when it happened. “Okay, but the moment someone starts giving me the pity look…I’m out of here.”

  “Deal!” He grabbed her hand and they made their way into the other room, where the crowd had gathered around his grandma.

  “She seems to be holding up pretty well.” He was relieved about that, because he didn’t want any hard feelings when they left and went back to New York.

  “Do you think she would ever consider moving to New York?”

  He didn’t need to bother thinking about that. His grandma was born, raised, and would die living in Wyoming. She wouldn’t want to go anywhere else. “No; there’s no using wishing for that to happen. My grandma loves Wyoming too much.”

  “It was just a thought.” He was appreciative that Tiffany would think about her and wonder if there was some way they could help.

  “Hey grandma; how are you doing?” He hugged her tightly and then pulled away.

  “I’m doing well. It will take some getting used to. I’m just relieved that we were able to settle things before it happened. He knows how much we loved him, despite his careless attitude.” She smiled and looked over at Tiffany. “I’m just so thankful my grandson has you. I will thank God every day that you were brought into his life.”

  “Thank you grandma; I won’t disappoint you.” He smiled at her reply and then saw her wipe a tear from her eyes.

  When his grandma walked away, he pulled her into his arms. He could smell her strawberry shampoo and he took in the scent. “She isn’t the only one that needs to thank God.”

  Tiffany laughed as she turned around in his arms. “I should be thanking God that you were so patient with me.”

  He acted like he was thinking, but then smiled. “You were worth the wait.” He then spotted Suzanne and Tabitha heading his way and he tentatively looked at Tiffany. He didn’t know how she would react to another encounter, but he knew he couldn’t walk away. “Hey Suzanne…Tabitha.” He hugged Tabitha and then turned back to Tiffany. “This is Tiffany…” he paused, but only for a second; “my girlfriend.”

  He saw Tiffany looking at him and he held his big smile. “Suzanne, it’s nice to meet you.” They shook hands and then Tiffany turned to Tabitha. “You must be Tabitha; I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Tabitha seemed pleased as she shook Tiffany’s hand. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

  “Matt we just wanted to come over and say how sorry we are about your dad.”

  “Thank you; I appreciate that.”

  “When are you going back to New York?”

  “We’re heading out at 8:00 tomorrow morning. Our plane leaves at noon.”

  “When you get back there, Tabitha would like to visit. If that’s alright with you.”

  Tabitha’s eyes got big and she turned to her mom. “Really? I thought you said that…”

  “I changed my mind.” Her mom interrupted.

  “That would be more than alright with me. I would love to have her come to New York.”

  “Okay; just let me know what works best for you. We better be going, but you take care.”

  “See you guys later.” He looked at Tiffany and grinned. “Did that really just happen?”

  “I do believe so. I also don’t think I have ever seen you look this happy.”

  “That can’t be true, think about the way I looked last night and the night before.”

  He chuckled when Tiffany blushed; “I stand corrected.” She leaned up and kissed him. “There’s more where that came from.”

  “Hm…I can hardly wait.” He grabbed her hand and they walked away. He was truly living; he had the girl and soon Tabitha would be visiting him. He never thought he was lucky enough to have it all, but he was wrong and he couldn’t be happier.

  ____________________

  Tiffany looked around the banquet room and frowned; it had been nearly 30 minutes and she didn’t know where Matt had gone off to. She spotted Mike and Eve as they were heading out the door and she hurried to them. “Have you guys seen Matt?”

  “Yeah; I thought I saw him about 20 minutes ago head into the sanctuary.”

  “Oh; thank you. Hey, it was good meeting you guys. I hope we get to do it again sometime; just under better circumstances.” They waved as they left and she went back into the church. When she walked into the sanctuary, she saw Matt standing over his dad’s casket and she stopped. She didn’t want to interrupt any praying or crying he was doing.

  He must have sensed her presence, because he turned around. “Hey; I just wanted to say one last goodbye before they take him away. They are cremating him tomorrow morning.”

  She walked over to him and placed her arms around him. “Where are they putting his ashes?”

  “Grandma is going to throw them in the lake behind her house.” Her eyes got big and he laughed. “I know, but she wants to feel like he is always nearby.”

  “I guess it makes sense and it would be another reason she wouldn’t want to leave.”

  “Yeah; she will be okay though.”

  “She seems like a strong woman.”

  He snickered; “strong and pigheaded.”

  “It’s gotten her this far in life.”

  “So true.” He placed a hand on his father’s hand and sighed. “I wish I wouldn’t have wasted so much time being angry. I can’t go back, so I don’t know why I’m worrying about it.”

  “Again Matt, he knows how much you cared. I don’t think he ever doubted that.”

  “In my heart I believe you, but it doesn’t hurt any less.” He looked at her and she saw the sadness, but a smile was on his lips. “Let’s go.”

  “Are you sure? We can stay longer if you want to.”

  “No; that’s alright. I think I need some alone time.”

  “Well, I can leave…”

  He pulled her closer and looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t need alone time from you; I need a break from this funeral atmosphere.”

  “Well then, let’s get out of here.” They went and told his grandma they were going back to the house and then left the church arm in arm. She could feel their connection growing and she just wanted it to go up from there. She found herself not worrying about her job; at that point it didn’t really matter. She knew that nothing and no one could keep them apart and she felt confident that he was feeling the same way.

  ___________________

  The next morning, Matt’s grandma’s eyes were filled with their tears as they said their goodbyes. It made Tiffany’s heart break, but they did offer the chance for her to come to New York and stay with Matt. He was right she didn’t go for it, so they were left there hugging and crying. “It was good to meet you grandma.” They hugged each other and then Tiffany turned to Matt. “I’ll take care of your grandson.”

  The woman smiled and looked between the couple. “I know that you will and he will take care of you. If he doesn’t, he’ll know I’ll take care of him.”

  Tiffany laughe
d when Matt rolled his eyes. “Grandma, you definitely won’t have to worry about that.” Hugged her and then looked at his watch. “We have to get out of here; the plane will leave without us.”

  “Be sure you come back to visit often.” Grandma replied as she wiped a tear from her eye.

  “I will make sure we do.” Tiffany eagerly replied, trying to make her feel better.

  “Grandma, you are sure you don’t just want to pack your things and come to New York and stay with me?”

  “Don’t be silly; my life is here and I’ll be okay.”

  Tiffany could tell she would be and she knew Matt would be alright too. “See you soon grandma.” Matt yelled from the rental as they got in and drove away.

  “Matt, now I see where you got your heart from.”

  “My grandma has always been a huge part of my life, especially once my dad left. I suppose it was only right I would turn out like her.” She really did fall in love with every part of Wyoming and she found it difficult to leave. “I’m going to miss this place. I didn’t realize how much it’s a part of me.” Tiffany looked out the window as thoughts crowded her mind. “What are you thinking of?”

  “I was wondering if it made you regret coming to New York in the first place. After all, you left this beautiful landscape. I don’t know if I would ever be able to do that.”

  “I don’t regret coming to New York, because if I hadn’t; we would never have met.”

  She laid her hand on his knee and he covered it with his. “I love you Matt Oswalt.”

  He winked at her as they continued to drive. “You better, because if not we just went through all of this for nothing.”

  She looked back out the window as they continued to the airport. She never thought love was possible and now she knew she couldn’t live without it.

  Chapter 16

  “How does it feel to be home?” Matt asked as he walked Tiffany to her door.