Just Good Friends

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  “No, it’s not. It’s a disaster, and it’s only getting worse. Tiffany and I are only friends.”

  “At the moment.”

  “No, not at the moment. Forever. It’s how things have always been between us, and it’s how things will always be. We aren’t interested in each other that way.”

  “Yet.”

  Tyler stared at his friend for a long moment, wondering if he heard anything he was saying. Nathan looked so sure of himself that Tyler contemplated throwing the dictionary at his head after all. But in the end, he didn’t. He couldn’t. He hadn’t hurt anyone in his life, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it now. No matter how tempting it was.

  “You may go,” Nathan told Carmen.

  “Good luck,” she whispered to Tyler as she left.

  Nathan gestured to the chair across from him. “Have a seat.”

  “Why?” Tyler asked.

  “You’ll understand as soon as you sit down. Now,” he patted the desk, “come on.” When Tyler didn’t budge, he said, “I’m your boss, and I order you to sit.”

  Grunting, Tyler obeyed. “Is this how you treated Amy when you first married her?”

  “No, I never ordered her to sit down because I wasn’t her boss at the time. I fired her, remember? I didn’t have that card to play.”

  “Whatever,” he muttered, slouching in his seat. “What do you want?”

  “I took the liberty of inviting your parents and Tiffany’s parents to dinner at the best restaurant in town. All I need is for you and Tiffany to show up. It’ll be tomorrow at six-thirty. I already made reservations, so we don’t have to wait to be seated.”

  “And you’re doing all of this because…?”

  “So everyone can get acquainted with each other in a relaxed atmosphere. If anything tense comes up, I’ll be there to smooth things over. You have nothing to worry about, Tyler. I have a way with parents.”

  “What you mean is that you have a way with manipulating them.”

  Nathan gasped and pointed to himself. “I do nothing of the sort. Parents love me.”

  Tyler shook his head. How did Amy live with him? “In all the years we’ve known each other, I’ve seen you do some pretty outrageous things, but I never thought in a million years you would do something I specifically asked you not to do.” He leaned forward. “Don’t you understand that you’ve only gotten me and Tiffany into a situation we can’t easily get out of?”

  “I wasn’t the one who told everyone you two were married. You did that one all by yourself.”

  “Yes, and it was wrong. I made things worse. But you’ve made it impossible.”

  “Tyler, nothing is impossible.”

  “But it’s not good either. This is bad. Very, very bad.”

  “You know why you’re not president of a company?”

  “Because you’re in charge,” Tyler replied, wondering what Nathan was getting at.

  “Exactly. I’m in charge. And the reason I’m in charge is because when others say something is impossible, I see opportunity. Things might not be ideal, but there’s always a way through it. Always. You’ll have to trust my judgment. In the end, you’ll see I’m right.” Turning back to the document in front of him, he said, “You may go.”

  Under ordinary circumstances, Tyler might have told him where he could shove his opportunities, but in this case, he slammed the dictionary on the desk—hard—and left the building because if he didn’t leave right away, he just might kill his friend.

  ***

  “What are you doing back here?” Amy asked as Tiffany walked through the door of the travel agency.

  “I forgot my phone,” Tiffany replied, making a beeline for her desk. “I didn’t realize I didn’t have it until I tried to call Tyler.”

  Danielle looked up from the call she was on and placed her hand over the receiver. “Ah, that’s so sweet.”

  “Sweet has nothing to do with it.” Tiffany grabbed the cell phone. “My mom bought this huge tree and my dad needs help getting it into my apartment.” As if the apartment wasn’t small enough already. Once that seven-footer was in there, all her things were going to look as if they’d been crammed into a small box. “My mom is crazy when it comes to decorating for the holidays. She goes all out for every single one.”

  “Some people do get enthusiastic about it,” Amy replied.

  “My mom is more than enthusiastic. She’s obsessed. The only reason she didn’t make everyone write down what they were thankful for at Thanksgiving was because she was too busy planning my sister’s wedding.”

  Her phone rang. For a moment, she thought it was her mom, but when she looked out the window, she saw her mom wasn’t on the phone. She glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Tyler. She picked it up and greeted him.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “Work.” She glanced at Danielle who was still on the phone and at Amy who turned her attention back to her computer. “I forgot my phone. Were you trying to get a hold of me earlier?”

  “I called around lunch but figured you were out with your parents.”

  “You were right. We went Christmas shopping. Just wait until you see all the things they bought for us.”

  “I wish that was all you had to deal with.”

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, noting the hesitation in his tone.

  Danielle looked up at her, but Tiffany turned to the window to make sure her mom was still in the car. The last thing she needed was her mom coming in and asking to take more pictures.

  “Are you sitting down?” he asked.

  “No,” she slowly replied, growing tense. “Do I need to be?”

  “It’d be best.”

  She really didn’t like the sound of this. It meant trouble. She just knew it. But she also needed to know because, like the times she passed the scene of a bad accident, she couldn’t help but be curious. Swallowing, she returned to her desk and sat down. “Okay. I’m sitting. What is it?”

  “Your parents called my parents and told them they want to meet them because we’re all ‘family’ now.”

  Bolting up from her seat, she shrieked, “They what?”

  Both Danielle and Amy looked over at her, their eyebrows raised in interest.

  “Apparently,” Tyler began, “your mom asked Nathan for my parents’ phone number. It was a huge mistake to even confide in him. What good is it to have a friend if he’s going to betray you like this?”

  “Your parents really think we’re married?” she asked.

  Danielle hung up her phone and hurried over to her desk.

  “Danielle,” Amy hissed.

  But Danielle ignored her and came up to Tiffany. “How did his parents find out?”

  Tiffany mouthed the words, “My mom.”

  “Wow,” Danielle said and turned to Amy. “Her mom is quick.”

  Tiffany went back over to the window and saw her mom either chatting or surfing the Internet on her phone. How Tiffany hated that phone. It was getting her into all sorts of trouble. “What did you tell your parents when they called?”

  “It was my mom who called, and I just told her that I was going to explain everything to her later,” he replied. “For the time being, I asked them not to tell anyone. But Tiffany, that’s not all. Nathan arranged it so that we’re all meeting tomorrow for dinner.”

  Tiffany turned to Amy. “Did Nathan say anything about having dinner with me, Tyler, and our parents tomorrow?”

  Amy shook her head. “No, but I’m not surprised he’d do something like this.”

  “I think it’s cute,” Danielle spoke up. “He’s playing matchmaker.”

  When Tiffany and Danielle looked at Amy, she shrugged. “I guess he’s bored.”

  “Lucky me,” Tiffany grumbled. “My mom didn’t even say she called your parents,” she told Tyler. “We were out together all afternoon.”

  “There must have been a moment where she had a chance to make the phone call,” Tyler said.

  She thought
over all the stores they’d been to and sighed. “She did walk off twice while looking for things.”

  “That must have been when she did it.”

  Man, was her mother sneaky or what? Tiffany had no idea what her mom had been up to, and when she saw her mom, the woman had the nerve to act as if nothing happened. “I didn’t realize my mom was so good at being deceptive.”

  “To be fair, I don’t think it was her idea. I think Nathan suggested she should do it.”

  “Maybe.”

  Not that it mattered. The damage was done, and now they were going to have to find a way to explain it to his parents. She winced. This was going to be awful. It was bad enough to imagine her parents’ disappointment when they learned the truth, but now she had to contend with his parents. And she got along with them pretty well. After they found out she and Tyler lied, she wondered if they would like her anymore.

  “On the bright side,” Tyler said, breaking her out of her thoughts, “my parents took the news well. They weren’t upset we didn’t tell them.”

  “We didn’t have anything to tell,” she reminded him.

  “Yeah, but they actually seemed happy about it. That’s good news, right?”

  “And once they find out the truth, they’re not going to be happy.”

  “I don’t think your parents will be happy with me either.”

  “At least mine live miles away. Yours live right here. I don’t know if I’ll be able to show my face at any of your family reunions again.”

  “Sure you will. Just wear a bag over your head.”

  Her mood lightened a bit at his joke. “Yeah, no one will even suspect it’s me.”

  He chuckled. “They won’t be so happy with me either, so I’ll wear one, too. Hey, are you still at work?”

  “Yes. My mom’s waiting for me in the car, and my dad needs help bringing the Christmas tree to my apartment.”

  “I’ll help. Is he at the apartment right now?”

  “No. We left him with it at the store.”

  “I can get him. Which store is he at?”

  She told him and glanced out the window again. She leaned forward when she saw his car. “You left work?”

  “Nathan got to be too much. I see your mom.” He waved to her, and she waved in return. “I’ll go ahead and find your dad at the store.”

  “Okay. After you bring the tree in, we’ll get something to eat.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He waved to Tiffany, and she returned the gesture. Then he drove out of the parking lot.

  As she hung up, she heard Danielle snicker at her. “What?” she asked Danielle who was grinning.

  “You two are so adorable, waving to each other and all,” Danielle said. “It’s something a husband and wife would do.”

  Tiffany rolled her eyes and shoved her phone into her purse. “You get bored way too easily. You need more work to do.”

  “I was just on the phone getting a reservation for someone,” Danielle replied.

  Danielle had an answer for everything. With a shake of her head, Tiffany told Amy, “I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow. Please tell Nathan to stop trying to play matchmaker.”

  “I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise anything,” Amy replied. “What Nathan wants, he gets. The man can’t be stopped.”

  Tiffany had no idea what Amy saw in him. If Nathan was her husband, she wouldn’t be able to take it. She headed out of the building and went to her car.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You look great,” Tyler said the next evening when he got to Tiffany’s apartment.

  Tiffany wore a red, long-sleeved dress, which reached her knees. It was a simple dress, but that was part of its appeal. There was nothing to distract someone from getting a good look at the curve of her breasts and hips. Heat warmed his face. Yes, he knew she was attractive. He wasn’t blind. But he hadn’t taken the time to really look at her, and taking the time to do that made a big difference in what he saw.

  “I heard the restaurant Nathan wants us to go to is fancy, so I thought I’d dress up,” Tiffany told him. “I’m almost ready. You might as well sit for a few minutes.”

  As she went to her bedroom, he greeted her parents, who were decorating the large green tree that was in the corner of the living room. At the moment, her dad was putting the angel on top, and her mom was telling him whether it was straight or not.

  Tyler’s gaze went to the rest of the room. The previous evening, they hadn’t gotten very far in decorating the place, but it seemed as if they’d been working on it all day. There were images of candy canes, snowflakes, and silver bells pinned to the walls. A miniature Christmas village lined the shelf along one wall that used to hold books. The smell of peppermint filled the air from the scented candle that was lit in the room. It looked like the Christmas tree was the last thing that needed to be decorated, and once they did that, the whole room would be complete.

  Out of curiosity, he headed for the kitchen and saw that the table had red and green dishtowels with images of country winter settings on them. There were even new Christmas plates and cups her mom had bought yesterday sitting on the counter, waiting to be washed.

  He returned to the living room, and her mom turned to him. “What do you think, Tyler? Does the angel look straight to you?”

  “Yes,” he replied. “It looks good.” In fact, the entire place looked good.

  “Tomorrow,” her mom said as she put an ornament on the tree, “I want to make a gingerbread house. Tiffy and I used to do that together when she was little. Then we’ll have to make some pumpkin pie since that’s your favorite.”

  “You don’t have to go all out for me.”

  “Nonsense. I want to.”

  “And she’ll have fun doing it, too,” her dad added. “She loves to cook. Never think you’re imposing by telling her what you’d like to eat.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Tyler said, though he couldn’t imagine imposing on her generosity that way.

  “I’m ready,” Tiffany called out as she left her bedroom. She gestured to her candy cane earrings. “What do you think?” she asked Tyler when she reached him. “My mom wanted me to wear something more Christmassy than just this red dress, so I picked these.”

  “They’re nice,” he told her, though he doubted anyone would look at her earrings when she filled out her dress so well.

  “Uh oh,” her dad said, nudging her mother in the side. “They’re both under the mistletoe.”

  Her mother giggled. “So they are. Come on, kids. You know what you’re supposed to do.”

  “Yep. Tyler, give your bride a kiss.”

  Tyler glanced up and, sure enough, there was a mistletoe hanging right over his head.

  “I didn’t see you put that up there,” Tiffany told her parents.

  “We thought we’d do it while you were dressing for dinner,” her father replied with a mischievous smile. “You can’t blame a father for having a little fun at Christmas.”

  “It’s more like a Valentine day thing if you think about it,” her mother commented.

  “Who says you can’t have a little romance at Christmastime?” her dad asked.

  Her mother giggled again and motioned for them to kiss. “Go on you two. Kiss.”

  Tiffany glanced up at Tyler, and he caught the uncertainty in her eyes.

  “Well,” Tyler said, “I guess one kiss wouldn’t hurt.” Especially when she was so beautiful.

  Tiffany bit her lower lip for a moment then told her mom, “No pictures.”

  Her mother sighed and returned her phone to her pocket. “Fine. No pictures.”

  Her father chuckled. “Melissa’s always liked to take pictures. It really picked up after Tiffany and Zoe were born.”

  So Melissa was Tiffany’s mother’s name. Tyler hadn’t thought to ask what her parents’ names were, but now, he realized he wanted to know her dad’s name, too. Sure, her parents could be pushy, but they really weren’t all that bad once someone got to
know them.

  “Do you mind if I ask you your name?” he asked her dad.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” her mom protested. “You’re not sidetracking us so you can get out of kissing your wife in front of us.”

  “No, I wasn’t trying to…” He glanced at Tiffany, sure his face went bright red. “I mean, I was curious, that’s all.” He cleared his throat. “Okay.”

  Under ordinary circumstances, he thought a kiss might not be so awkward, but since her mom—Melissa—was smiling at him, silently encouraging him to do it, he felt like a bumbling fool as he lowered his head and kissed his best friend. He kept it short. Simple was best, after all. But something about it made his heartbeat pick up just a bit. And when he looked at her, she didn’t quite seem like the same person she’d always been.

  “Alright, he kissed me,” Tiffany told her parents. “Now, will you tell him your name, Dad?”

  “Phil,” her dad said. “My name is Phil.”

  With a relieved sigh, Tiffany grabbed her coat and purse. “Great. Now let’s go before we’re late.”

  Tyler held back for a moment. The kiss probably didn’t affect her the way it’d affected him. And there was no reason why the kiss should mean anything. It wasn’t like they were really in love. They were only pretending to be.

  Forcing his gaze off of her, he pulled the keys out of his pocket. “Right. We don’t want to keep my parents waiting.” Who knew what Nathan would tell them if he wasn’t there to stop him?

  He followed everyone out the door then closed it. “You forgot to lock the door,” he called out to Tiffany.

  She stopped walking down the hall and hurried back. With an apologetic smile, she fumbled around in her purse for a few seconds until she found her keys. After she slipped it in the doorknob, she locked it.

  “Don’t you have your own key?” Phil asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Tyler quickly lied. “I, um, just thought Tiffany would want to do it.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with me being the one to lock the door,” Tiffany said then slipped her keys into her purse. “We’re not like you and Mom.” She looked at Tyler. “He is the one who manages the locks in our house.”