Just Good Friends

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  As reluctant as he was to end the kiss, he did because there was more he wanted to say. “Okay, this is a crazy idea,” he began as he took her hand and led her to the couch, “but what if we take a plane to Las Vegas tomorrow morning and come back before tomorrow night?” Her eyebrows furrowed, so he quickly continued, “I know it’s sudden. Usually I carefully plan everything out, but when the time is right, I think you just know it. I see no reason to put it off.”

  “Well, we have known each for years. It’s not like we just met.”

  “Right.” Good. So she didn’t laugh at him like he was weird for suggesting they rush off and marry on such short notice.

  “Besides,” she added, “you’ve already moved in here.”

  He laughed. “I did, didn’t I?”

  “It turns out it was good you did. My mom did check through the bedroom.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry. I caught her in the act and told her she’s not allowed to do that ever again.”

  “When was this?”

  “On their second day here. We worked through a lot of things today at Nathan’s, but I think there’s still going to be some work.”

  “At least you got the main issues out of the way, right?”

  “Right.”

  “And now that we’re going to get married for real, we don’t have to come up with a way to tell them we aren’t really married.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. Marrying you will solve that pesky problem.”

  He leaned toward her, eyebrows raised in good humor. “You aren’t just marrying me so you don’t have to tell them the truth, are you?”

  Giggling, she kissed him. “Of course not. Though it does solve a lot of problems. Now, we don’t have to tell your parents the horrible truth either.”

  “True. I didn’t think about that.”

  “Your parents would probably say they understand. They seem to be pretty easygoing about things,” she commented as she snuggled against his side.

  He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and settled back on the couch. “My parents would have been sad. They’re just as excited as your parents. They hide it better, that’s all. And besides, I overheard our parents talking about grandchildren.”

  Gasping, she straightened up and looked at him. “Tell me you’re joking.”

  “Nope. My parents were telling your parents how much they couldn’t wait to hold their first grandchild. I think they were even coming up with names in case we need help.”

  “Oh no.”

  “Oh yes.”

  “This is all Nathan’s fault. It’s because he brought Amber along on that stupid tour and talked up how great children are.”

  Tyler shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind having children. I know they can be a lot of work. I’ve watched Nathan take care of Amber. But he’s never been happier, and he’ll be putting in a daycare when she gets too old to stay in a playpen.”

  “I think I’d rather stay home and take care of our children like Beth does, if that’s okay with you.”

  “It’s fine with me.” He reached for her hand. “So, it’s settled. We go to Las Vegas tomorrow and get married.”

  “There’s only one thing wrong with tomorrow.”

  “What’s that?”

  “My parents are still in town.”

  “Right.” He’d forgotten that stipulation. He thought through their options and finally settled on the most viable one. “What if we arrange for our parents to spend the day together? Then we can be back by dinner and meet up with them then?”

  “You really think they’ll spend the whole day together?”

  “Are you kidding? They were pretty much inseparable today. The only time they weren’t talking was when they were eating.”

  She waited for a moment and nodded. “That’s true.”

  “They’ll think I’m at work. All we need is for you to be somewhere.”

  “What if I tell everyone I want to go Christmas shopping alone?”

  “That’ll work. Then we’ll pick up some things in the airport.”

  “As long as it’s nothing specifically tied to Las Vegas, we’ll be okay.”

  “You can give them Nebraska Husker shirts.”

  She grimaced but chuckled. “My mom wouldn’t be happy with it.”

  “Why not? It’s red. It’d go with the season.”

  “But it’s a sports shirt, and she’d die before putting one of those on. My dad would like one, though. We’ll give him one.”

  “I’m sure we will find something your mom will like. There’s bound to be some trinket or jewelry at one of the stores in the airport. We saw enough of them on our way to and from Montana.”

  “Thank goodness we took that trip. I didn’t even remember airports had all those stores.”

  “It makes time go by faster when you’re stuck between flights.” He shifted so he could pull out his smartphone. “They have direct flights to Las Vegas. Let me see what the flight time is.”

  “Are you going to order tickets right now?”

  “No. I’m going to wait until tomorrow morning. I’ll get a better deal if I go through my boss’ company.”

  She nudged him playfully in the side. “If your boss won’t let you out of work tomorrow, then all of this planning will be for nothing.”

  “Oh, he’ll let me off work. After all he’s done, he owes me.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Hey, if the guy will give your parents first class seats and a super good deal at the best hotel in town, he’ll let me get married tomorrow. He’s been itching for us to do it anyway. This should make him happy.”

  “Has he really?”

  “Yep.” He typed in the flight times and smiled. “The flight will be just under three hours. Nonstop. If we don’t mess around, we can do it.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “We’ll make dinner a late one. Maybe around six or six thirty.”

  He turned to her and gave her another lingering kiss. As much as he hated to leave her, especially when everything was going so great, he knew he wouldn’t get much sleep tomorrow. If he was going to get any rest, he was going to have to do it tonight.

  “I’ll be by here around seven thirty to pick you up,” he told her then rose to his feet. “We’ll stop by my office on the way to the airport to get the tickets.”

  “You want me to call our parents?” she asked as she stood up to walk him to the door.

  “Nah, I’ll do that. This is my harebrained scheme. The least I can do is iron out the details. I’ll tell them you’ll be shopping and I’ll be at work, so they’ll be on the own until dinner.”

  On impulse, he brought her back into his arms and kissed her again. To think of all the times he’d been with her and never once kissed her, and now it was hard to stop. More than that, though, it was hard to leave. Thankfully, he’d only be leaving her for one night. Tomorrow, he’d stay here with her. Just thinking about it was enough to arouse him.

  Reluctant, he pulled away from her and caressed her cheek. He still couldn’t get over how soft she was. He couldn’t wait to feel the rest of her. He cleared his throat and said, “I’ll see you at seven thirty.”

  “I’ll be counting down the hours,” she said with that wonderful sparkle still in her eyes.

  His smile widening, he gave her another kiss, making it quick before he lost his willpower and stayed. “Me too,” he replied and opened the door. “I can’t wait.”

  “Me neither.”

  He stood outside her door for a moment, trying to remember which way he needed to go down the hall. Left. He needed to go left. He wished her a goodnight and headed in the direction that would take him to his car. This was nuts. He’d never been so out of sorts before. It must be love. There was nothing else to explain it. And love, he decided, was a wonderful thing.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The next morning when he got to work, Tyler bypassed his office and walked right into Nathan’s instead, not bot
hering to knock first. Then, before Nathan could look up from the document he was reading, he said, “I’m going to take the rest of the day off.”

  “You just got here,” Nathan replied, finally turning his gaze up to him.

  “Yes, and I’ll need a full day off if I’m going to go to Las Vegas and get back here in time to have dinner with Tiffany’s parents.”

  “Ah, so you don’t want anyone to know you’re getting married for real.”

  “No, I don’t, and there’s no reason you should tell them now that you got what you wanted.”

  “What I wanted?”

  “Yes. You can stop playing matchmaker. Tiffany and I thought about it and decided it’s for the best.”

  “Because you don’t want to keep lying?”

  “No,” Tyler replied, wondering why Nathan was dragging this out. He had tickets to reserve, after all. “Because we love each other. We just didn’t realize it until,” he shrugged, “recently.”

  “I knew it,” he said with a smug smile. “In fact, I’ve known it for quite some time.”

  “Yeah, well, there’s no need to gloat.”

  “You want me to arrange a proxy wedding for you?”

  “No, Tiffany and I are going to Las Vegas.”

  “Oh, so you’re going to turn your lie into the truth.” Nathan grinned. “Since you’re not that good at lying, it’s the safest bet.”

  “I’m not that bad at lying, Nathan. I just don’t enjoy it like you do.”

  Nathan smirked. “You’re only upset because I can keep a cool head no matter what’s going on. You can have the day off. But,” Nathan called out as Tyler turned to leave, “next time you come to my house for a swim, could you wear a shirt? It’s embarrassing to be next to someone who looks like a superhero.”

  “If it was so embarrassing, then why didn’t you tell me at the party?”

  “And risk someone thinking I feel inadequate compared to you? I’d rather be caught dead.”

  “You could always work out and tone up your body.”

  “Now you’re just speaking nonsense. I happen to be an important person. I have better things to do than get sweaty on some machine. I’d rather play tennis or be in bed. Unlike you, I prefer activities that involve other people.”

  “Haha. So anyway, I’m going to make it a quick trip. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Oh for goodness sakes, Tyler, show some romance. Take the rest of the week off.”

  “There’s not much I’ll be doing with her while her parents are around, Nathan.”

  After a moment, he shrugged. “I see your point. Come in to work tomorrow, but take Christmas week off. Oh, and before you run off to get plane tickets, I’ll do it for you. It’s my wedding gift.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.” He turned to his computer and started typing something on his keyboard. “It’s the least I can do for putting you and Tiffany through so much grief.”

  “I thought you enjoyed making us miserable.”

  Nathan shot him an amused look. “I don’t try to make people miserable. I simply do what’s best for them, even if they are too dumb to realize it.”

  “Dumb?”

  “I can’t help it if you didn’t see that Tiffany was perfect for you until now. Some people are late to the party when it comes to love.”

  “Since you’re paying for the tickets, I’ll let that comment go.”

  Nathan printed out the receipt for the tickets and handed it to him. “You’re welcome. And don’t worry, you’ll be back in Omaha in time for dinner.”

  Tyler glanced at the papers in his hands, surprised Nathan also arranged a limo to pick them up and take them back to the airport.

  “Granted, you won’t get to enjoy the best part of marriage right away, but I figured the limo will help make up for that. You’ve never ridden in one of those before, have you?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Well, you’re going to love it. Not as much as the bed, but it comes close enough in a pinch. Get on out of here and good luck on no one else finding out.”

  Smiling, Tyler hurried to obey.

  ***

  Tiffany had never done anything so spontaneous—or unbelievably exciting—in her entire life. While Tyler went to the bathroom before the flight was due to board, she decided to call Beth to tell her the news.

  As soon as Beth picked up the phone, Tiffany asked, “Guess where I am?”

  Beth hesitated for a moment then laughed. “I don’t know. The caller ID only told me that you called, not where you’re calling from.”

  “I’m currently at the airport. I should be on the plane,” Tiffany glanced at her watch, “in ten minutes.”

  “Are you flying to Montana to get away from your parents?”

  Tiffany chuckled at her friend’s joke. “No. As a matter of fact, Tyler and I decided to go ahead and get married.” Even as she admitted it aloud, her skin warmed.

  “Is this because of our talk yesterday?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. It might have been part of it. I guess there was something there all this time, and I just didn’t realize it until the past week or so.” In fact, Tiffany still couldn’t pinpoint when things started changing. She only knew they had. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

  “No, I don’t think you’re crazy. Love is like that sometimes. It happens while you’re not paying attention.”

  “Yes, that’s how it was.”

  “In that case, I’ll come out and say I told you so.”

  “Yeah, I figured I had that coming.”

  Beth laughed. “So you’re on your way to get married right now?”

  “Yes. We’re going to Las Vegas. It makes the most sense. Tyler told my parents we eloped there, so it helps to keep things straight.”

  “When are you coming back?”

  “We should be back in Omaha just before five.”

  “Yep, that’s quick alright. And romantic. Well, I won’t keep you.”

  “Okay. By the way, we’re still on for the zoo tomorrow.”

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be alone with Tyler?”

  “My parents are in town. I’m already blowing them off today. I can’t do it two days in a row.”

  “I see your point. You’ll have plenty of time together after they leave. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  They said good-bye, and Tiffany hung up.

  “Hi, Tiffany.”

  She looked up and saw Andy. Surprised, she slipped her phone back in her purse and stood up. “Hi, Andy. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  She hadn’t expected to see him at all, period. They didn’t go to the same places or enjoy the same things. She’d dated him only because he was so different, and she thought it might be a nice change of pace. But she never believed they would get married. In no way could he be compared to Tyler.

  “I saw the picture your mom posted on Facebook of you and Tyler Jackson,” he said.

  “Was this a picture she posted yesterday?”

  “Yes. You were swimming.”

  She didn’t realize Andy had kept her mom on his friend’s list. She thought he’d delete her from it once they were no longer dating. “My mom takes lots of pictures.”

  “Yeah, I remember you telling me that. Hey look, I was wondering, is the guy in the picture your best friend Tyler?”

  “Yes,” she slowly replied wondering where he was going with this.

  “And his last name is Jackson?”

  “Yes. That’s why my mom put him down as ‘Tyler Jackson’.”

  “He wouldn’t be a part of the Jackson Advertising Firm, would he?”

  She wasn’t sure how to respond because it occurred to her what he was getting at. Tyler’s family was an important one in Omaha, and he liked to associate with people who were important. “He doesn’t work there, but he is related to the people who run the company.”

  “Then is he the Jackson who works for Nathan Rudolph?”

  “Yes.”r />
  “I didn’t realize you knew such influential people. Why didn’t you say something while we were going out?”

  “Because it didn’t matter,” she replied. “They’re regular people, just like you and me.”

  He laughed, but she suspected it was out of disbelief. “You must know them really well.”

  “As a matter of fact, I do.”

  “I was going to give you a call when I got back into town from my business meeting, but this is as good a place as any.”

  “Oh?” she asked, amused at what was coming.

  Maybe she should have been upset, but she thought it was funny, especially when she saw Tyler heading their way. Andy, of course, couldn’t see him because he had his back turned to Tyler. And that made it that much more hilarious.

  “If you’re good enough for Tyler Jackson and his family, then you’re good enough for me,” Andy told her as if he was giving her the best news of her life. “I’m willing to go out with you again, and who knows? Maybe we’ll even get married.”

  “I can’t do that, Andy.”

  He blinked then asked, “Why not?”

  “Because she’s already married,” Tyler said as he came around him. He put his arm around her shoulders. “To me.”

  Andy’s jaw dropped.

  The woman announced the flight was ready to board, and Tyler patted his shoulder. “You can’t win them all.”

  Tiffany managed to hold back her laughter until they were heading down the ramp to the plane. “Can you believe him?”

  “The guy’s a loser,” Tyler replied. “You can do better than that.”

  “I am. I’m with you.”

  “That’s right. Though, technically, I’m not married to you yet. But I figured one more white lie couldn’t hurt, especially when he deserved a swift kick in the behind.”