Just Good Friends (25 page)

Just what happened to change
everything? Was it the fact that they were pretending to be
married? Was it the kiss they’d shared under the mistletoe at her
parents’ insistence? Was it Beth and Danielle who seemed so sure
that there was more to her friendship with Tyler than she
admitted…even to herself?

Pushing her whirling thoughts aside,
she entered the kitchen and found that Beth was washing her
children’s hands in the sink.

“
I know, I know,” Beth said,
glancing over at her. “They aren’t that dirty, but I like making
sure their hands are clean. It’s a thing I have. I like things
clean. Ryan says I can go overboard, but I like to think of it as
being sanitary.”

“
I think having your kids
wash their hands after they eat is a good idea,” Tiffany assured
her.

“
Really? You’re not just
saying that to make me feel better?”

“
Really.”

Beth relaxed. “I shouldn’t worry so
much about what people think, and usually, I don’t. But ever since
I had kids I found out that strangers will come up to you and tell
you what you should or shouldn’t do with them.”

“
That’s silly.”

“
Maybe, but it’s true. I
guess it brings up the insecure part of me I pushed down long
ago.”

“
Well, they are your
children. It’s only logical you’ll be sensitive when it comes to
them.”

Beth finished washing her son’s hands
and told her children, “You can go back to the pool, but make sure
you go to your dad.” They squealed in delight and started running
out of the room which earned them a firm, “Walk,” from
Beth.

They didn’t run, but they did walk as
fast as their little feet could carry them. Tiffany couldn’t help
but laugh.

Beth sighed but grinned. “At least they
slowed down. Somewhat.”

“
You’re a good mom, Beth.
You shouldn’t worry about other people. Let them take care of their
own kids.”

“
Yeah, I know. So,” she
glanced at the kitchen doorway, “how have things been going during
your parents’ visit?”

“
Surprisingly good. I
thought for sure it was going to be a disaster.”

Beth leaned against the counter and
crossed her arms. “From what I see, it doesn’t seem like you and
Tyler are having a hard time pretending to be married. In fact, if
I didn’t know better, I’d say it was true.”

“
You really think he seems
interested in me that way?”

“
I’d say the attraction is
working both ways. You’re just as obvious as he is.”

Tiffany didn’t know if it was good or
not that she was so transparent. Did Tyler pick up on
it?

“
Are you sure it’s all an
act?”

Noting the teasing tone in her friend’s
voice, Tiffany’s lips curled up into a smile. “It was at
first.”

“
Yeah, and now…?”

“
I don’t know. I mean, Tyler
might be better at pretending than I am. I might be feeling
something different than him.”

“
I doubt it.”

After a moment, Tiffany decided to
change topics. “You know how you wanted to spend the day with my
parents at the zoo?”

Beth nodded.

“
What day this week works
best for you?”

“
Tomorrow, I’m taking the
kids in for a well kid check at the doctor. So how about
Tuesday?”

“
That works. I’ll tell my
parents we have plans for Tuesday. Want to go back to the
pool?”

“
I will in a moment. I need
to visit the little girl’s room first.”

Tiffany headed for the pool and saw
that her parents were talking to Tyler’s parents. She shook her
head in wonder. Never in a million years would she have believed
they just recently met.

Danielle and Amy were with their
husbands, and Amber was taking a nap in the playpen nearby. Ryan
and Tyler were in the water teaching Stacey Ann and Jacob how to
swim while Danielle’s kids were splashing in the other side of the
pool.

Tyler glanced up and waved her over.
“Help us teach these two how to swim,” he called out.

Her heartbeat picking up at the idea of
being with him, she hurried to do as he wished.

Chapter
Twenty-One

“
You didn’t have to walk me
in tonight,” Tiffany said as Tyler followed her into her
apartment.

“
I don’t mind,” he
replied.

The afternoon had been better than
Tyler expected. Not that he thought it was going to be a disaster.
But he worried Tiffany might not enjoy the day. However, she seemed
to have done just that, and better yet, she had a good conversation
with her parents. In a way, it was a shame that he missed it, but
it was something she probably needed to do without him being there.
So he was happy for her. But he didn’t get to spend any time alone
with her, and he found that’s what he wanted more than
anything.

As he shut the door, he put her beach
bag down. “You kept the tree plugged in while you were
gone?”

“
Yeah,” she said as she took
off her coat. “Since my parents went through all the work of
decorating it, I figured the least I could do was let it light up
the apartment.”

“
I’m glad you kept the
lights on. It’s nice.”

“
I suppose it is.” She came
over to him and smiled. “I hate to say it, but I wish I’d decorated
this place for the past couple years I’ve been living
here.”

“
Well, you’re doing it now,
and that’s what counts.”

“
I guess. Hey, do you want
some eggnog? I actually bought some.”

He glanced up, and as he hoped, they
were standing at the perfect place. “We can’t go into the kitchen
until we kiss. See?” He pointed to the mistletoe hanging over their
heads.

“
We don’t have to kiss. My
parents aren’t here.”

Despite the sudden wave of shyness that
came over him, he shrugged and, in the most nonchalant voice he
could manage, said, “I know, but I hate to break a popular
Christmas tradition.”

She bit her lower lip in that
apprehensive way of hers, and he could practically see the wheels
turning in her head as she weighed the pros and cons of following
through with it and kissing him.

Hoping to persuade her, he brushed her
cheek with his fingers, noting how soft her skin was. She really
was beautiful, especially with the way the lights from the tree
made her blonde hair glow and her blue eyes sparkle.

Though she seemed hesitant, she offered
a slight nod so he bowed his head and kissed her. The kiss in front
of her parents had been awkward, simply because they were right
there watching them. But this one wasn’t so awkward, and it allowed
him to relax enough so he could enjoy it more.

He let his lips linger longer than
necessary, and as he hoped, she leaned into him. Good. She hadn’t
ended the kiss or pushed him away. She was willing to continue it.
Encouraged, he pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss. To
further test the waters, he traced her lower lip with his tongue,
wondering if she’d let him into her mouth. And she did.

His pulse raced with a new kind of
excitement. This felt right. Up to now, he hadn’t been curious
about what kissing her would be like. It just hadn’t interested him
as her friend. But the threshold into something more had been
crossed at some point over the past week, and now it seemed like
the most natural thing in the world. And better yet, she was
responding to him.

When the kiss came to an end, he kept
his arms around her, his gaze meeting hers. “Do you mind if I kiss
you again?” he whispered.

A wide grin crossing her face, she
said, “No.”

Smiling in return, he kissed her again,
this time not at all shy about interlacing his tongue with hers. In
this moment, it was just the two of them, and he really couldn’t
think of anything better than that.

This time when the kiss ended, he
asked, “Will you marry me? For real?”

“
Yes,” she
whispered.

She brought her mouth back to his, and
he thought his heart might burst, both from the heady experience of
simply kissing her and from knowing she returned his feelings. None
of the women he’d dated in the past had had this affect on him.
It’d been nice to be with them. He had enjoyed the times he’d
shared with them. But none of them were Tiffany. And maybe that
only went to show how different things were when he was with the
right one.

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.”