Just Good Friends (26 page)

“
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 bothering 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.”

“
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.