Just Good Friends (2 page)

“
Anytime. And
Tiffany?”

She paused, hand on the door handle.
“Yes?”

“
If you need to talk, you
know who to call.”

She smiled. “I know. Thanks,
Tyler.”

She got out of the car and waved to him
before entering the building. When she got into her apartment, she
dropped her purse on the coffee table and slid out of her coat. She
was ready to hang it up in the closet, but then she caught sight of
the blinking red light on her answering machine. She had kept her
cell phone turned off most of the evening because she didn’t like
it on when she was on a date. Tapping the edge of her coat, she
debated whether or not to wait until tomorrow to press that
button.

Maybe it wasn’t her mother. Maybe it
was Beth. Or maybe it was someone from work. Or maybe it was a
telemarketer. After a quick debate, she hung the coat up and went
to the machine. Quick and painless. That was the best way to find
out. She pressed the button and waited for the message.

“
Tiffy, this is Mom,” her
mother greeted into the phone, “and this is Zoe,” her sister chimed
in. “We were just on Facebook,” her mother continued, “and we
noticed Andy switched his status from ‘in a relationship’ to
‘single’. We’re so sorry, honey.”

“
We really are,” Zoe
added.

Tiffany rolled her eyes.

“
But this just might be the
best thing,” her mother went on. “As it turns out, Zoe’s fiancé has
a friend who doesn’t have a date for the wedding.”

“
He’s definitely available,”
Zoe said.

Tiffany had the nagging suspicion Zoe
was thinking of Lucas.

“
I think you’ve seen his
picture on Facebook in my status update a couple days ago,” Zoe
continued. “His name is Lucas.”

Yes, Tiffany remembered the picture. He
was holding up two mugs of beer and riding a horse in only his
underwear. Zoe claimed he did it because of a dare, but Tiffany
wondered if the guy was really like that all the time.

“
The best part is,” Zoe went
on, “he has no girlfriend, and since you are no longer with Andy,
there might be a possible love connection. Anyway, give us a
call.”

Tiffany gagged and ended the message.
She didn’t need to hear any more. She unplugged the phone from the
wall so she wouldn’t get any more calls for the night and got ready
for bed. This was worse than she thought. If she didn’t show up
with someone, she was going to be forced to be with Lucas. She
hadn’t met him, but she’d seen more than she wanted to. And not
just in that picture. From time to time, Facebook would show her
that Zoe’s fiancé commented on one of his status updates, and it
seemed as if Lucas actually sorted through garbage to find hidden
treasures. Just thinking about it made her shiver.

She was going to have to do something.
Either she was going to show up with someone or she was going to
have to get into a horrible accident that made travel impossible.
Whatever she had to do, there was no way she was going to go to
Montana by herself. No freaking way.

Chapter
Two

The next day, Tiffany invited Tyler out
to lunch. Usually, they would pal around, but today, she had
something specific in mind. And that something was to avoid being
pawned off on Lucas.

Once they ordered their meals, she
decided to come right out and ask her question. “Will you pretend
to be my boyfriend? I don’t want to show up at my sister’s wedding
without a date.”

Tyler had his glass of soda halfway to
his mouth when she blurted out the question, and judging by the way
his eyes grew wide, she knew it was the last thing he expected her
to say.

Giving him a moment to process what she
asked, she fiddled with the napkin on the table in front of her. He
was going to tell her it was a stupid idea. For sure, she never
would have come up with it if she hadn’t been desperate. But
Thanksgiving was in five days. She didn’t have time to
waste.

Tyler set the glass down and tapped his
fingers on the table. After a very long and agonizing moment, he
nodded. “Alright.” Then he took a sip of his drink. “I didn’t
realize how much grief your mom was giving you about being
single.”

“
It’s not just my mom. It’s
my dad, too. In fact, the whole family is in on it. Why do you
think I left Montana to come here as soon as I graduated
college?”

He shot her a teasing smile. “Because
you love the Huskers?”

Amused, she tucked her hair behind her
ear. “Ah yes, the Huskers. Nebraska’s claim to fame.”

“
Hey, it’s the only football
team we got.”

She giggled as the server came up to
their table and set their dishes in front of them. After the server
left, she straightened in her seat. She picked up a fork and poked
her grilled chicken salad with it. “I have to admit I’m relieved
you said yes. I thought you were going to tell me how stupid my
idea was.”

“
Well,” he said as he picked
up his cheeseburger, “I’ve never been to Montana, so it’ll give me
a good excuse to check it out. Plus, traveling alone is no
fun.”

“
It’s not the traveling
alone part that bothers me. I just don’t feel like having them all
gang up on me.”

“
No one likes to be ganged
up on.”

She ate a forkful of her salad and
nodded. “True.”

After a couple minutes of eating in
silence, he asked, “How long will we be there?”

“
Technically, four days,
though it’s more like three. We get in Wednesday evening and leave
Saturday afternoon. My sister’s wedding is Saturday morning, and I
have to be there for Thanksgiving. Otherwise, I’d come in Friday
night.”

She watched as he took another bite
from his cheeseburger. She secretly envied his ability to eat
whatever he wanted without gaining weight. Most of the time, he
wore a suit for his job as vice president at Rudolph Vacation
Enterprises, but when he went casual, as he was today, he opted for
a polo shirt and nice slacks. “It’s disgusting.”

Swallowing his food, he asked, “Is
there a hair in your salad?”

“
No, it’s not that. I was
just thinking of how unfair it is that you eat like a teenager but
don’t gain weight.”

“
That’s because I exercise a
lot. One of the perks I get at work is the exercise room. I do that
in my free time.”

“
Nathan Rudolph gives you
free time?”

Raising an eyebrow, he shook his head.
“He only seems intimidating to his competitors because he’s
particular about who he does business with.”

“
You like working for
him?”

“
Well, it helps we were
roommates in college twenty years ago. You can’t be scared of
someone who kept his baby blanket tucked under his
pillow.”

She stared at him for a moment, trying
to figure out if he was kidding, but he seemed serious. “A baby
blanket?” she asked, just to be sure she understood him
right.

His lips curled up into a mischievous
grin. “Yep. He said it brought him luck.”

“
Do you think he still has
it?”

“
I’m sure he keeps it
somewhere, but I doubt it’s under his pillow anymore.”

“
Good. I doubt his wife
would want to share his affections with a blanket.”

“
If Amy does, I don’t think
she minds. The last time she came to get some paper for the
printer, he had a lipstick mark on his cheek when she
left.”

“
You think they make out
during business hours?”

“
Carmen and I sometimes make
bets on how long she’ll be in there.”

Tiffany gasped then laughed. “That’s
horrible, Tyler. You two shouldn’t bet on things like
that.”

“
Well, you work with Amy.
Didn’t it ever occur to you that she might be doing something she
shouldn’t when she picks up supplies from the boss?”

“
I never paid attention to
how long she’s been gone.”

“
Next time, pay attention.
It only takes five minutes to get to the building where Nathan and
I work, and one time she stayed for a half hour.”

She shook her head but couldn’t stop
laughing. “That’s simply awful, Tyler. You and Carmen need a life
if that’s what you do for fun.”

He shrugged but continued smiling.
“I’ll be on my best behavior during our trip to Montana. Besides,
it’ll be interesting to see if your parents are as bad as you
say.”

“
Oh, they are. I’m just glad
they’ll have the wedding to focus on. I’m relieved my sister’s
boyfriend finally proposed.”

“
How long were they going
out?”

“
Five years. I’ve lost track
of all the times they had ‘unresolved issues’ and had to take a
break from each other.”

He picked up his drink. “Unresolved
issues?”

“
That’s the term my sister
used. She never did explain what she meant by it.”

“
I hope they’ve resolved
them now that they’re getting married.”

“
They did last through the
past year of their engagement without breaking up, so I assume the
counseling paid off.”

He nodded and finished his meal.
Grabbing a napkin to wipe his hands, he asked, “So, are we driving
or flying?”

“
Flying. I’ll have Andy’s
ticket switched to your name. Oh, and I’m renting a car in case I
can’t take it anymore and need to bolt.”

“
Oh great. And then I’ll be
stranded with them,” he joked.

Playing along, she said, “Hey, when it
comes to my family, it’s each man for himself.”

“
It’s nice to know in times
of crisis, you’ll leave your friends behind.”

“
I’ll tell you what,” she
began as she dug her fork into what remained of the salad. “If I’ve
had all I can take, I’ll ask you if you want to go for a
walk.”

He shot her an amused smile. “Okay.
Deal.” He finished his drink and set the glass down. “I don’t want
to rush you, but the movie starts in fifteen minutes, and it takes
ten to get to the theater.”

She glanced at her watch and groaned.
How was it possible time flew like that whenever she was away from
her family? She just knew Thanksgiving weekend would be painfully
slow. Sighing, she forced the impending trip from her mind. At
least, she’d have her best friend with her to keep her sane. And
that was actually much better than the prospect of going with Andy
had been. So, all in all, Andy did her a huge favor without
realizing it. She quickly finished her lunch, and they left for the
movies.

***

The next day, Tiffany stopped the
fifteen-month-old boy before he plowed into her. “Watch it there,
Jacob. I just had my manicure today.”

The boy looked up at her with wide
eyes. Her gaze went to her friend, Elizabeth Jackson. “Beth, your
son is as reckless as Ryan.”

Ryan was Tyler’s cousin. In fact, Tyler
introduced her to Beth shortly after Ryan and Beth came back from
their honeymoon in Alaska. And it wasn’t long after that Tiffany
and Beth became good friends.

Beth picked the boy up and put him back
in the sandbox with his twin sister, Stacey Ann. “And here I
thought going to the park would be relaxing. It feels like all I’m
doing is chasing these two.”

Tiffany laughed and leaned back on the
bench. “Your kids just want you to stay in shape.”

Beth settled next to Tiffany and shook
her head. “You’d think I would have lost the weight I gained during
the pregnancy with all the running around I do these
days.”

“
Well, the weight gain was
for a good cause, right?”

“
Yes, it was. I’m glad Ryan
isn’t one of those guys who expect women to be thin after they give
birth.”

“
He’d better adore you the
way you are since you gave him children.”

Beth chuckled. “You’re right.” After
telling her daughter to get the bug out of her mouth, she unzipped
her jacket and sighed. “It’s nice to sit down and let them play.
I’m glad it’s warm enough for the park today.”

That was one thing Tiffany liked about
Nebraska. It had some warm days while Montana was pretty much cold
all the time in the late fall and winter months.

Clearing her throat, Beth asked, “So,
you were telling me you asked Tyler if he’d pretend to be your
boyfriend when you go to your sister’s wedding?”

“
I did, and he
agreed.”

“
Good. At least you don’t
have to go alone. Sometimes it helps if you can share something you
dread with someone you like.”

“
That’s the truth.” Tiffany
ran her fingers through her blonde strands. “I’m hoping it’ll ease
the whole ‘poor Tiffany has no one’ thing.”

“
For your sake, I hope
so.”

Noting the hesitation in her friend’s
tone, Tiffany asked, “But?”

Beth shrugged. “What if it causes other
problems?”

“
What kind of
problems?”