Just Good Friends (22 page)

He smiled. “He didn’t join every single
group, but he did go to at least one of their meetings to find out
what they were about. He said it was a good way to find out what
they could offer and establish future business connections. Even
then, he knew he’d start his own business and be
somebody.”

“
Maybe he followed you all
over the place because he wanted to make you the vice president of
his future company and didn’t want someone else to grab you
first.”

“
During the tour, he did say
I was an ideal employee.”

“
That wasn’t a tour, Tyler.
It was a spiel on why my parents should want grandchildren.” She
straightened in her seat and turned toward him. “He brought his
daughter along to show them how adorable and cute babies are. I
kept hoping Amber would cry, need a diaper change, or drool all
over the place, but she was perfect the entire time.”

He grimaced. “That’s why Nathan had me
talk to Ryan on Skype that morning.”

“
So you could miss the whole
‘grandchildren are great’ thing?”

“
Yep.”

Interested, she studied his expression.
“What would you have done if you’d been there?”

“
I would have said the tour
was over and taken Amber back to his office so Carmen could watch
her.”

“
Ah, so that’s why you
weren’t allowed to be there.”

“
At least your parents
haven’t been hounding us about having children,” he
said.

“
Oh no? While we went
shopping, my mom was pointing out cribs and baby clothes whenever
we passed them in the stores.”

“
Well, no one has said
anything to me about it.”

“
Probably because they think
it’s up to me whether or not we have children,” she
replied.

“
That’s silly. It takes two
people to make a child.”

“
I know, but women usually
take care of the birth control.”

“
What about
condoms?”

“
I think women are more
likely to buy those than men are.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. If a man is
buying them, it means he’s having sex.”

Unable to resist the urge to tease him,
she asked, “Do you buy them so other men think you’re getting
lucky?”

His face grew red, and she couldn’t
help but think he was cute when he was embarrassed. “No. I wouldn’t
buy them if I didn’t need them. Do you know how much those things
cost?”

“
No, actually, I
don’t.”

“
They’re expensive enough
where I wouldn’t buy them unless I needed them. But other men might
not mind splurging on them just to look cool.”

“
Maybe,” she conceded,
though she didn’t think men did something like that.

“
Fine, don’t believe
me.”

“
I didn’t say I didn’t
believe you.”

“
You’re not fooling me,
Tiffany. We know each other too well. You think I don’t know what
I’m talking about, but mark my words, there are men out there who
do it.”

“
Okay, I’ll give you the
benefit of the doubt,” she said.

He made a right turn into the parking
lot they needed and glanced at her. “I’m a man. I understand their
psyche better than you do.”

“
And that is why I decided
to become your friend. How else will I ever understand men if
you’re not there to tell me what they’re thinking?”

As he parked the car, his phone rang.
He pulled it out of his pocket and groaned.

“
Who is it?” she
asked.

He shook his head. “Nathan. I’m not
sure I should answer.”

“
Oh, go ahead. What else can
he possibly do?”

“
I don’t think we want to
know. But it might actually be work related.” He answered the
phone. “This better be about work.”

She hid her smile at the exasperated
tone in his voice. She felt bad for him. She dragged him into what
was supposed to be a simple lie for a single weekend, and now he
was having to put up with a lot of aggravation. He’d always been a
good friend. Honestly, she couldn’t think of anyone else who’d go
through all of this just for her.

“
If you stop interfering in
my life,” Tyler told Nathan, “I can have the report done by the
middle of next week.” He paused, took off his glasses, and rubbed
the bridge of his nose. “No, I can’t concentrate when you’re
breathing down my neck, and you know that. Ever since college, I
can’t have any distractions when I’m working.” He put his glasses
back on and sighed. “Which is why I don’t understand why you keep
bugging me when you know I need to work.”

She continued watching him while he
argued with Nathan who, if she guessed right, was adamant that he
wasn’t bugging him. Poor Tyler.

Her attention went from their
conversation to his face. Usually when she looked at his profile,
she thought it was a shame he didn’t wear contacts or get laser
surgery so he didn’t have to wear glasses. But now, she thought he
looked rather attractive with those glasses on. It wasn’t like he
had big nerdy glasses. They were stylish.

When he hung up, he muttered, “He’ll
get the report when he leaves me alone,” and slipped his phone into
his pocket.

“
Hey, Tyler.”

“
Yes?” he asked, looking
over at her.

“
I’m sorry for giving you
grief about those glasses.”

“
You gave me grief about my
glasses?”

“
I kept bugging you about
wearing contacts or getting surgery to perfect your vision,
remember?”

With a shrug, he chuckled. “I never
thought you were giving me grief.”

“
You didn’t?”

“
Of course not. You were
trying to make me more attractive to members of the opposite sex.
But I always figured if a woman couldn’t appreciate me with my
glasses, then she wasn’t worth being with.”

“
You’re right. She wouldn’t
be worth your time. I’m glad you don’t change who you are for
others. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

“
Lies and all?” he
asked.

“
Lies and all,” she
replied.

He seemed as if he wanted to say
something but closed his mouth and shook his head.

“
What is it?” she asked, her
curiosity piqued.

“
Nothing. Let’s get
something to eat. It’ll be nice to get a break from
everything.”

Deciding to let the matter go, she got
out of the car. He was right. They needed a break from everything
that was happening. It’d be nice to put aside all their worries for
a while and just enjoy themselves.

***

When Tyler returned to work, Nathan was
in Tyler’s office, sitting in his chair and staring out the large
window. Tyler stopped in the doorway and let out a loud groan.
“There is no way I’m working on that report until you leave me
alone. I don’t care how much you beg.”

Nathan turned the chair in his
direction, eyebrows raised. “I don’t recall mentioning the
report.”

“
You just did on the phone.”
When Nathan looked at him as if he had no idea what he was talking
about, Tyler added, “While I was on my lunch break.”

“
Oh, that.” Nathan waved his
hand dismissively at him. “I’m not here to talk about the
report.”

“
You’re not?”

“
Nope.”

Tyler watched Nathan as he rose from
the chair and straightened his suit jacket. What mischief could his
friend be up to now? And, more importantly, did he want to
know?

Nathan sat on the edge of his desk and
crossed his arms. “I was thinking-”

“
Lately, that’s been bad
news for me,” Tyler interrupted.

Undeterred by Tyler’s sarcasm, he
continued, “When you come to my house on Sunday, you can’t be
wearing a suit.”

“
Oh, so you’re telling me
what I can and can’t wear now?”

“
What I’m saying is that you
need to kick back and relax. You’re so serious about
everything.”

“
I thought you liked that
since it makes me a good employee.”

“
When you’re here, uptight
and stuffy works.”

Tyler’s jaw dropped. Uptight and
stuffy?

“
But when you’re not at
work, you need to get more enjoyment out of life,” Nathan said. “I
want you to put on some comfortable clothes this Sunday. Feel free
to mess up your hair a bit. Don’t take a shower.” He paused. “Take
a shower. We want you to please Tiffany, and women like men who
smell nice. Did you know that men who smell good are more likely to
be seen as sexy?”

Glancing at the secretary’s desk, he
noticed it was empty. “Let me guess. Carmen’s watching Amber so you
can be in here bugging me?”

He sighed. “I don’t know why you insist
that I’m bugging you. I only want to see you happy.”

“
I’m already happy,
Nathan.”

“
You’re lonely.”

“
No, I’m not. I’m too busy
running around doing your bidding to be lonely.”

“
You need a woman. One who
is more than a friend. Friends are great, of course, but nothing
takes the place of a good wife. The more I see you and Tiffany
together, the more I’m convinced you two are perfect for each
other. So on Sunday, I want you to put this nonsense about being
friends aside and take a moment to consider this could lead to
more.”

Like Tyler hadn’t already been
considering that, but he’d die before he admitted it to Nathan.
There was no reason to make him even more conceited.

“
I want to work on my
report,” Tyler told him and walked toward his desk.

Nathan turned as he passed him. “I
already told you the report can wait.”

“
I can’t take business hours
for my personal life. Work hours are for work.” He sat in his chair
and opened his drawer so he could pull out the rough draft of his
report. “Now, if you’ll leave, I can focus.”

“
It’s okay to take a little
time off to focus on your love life. You think every time Amy comes
to see me or I go to see her, we’re talking about work?”

Tyler grimaced. “I don’t want to know
what you two do during work hours.” It was bad enough he’d caught
the two of them giggling like two teenagers in love the other day
when she left his office.

“
I had no idea you were so
stubborn. Alright, it’s your life.” He headed for the door. “But,”
he faced him, “if you ever need to make a quick trip to Vegas so
you and Tiffany aren’t lying about being married anymore, let me
know, and I’ll arrange for you two to get the time off.”

“
We’re not going to run off
to Vegas.”

“
Why not? It’s what you
claimed to do when you told her parents you got married. I, for
one, think it’s a good idea. There’s none of the hassle with
planning a wedding, trying to make sure the catering and flowers
are perfect, and hoping none of the guests get into any
fights.”

“
How long are you going to
stay here?” Tyler pointedly asked, tapping his pen on the desk and
glaring at him.

“
You really need to relax,”
Nathan said. “By the way, it’s not a question of if you’ll marry
Tiffany; it’s a question of when.”

“
Nathan,” Tyler
warned.

“
I’m never wrong about these
things.” With a smug smile, he finally left.

Chapter
Nineteen

Sunday at noon, Tyler, Tiffany, and her
parents arrived at Nathan’s mansion. Tiffany had never been there
before, but all she’d heard about it didn’t do it justice. The man
lived like a king. But today the king wasn’t wearing a suit and
tie. Today, he was wearing a plain cotton shirt and jeans. Never in
a million years did Tiffany think Nathan ever wore such common
clothes.

“
Can I take a picture of
this place?” her mother asked Tiffany as she scanned the large
foyer.

“
Yeah, go for it,” Tiffany
replied. No one would believe it unless they saw it posted on
Facebook anyway. Even she might need the reminder. This house was
more like a dream.

Her mom let out a cry of delight and
dug through her swimsuits and towels until she found her phone.
Tiffany was surprised it wasn’t right on top of
everything.

While her mom started taking pictures
and posting them to Facebook, Tiffany caught sight of Beth’s twin
fifteen-month-olds who were wearing life jackets. Beth was
following behind them as they giggled and circled the
foyer.

“
I thought you two wanted to
go to the pool,” Nathan told the children who stopped and looked
over at him.

“
We do,” the girl called
out.

“
Then what are you running
in here for?” he asked.

“
Oh,” she said in surprise
then turned and headed out of the foyer.

“
I’ll see you in the pool,”
Beth told the group then hurried after them.