Just Good Friends (27 page)

“
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.”

“
I thought it was great. Too
bad my mom wasn’t here to take a picture of his face. That was
classic.”

“
Any more surprises, and he
would have wet his pants.”

His comment only made her laugh harder.
“It’s not like you to be so mean, Tyler.”

“
I’m not being mean. I’m
being honest.” They boarded the plane, and he added, “If I was
mean, I would have told him exactly what I think of him. But I
didn’t. I kept my mouth shut. It’s like my mom always says, ‘If you
can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.’”

“
Now you understand why I
don’t bother when my sister gives me trouble.”

“
Okay, I get it. But I’m
still glad I told everyone we were married at dinner that day.” He
sat beside her and took her hand in his. “If I hadn’t, we probably
wouldn’t be on this plane.”

“
You’re right. We wouldn’t.
I guess I should thank you.”

“
Or Zoe. If she hadn’t
annoyed me so much, I wouldn’t have blurted it out.”

She kissed his cheek. “All that matters
is we’re on the plane.”

“
It is, and there’s nowhere
else I’d rather be.”

“
Ditto,” she replied and
rested her head on his shoulder as they waited for the plane to
take off.

***

Even though it was just the two of
them, Tiffany couldn’t stop the butterflies fluttering in her
stomach. This was really happening. And best of all, it was
happening with Tyler.

She’d never wanted a big wedding. All
the hassle of trying to get the event together never appealed to
her. It was enough that they had stood in line to get a marriage
license. Once they got it, Tyler called a chapel with less than a
half hour wait time. The chapel was a cute one. It was small and
simple with soft music and pretty flowers. Tiffany thought it was
much better than the wedding Zoe had, especially with the awful
bridesmaid dresses. The memory of that horrible thing still gave
Tiffany nightmares.

“
Are you having second
thoughts?” Tyler asked.

“
No,” she assured him,
taking his hand in hers and leading him to the bench.

“
You winced as I was signing
us in.”

“
It wasn’t about being here.
I was thinking about the bridesmaid dress I had to wear.” She
kissed him and snuggled up to him. “I’m glad we’re getting married.
There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life
with.”

He squeezed her hand. “Same here.” He
paused for a moment. “I didn’t mention this before, and maybe I
should have, but we could have gotten married by proxy. Nathan did
it with Amy. He had her sign a piece of paper saying she wanted to
marry him then he took a flight to Colorado and had a woman stand
in for her. It might have been easier.”

“
No. I’d rather be doing it
this way, even if we had to skip lunch so we could get the license.
This is a big day for us.” They’d shared so many other things
together, and it only made sense this should be one of them. “I
can’t imagine doing it without you.”

He clasped his other hand over hers.
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Returning his smile, she said, “You’re
the best thing that’s ever happened to me, too.”

They waited in silence for a few
minutes before he pulled out his phone. “Want to see what your mom
is up to on Facebook?”

“
Why not? It’ll help the
time go faster.”

They scrolled through some of the
pictures she’d posted up and saw that her parents were having a
terrific time with his parents at a restaurant and again at his
parents’ house. “Hmm,” Tyler commented. “I don’t think they even
need us to have a good time.”

“
They don’t. They can manage
it all on their own.”

The wedding coordinator came out to
tell them it was their turn. Tiffany took a deep breath and walked
down the aisle toward the minister who greeted them. Since they had
no one to witness the wedding, the wedding coordinator filled in
that spot, and the ceremony was underway.

The butterflies fluttering in Tiffany’s
stomach only increased as she repeated her vows to be with Tyler
for richer or poorer, in sicknesses and in health, in good times
and bad, forsaking all others as long as they both
lived.

“
I now pronounce you husband
and wife,” the minister concluded. “You may kiss the
bride.”

Tyler turned to her, his smile so wide
that she knew he’d never love anyone but her, and she felt the same
way. It would only be them. Always and forever. He lowered his head
and kissed her, sealing the bond that no one was ever going to
break. Yes, she definitely preferred this to a proxy wedding,
nerves and all.

“
Thank you for marrying us,”
Tyler told the minister when the kiss was over.

“
It’s a pleasure,” he
replied then handed them their marriage license.

Tiffany slipped her arm
around Tyler’s and couldn’t help but test out the name
Tiffany Jackson
in her
mind. And she decided she loved the sound of it.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

The next morning, Tyler was kissing
Tiffany long before the alarm went off. They hadn’t slept much the
previous night, despite the two plane rides to and from Las Vegas.
They had enjoyed lovemaking a couple times already. He thought that
his desire would have been quenched by now, but it wasn’t. If
anything, it only seemed to be stronger.

The alarm beeped, and he stopped
kissing her so he could roll over and turn it off. Bringing her
back into his arms, he kissed her, this time keeping it short. “The
last thing I want to do is go into work,” he admitted. “And
considering how much I enjoy my job, that’s saying a
lot.”

She giggled and snuggled up to him, her
body pressing very nicely against the male part of him which
thickened in response. There was no doubt about it. He wasn’t going
to be able to concentrate on work when he was as hard as a
rock.

“
I’m going to call Nathan
and tell him I won’t be coming in today,” he told her then shifted
to the edge of the bed so he could grab his smartphone off the
nightstand.

“
Don’t you remember that
I’ll be gone today? I promised my parents and Beth that we’d go to
the zoo,” Tiffany said.

“
Is that today?” he asked,
glancing up from the phone.

“
It’s why we had to go to
Vegas yesterday.”

Right. In all the excitement, he’d
forgotten all about it. “What time are you going there?”

“
Ten thirty.” Shooting him a
wicked smile, she reached down and ran her fingers over his penis,
which wanted nothing more than to be inside her again.

“
You’re not playing fair,
Tiffany.”

“
I’m not trying to play
fair. I’m trying to convince you to play hooky.”

“
In all the years I’ve known
you, I had no idea you had such a mischievous streak in you.” He
chuckled. “Alright, let me give my boss a call.”

He dialed Nathan’s cell phone number
and sat up so that she couldn’t fondle him anymore. There was no
way he could concentrate when she was touching him.

When Nathan picked up the phone, Tyler
cleared his throat. “Hey, Nathan, I’m going to take the day
off.”

“
But I thought you wanted to
come in,” Nathan replied in what Tyler suspected was mock surprise.
“You said you were going to be bored with nothing to do and that
you couldn’t wait to get back to your report.”

“
I said nothing of the sort
and you know it. Tiffany’s going to take her parents to the zoo,
and I haven’t been there in years.”

“
Of course.” Nathan
chuckled. “That’s exactly why you want the day off. So you can look
at some fish and monkeys.”

“
There are some new things
they put in over there that I haven’t seen yet.”

“
You think I was born
yesterday? I know why you really don’t want to come in. Take the
whole week off. Stay in bed late. The tax deduction you get from
being married is nice, but the bedroom is a lot more
satisfying.”

Despite his sigh, Tyler couldn’t help
but be amused. Nathan was right. But then, Nathan was always right.
“See you next Monday unless you interfere in my life
first.”

“
Are you kidding? I got to
finish up your report. I don’t have time to make sure you’re not
disappointing your wife in bed.”

“
I’m going to pretend I
didn’t hear that. The report is pretty much done. It’s in
the-”

“
Top drawer of your desk.
You put everything important there. Now go on and please your wife.
I got everything under control.”

After saying good-bye, Tyler hung up
and turned back to Tiffany who was watching him. “Did he give you a
hard time?” she asked, a slight smile on her face.

“
He said I could take the
week off as long as I don’t call him up for some advice on how to
be a better lover,” he said and put the phone aside so he could
settle beside her.

“
He didn’t say that,” she
replied, giggling.

“
Not in so many words, but
it was implied.”

“
You have nothing to worry
about. You’re perfect in every way.”

Though he was sure there was some room
for improvement, he knew she was being sincere and was glad she was
happy with their lovemaking. Lowering his head, he brought his lips
back to hers, more than happy to pick up where they left off. She
parted her lips, accepting him into her mouth, and his tongue
brushed hers, deepening their kiss.

She wrapped her leg around his waist
and wiggled closer to him. He groaned in appreciation and slid his
erection along her moist folds, allowing his tip to dip into her
then pulling back out. He’d discovered this manner of teasing her
increased their arousal, and he especially liked the way she moaned
and shifted more intimately against him.

He cupped one of her breasts in his
hand and traced her nipple with the pad of his thumb. When she
shivered in pleasure, he continued his ministrations. Her leg
tightened around his waist, and he let his penis slide halfway into
her before slipping back out. She was wonderfully wet and hot, her
flesh more than willing to welcome him.

His heartbeat picking up in excitement,
his mouth left hers and went to her neck. She let out a soft cry as
he traced her ear with his tongue. Then, recalling how much
enjoyment she got out of him teasing her sensitive nub, he released
her nipple and brought his hand between her legs, shifting back so
he could insert a couple fingers into her while his thumb rubbed
the spot that made her moan louder.

In all the years he’d known her, he had
no idea she possessed so much passion. He loved this side of her,
and he hoped he’d see more of it in the future. For now, he
concentrated on the moment, encouraged by the way she rocked her
hips in time to his stroking and murmured his name.

But instead of letting him bring her to
completion right away, she rolled him onto his back and straddled
him. In one smooth motion, she took him inside her, her flesh
tightening around him, and this time, he was the one who
groaned.

“
I want you inside me this
time,” she whispered then began to slowly move up and down his
shaft, her nub intimately pressed against him.

Who was he to argue? If that was what
she wanted, he’d certainly oblige her. He reached up and cupped her
breasts in his hands, content to let her take the lead and guide
the pacing of their lovemaking. He continued to tease her nipples
while she continued rocking her hips. And before long, she grew
still and cried out, her flesh clenching and unclenching around
him.

He waited until she was at the end of
her orgasm before he rolled her onto her back. As much as he wanted
to wait until she was completely done, he was far too aroused to
stay still anymore. He slid almost all the way out of her and
plunged back in then repeated the process, each stroke taking him
closer to the brink of release.