Jonathan crossed his heart. “I promise, no excessive flirting.” He clasped his hands together in a pleading motion. “Take me with you. It’ll be fun. Besides, I’m sure you have some cute, single cousins who could help me get through our breakup.” He winked at her, and Tiffany rolled her eyes. “You’d be doing me a solid, Tiff. From the way my mom is going on and on, if I don’t get someone on my arm ASAP, I’m pretty sure I’ll be written out of the will.”
Tiffany’s smile faltered for a moment, but then she smiled, making Jonathan wonder if he’d even seen anything. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. You can come with me.”
Jonathan pumped his fists in the air. “Awesome.”
Tiffany studied him with a smile on her lips. “You’re such a dork.”
Jonathan stepped forward, reveling in the feeling of her body next to his, and his body sparked with the thought of touching her. Worried about what that meant, Jonathan stepped past her, breaking the strange current of electricity that seemed to be running between them.
“I should get dressed,” he said.
“Yeah. I was going to say the same. Your mom said to tell you that breakfast’s ready,” Tiffany said as she turned and made her way down the stairs.
Jonathan dressed in a t-shirt and gym shorts. When he entered the kitchen, he kissed his mom on the cheek and then smiled at his dad. It was good to be home. So familiar and exactly what he needed.
He sat down next to Tiffany as he ruffled Jordan’s hair. “What are you doing here, squirt?” he asked.
Jordan ducked out of the way. “Eating,” he said, syrup dripping from his chin.
Jonathan chuckled as he grabbed some pancakes from the stack in front of him. “You can’t keep cooking like this, Ma. I’m going to be 300 pounds when I go back.”
Sondra just chuckled. “It’s good for you. Energy.”
Jonathan drizzled his pancakes with syrup as he shook his head. Leave it to his mom to make cakes doused in sugar healthy.
The conversation around the table remained light as everyone ate their breakfast. Right when Jordan demanded another stack of pancakes, Josh burst into the kitchen. He looked confused and frustrated.
“Hey, sweetie,” Sondra said. “Hungry?”
“For your pancakes? You bet.”
Sondra’s smile widened as she grabbed a clean plate and began stacking pancakes onto it. “Great. I’ve got more batter.”
Jonathan eyed his brother. He was confused by Josh’s agitation. But, before he could ask, Sondra placed a plate down next to him and Josh grabbed the syrup.
“Your pancakes can heal the soul, Ma,” Josh said as he shoved a bite into his mouth.
“Heal the soul? Why does your soul need to be healed?” Sondra asked, as she turned and shot him a strange look.
Jonathan studied his brother. He’d definitely sensed something last night between Josh and Beth, could that be what was bugging him?
Josh just shrugged in his familiar noncommittal gesture. “No reason.”
Jonathan wanted to tease his brother. It was such a common reaction to his brothers. Especially when they were acting weird. Glancing over at Tiffany, Jonathan saw her give Josh a strange look. Like there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t.
By the time he returned his gaze to Josh, he saw his brother staring at him. “How’s the team?” Josh asked as he shoved another forkful of food into his mouth.
Relieved to talk about anything other than what was happening in the room, Jonathan filled the silence with facts and stats about the Steelers. Never mind the fact that there was a chance he could be traded. Right now, he wanted to think and talk about something he understood. And he understood football.
“Beth’s mom has cancer,” Tiffany blurted out, drawing Jonathan’s attention over to her.
Why would she say that?
Josh stopped mid-bite to stare at Tiffany. “What?” he asked at the same time as Sondra, who’d made her way over as well.
“Joanne has cancer. That’s why Beth’s been so standoffish,” she said as she took a sip of milk.
Josh looked confused. “I thought she was seeing someone else.”
Still confused, Jonathan glanced between Tiffany and his brother. What was going on here? How could this have been happening around him without him noticing?
Tiffany snorted. “Sorry, no. There’s no one else.”
Sondra was muttering under her breath. “No, no, that can’t be right. I would know if Joanne was sick.”
Jonathan wanted to add to the conversation but didn’t know what to say. So, he just kept silent was he watched their interaction.
“Joanne wanted her to keep it a secret. It’s been killing Beth.”
“Is that where she’s going this morning?” Josh asked.
Tiffany furrowed her brow. “If she needed a ride somewhere, that’s probably where she was going. Her mom is in Jordan right now. At St. Jude’s.”
“St. Jude’s? I was just there last night. I didn’t see Joanne,” Sondra said. “Poor Joanne. Why didn’t she tell anyone?”
“I guess she didn’t want everyone to feel sorry for her. She made Beth promise not to tell anyone.”
Jonathan felt as if he were intruding on a conversation that he wasn’t a part of. So instead of staring at everyone who was talking, he decided to focus on his food.
“Can I go watch cartoons?” Jordan asked. Jonathan watched as Josh excused him, and he couldn’t help but want to go with him.
Jonathan wanted to help Josh, but he didn’t know how. A few minutes later, Josh stood and practically rushed from the house. Sondra followed after him, shutting the outside door behind her.
The kitchen fell silent as Jonathan glanced over to Tiffany. She was staring at the table top, her forehead wrinkled.
Wanting to comfort her, Jonathan reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder. “How long have you known?” he asked.
Tiffany heaved a sigh, her breath causing his hand to move up and down. “Just a little bit. She’s been keeping it a secret from me as well. If I hadn’t walked in when I did, I wouldn’t have known.”
Jonathan reached over to grab his milk. “Yeah. It’s hard when people keep secrets from you.”
Tiffany pushed her pancakes around on her plate. “Agreed.” Then she turned and held out her pinky. “Promise you won’t ever keep things a secret from me?”
Jonathan stared at her finger. “Isn’t that a little juvenile?”
Tiffany shook her head. “It never failed us in the past, and I’m not going to let it fail us now.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Promise?”
A worried feeling crept up into Jonathan’s stomach, but he pushed it down. It wasn’t like he’d ever kept a secret from her before; why was he worried he’d start now?
So he nodded and wrapped his pinky around hers. “I promise.”
Tiffany tightened her finger as she narrowed her eyes. Then a smile played on her lips and she turned back to her phone.
“Oh, by the way, I told my aunt that you’re coming. So…be prepared.”
Relieved to be talking about something other than secrets and his brother’s romantic life, Jonathan grabbed his fork and nodded. “Good. That’s good, right?”
Tiffany shot him a sympathetic look. “Oh, you’re so innocent,” she said, smiling at him in a slightly sadistic way.
Jonathan studied her as he finished off the pancakes on his plate. “Should I be worried?”
Tiffany fell silent. Then she glanced up at him. “Just be prepared.”
“It’s on Saturday?” he asked as he stood and brought his plate to the sink.
Tiffany nodded. “Yep. But we need to be there Friday afternoon. Lots of wedding festivities we need to participate in.”
Jonathan turned and leaned against the counter. “I’m sure I can handle whatever your family throws at me.”
Tiffany stepped forward and patted him on the cheek. “I hope so.”
She giggled as she walked toward the living room
, where the sound of Jordan’s cartoons could be heard. Jonathan watched her walk away. He brushed off her doom-and-gloom attitude and sighed.
He could survive a weekend with her family. He was sure of it. After all, how hard could it be?
Chapter Six
Tiffany clutched her purse to her side as she bounced a few times on the balls of her feet. Where was Jonathan? She paced in front of her apartment, her gaze whipping over when the sound of a passing car distracted her.
How could he be late? She’d spent the entire week reminding him that she needed to be picked up at 10 a.m. sharp on Friday. Jonathan would pull his typical, you mean Saturday, routine, but she’d just punched his arm in response.
Now that he was fifteen minutes late, she was starting to worry that, with all his teasing, he’d confused himself.
Just as she reached into her purse to call him, his Jaguar sped into her apartment complex, and he threw it into park. Before she could blink, he was out of the car and over to her, with a guilty look written all over his face.
“I’m so sorry. Mom wanted us to have food for the road, and she took forever to get it ready.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes. Typical Jonathan, blaming it on anyone but himself. “Really?” she asked as he grabbed her suitcase and threw it into the trunk.
Jonathan slammed the trunk shut and then turned to face her. “Really.” He held up his hand. “I swear. I was ready to go, but she insisted. And I can’t disappoint her.”
Tiffany eyed him and then smiled. “Well, I hope it was worth it,” she said as she pulled open the passenger door and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted out. Her mouth instantly salivated as she nodded. “Oh, it was worth it.”
Jonathan chuckled as he buckled his seatbelt. “I figured you’d feel that way.”
Tiffany was already digging around in the back for the cooler she was sure held the cookies. Jonathan brushed past her as he leaned into the back as well. A warm feeling surrounded her as his chest touched her arm.
Startled, she pulled away. Glancing at the temperature dial in the car, she realized that it wasn’t the heat in the car that had her temperature rising.
Shaking her head, she decided it was better to sit there than to try to find the cookies herself. Plus, Jonathan seemed to know exactly where they were. She folded her arms across her chest, and a few seconds later, Jonathan pulled a bag of cookies up to the front.
“Here you go,” he said as he dropped them into her lap. Then he focused on starting the car and pulling out of her apartment complex.
The wedding was three hours away.
It didn’t take long until Jonathan was on the highway, leaning back in his seat and resting his wrist on the steering wheel. Tiffany couldn’t help but peek over at him. He looked so relaxed as he kept his focus on the road. He had sunglasses perched on his nose.
It wasn’t until now that Tiffany realized he had a perfectly shaped nose…and lips.
Blinking back her thoughts, Tiffany turned her attention to the road and decided that shoving her face full of cookies was the best use of her time.
“How long have you loved me?” Jonathan’s voice startled her.
She inhaled her cookies, the crumbs flying to the back of her throat and throwing her into a coughing fit. “I don’t love you,” she wheezed as her eyes watered.
Once she’d cleared her throat of all cookie debris and had wiped her eyes, she felt Jonathan’s gaze on her. His eyebrows were raised and his lips parted.
He occasionally flicked his gaze over to the road and then back to her. “Are you going to live?” he asked.
Frustrated, Tiffany nodded. Was he just messing with her? Had he heard her thought about his lips? “Yes,” she said, her voice raspy.
He nodded. “Good. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain a dead Tiffany to your family.” He snorted as he raised his hand. “Here lies Tiffany, she died eating a cookie.”
Tiffany scoffed. Of course, Jonathan would make a joke at her expense when she almost died. “Good to know that’s what was going through your mind when I sat here choking.” She reached out and grabbed his water bottle and took a swig.
“Geez, you ask me to fake date you, accuse me of killing you, and steal my water.” He glanced over his sunglasses at her. “Best relationship I’ve ever been in.”
“Har har. You’d be lucky to be in a relationship with me.” It felt strange to hear those words roll off her tongue. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
When Jonathan didn’t say anything, Tiffany peeked over at him. Had she taken it too far? He didn’t look upset or uncomfortable, so Tiffany just shrugged off the strange feeling creeping up inside of her.
She was taking things too literally and she needed to stop right now.
Taking her resolve literally, Tiffany leaned back in her chair and brought her feet up to rest on the dash. She got out her phone and began playing around on it.
“I was thinking we should come up with a backstory in case people ask us,” Jonathan said, glancing over at her.
“Was that what your question was about?”
Jonathan chuckled. “Yep.”
Tiffany sighed. “Well, good news is we’ve known each other basically our entire lives, so that is in our favor.”
Jonathan nodded as he flipped on his blinker to pass a slow semi. “Right. You’ve always had a crush on me, and one day, you decided to throw caution to the wind and kiss me.” He glanced over at her, and even though his sunglasses were dark, she could see him wink at her.
Great.
“Um, that’s not how I remember it. You’ve always been in love with me. Pining after me. Writing love notes that you never sent. And then one day, you decided to tell me by singing to me outside my apartment until I came down.” Tiffany tapped her chin. “And wasn’t there someone throwing rotten tomatoes at you to get you to stop?”
Jonathan dropped his jaw. “Wow. You think my singing’s that bad?”
Tiffany shrugged as she shifted so that her legs were crisscrossed in front of her. “I’m just going off the reaction of the audience, babe.” She turned to him and batted her eyelashes.
Jonathan’s expression stilled as he glanced over at her. Then his lips tipped up into a smile.
Not sure where she was going to take their conversation, Tiffany reached over and turned on the radio. She could count on one hand the times she’d felt awkward around Jonathan, so the fact that it was becoming a regular occurrence was throwing her off.
Thankfully, she was saved by the oldies station and spent the rest of the trip belting out eighties classics.
Jonathan joined her for a couple, but for the most part, he spent the drive glancing over at her and rolling his eyes.
They pulled into the wrap-around driveway at Hotel Debonair, and Jonathan turned off the car. Standing outside the entrance was a man in a suit with his hair slicked back. When he saw them, he rushed over to the driver’s side door and helped Jonathan open it up.
“Good afternoon, sir,” he said as Jonathan stepped out. Tiffany followed suit, and soon they were both standing by the car.
“My name is Horace, and I’d be happy to park your car,” he said, reaching his hand out for Jonathan’s key.
“Horace, perfect,” Jonathan said, handing the key over. “Let me grab out our suitcases first.”
Horace held up his hand. “No need. We will be more than happy to bring your luggage up to your room. Last name?”
Jonathan clapped Horace on the back. It was quite comical how tall Jonathan was compared to Horace. And when he touched Horace, the poor man’s frame literally shook.
“Braxton,” Jonathan said and then turned and made his way over to Tiffany. “Wow. Nice place,” he said, extending his elbow for Tiffany to take.
“Yeah. That’s my family. Lavish as always.” Tiffany slipped her arm through his.
Jonathan nodded and began to walk toward the front doors, which slid open with ease. “Now, remember,” Jonat
han said, his voice barely a whisper, “you’re madly in love me.” He glanced down at her, giving her a wink.
Tiffany snorted. “I’m a pretty good actress,” she replied, trying to ignore the butterflies that were floating around in her stomach. She was just nervous about seeing her family. That was all.
Plus, it’d only been a week since she broke up with Sean and had seen him kissing another girl. Her emotions were all out of whack.
“Tippy!” The familiar shrill voice of her cousin Stacy caused Tiffany to wince. Before she could brace herself, Stacy rammed into her and nearly crushed her rib cage.
Tiffany staggered a bit, but thankfully Jonathan was there. He pressed his hand into her lower back to keep her upright.
Once she had her bearings and breath back, Tiffany pulled away from Stacy. “Hey, Stace,” she said, smiling at her cousin, whose dark brown eyes were bright with enthusiasm.
She grabbed onto Tiffany’s arm and squeezed. “I’m getting married tomorrow,” she squealed, jumping up and down, her dark brown hair swishing with the movement.
“Yep, you are,” Tiffany said as she jumped along with Stacy.
Then, as if Stacy suddenly realized that Tiffany wasn’t alone, her gaze fell on Jonathan and she stopped moving. Leaning forward, she met Tiffany’s gaze. “Is this Sean?”
Not wanting to discuss that loser, Tiffany shook her head. “Nope. This is Jonathan.”
Stacy gave Tiffany an approving look and then stepped past her and extended her hand. “Welcome, Jonathan,” she breathed. Tiffany wasn’t sure, but she thought Stacy had batted her eyelashes.
Typical.
Jonathan looked amused as he shook her hand. “Thanks for letting me come.”
Stacy’s gaze was fixated on Jonathan’s hand and then moved up to Jonathan’s arm, her smile widening as she went. “It’s just great,” she said.
Realizing that her cousin wasn’t going to let him go, Tiffany stepped up to them and rested her hand on Jonathan’s arm. “Stacy, where’s Rob?”
“Who?”
“Rob? Your fiancé?”
Stacy stared at Tiffany as if the words weren’t registering. Then she leaned forward with a giggle. “Oh, Rob. Yes. Rob. My fiancé. He’s with his dad on the golf course right now.”
Friendship Blooms in Honey Grove Page 5