“I’m sure.” Beth tapped her children on the shoulders. “Come on. Give Tiffany a break.”
“They’re fine.” Tiffany stood up and faced her friend. “They’re a lot better to deal with than my family. All of them came rushing over to Tyler and me at the airport. It looked like a stampede.”
“How did your trip go?”
“Worse than I thought it would.”
“Really? Even with Tyler there to fill in as your boyfriend?”
Tiffany followed Beth and her children down the hall. “Yeah, well, that’s why I wanted to come over. Will you help me write a letter telling my parents I’m not really married?”
Beth paused right outside the playroom and turned to her. “You told them you and Tyler are married?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain everything.”
“Sounds interesting.”
Ryan came down the hall. “Hi, Tiffany,” he said then kissed Beth’s cheek. Turning back to Tiffany, he said, “I saw the pictures your mom posted on Facebook of the wedding. I didn’t recognize you in your dress.”
Tiffany groaned. “Did you friend my mom?”
“She sent me a friend request because I’m cousins with her son-in-law.”
Tiffany couldn’t believe it. Zoe’s wedding had just been yesterday, and her mom took a ton of pictures for her scrapbook. Tiffany thought her mom would have at least a week’s worth of work before she had time to hop online to post wedding pictures or start friending Tyler’s family on Facebook.
With a chuckle, Ryan asked, “Is there something I missed? I thought you and Tyler were only pretending to be dating.”
Beth’s eyes grew wide. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked Ryan as she picked up Jacob before he took off down the hall. “Stay in this room,” she told the boy and set him and his sister in the spacious room set up with all sorts of toys that any kid would love. “Ryan, will you set the gate up?” She glanced at Tiffany and sighed. “I try to get those things locked in place, but for some reason, I can’t.”
“It’s so easy,” Ryan said and hurried to obey.
“So you say.” Beth gestured toward Tiffany. “What is this thing about a son-in-law?”
Tiffany looked from Beth to Ryan and knew they were both waiting for her answer. “While we were there, Tyler got fed up with everything and told the whole family we eloped last week.”
Ryan burst out laughing. “He what?”
“It wasn’t his fault. My parents were relentless in hinting about us getting married, and my sister only added to it. Something in him snapped, and he blurted it out to get them off our backs. But we really aren’t married, nor are we going to be. So I need your help,” she pointed to Beth, “writing them a letter explaining that Tyler and I are only friends.”
“Well, that’s better than the time Ryan’s parents and my parents forced us to get married,” Beth said. “At least, your parents didn’t drag you to the Justice of the Peace.”
“Hey, if it weren’t for them, those two little people wouldn’t be here today,” Ryan argued, motioning to Jacob and Stacey Ann, who were currently fighting over a toy when there were plenty of other toys around to play with.
“See how they’re acting?” Beth asked. “Ryan and I were just like that when we were first married. It was brutal.”
“But it was worth it because look at us now.” Ryan hugged Beth and kissed the top of her head. “Sometimes parents know what’s best.”
“Yeah, well, my parents are going to freak when they learn the truth,” Tiffany replied and pulled out some folded blank paper and a pen from her purse. “I hope you don’t mind helping me with my apology.”
Beth offered her a sympathetic smile. “I’ll be happy to help.”
“Thanks, Beth.”
“Since the kids aren’t happy, I’ll take them to the park while you two work on the letter.” Ryan removed the gate and called out to his children who rushed over to him. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Good luck keeping up with them,” Beth told him.
“It’s nice that things worked out between you and Ryan,” Tiffany said as she followed Beth to the sunroom.
Beth led her over to a counter with a pot of hot water. “What kind of tea do you want?”
“Green.”
“I’ll give you the green tea with ginger. It’ll help settle your stomach. You look like you’re ill.”
“I’m not ill. I’m just,” Tiffany shrugged as she studied the blank pieces of paper in her hands, “in dread of what they’ll do when they read the letter.”
Beth poured them both the hot water then added the tea pouches to them. “Go ahead and explain everything to me, and I’ll see what I can come up with to help you.”
Tiffany took a deep breath and began her sad, sordid tale.
Chapter Ten
“Beth and I worked for two hours on a letter to my parents,” Tiffany told Amy and Danielle first thing at work the next day. “And I’d like for you two to tell me what you think before I send it out.”
“How long is it?” Amy asked, slipping her purse under her desk.
“A page. Beth said the simpler, the better,” Tiffany replied, lowering her gaze to the piece of paper in her hand.
“We’ll be happy to listen to it.” Danielle sat in front of Tiffany’s desk, frappuccino in hand. “Go on and read it.”
Tiffany released her breath. “Okay. Here goes. ‘I know I should have told you this while I was in Montana, but with Zoe getting married, I didn’t want to ruin everything. The truth is, when Andy broke up with me, I didn’t want you to pair me up with someone, so I asked Tyler if he would pretend to be my boyfriend. While we were there, the constant hints about marriage got to be too much. Tyler was only trying to make things easier for me when he stood up and said he and I were married.’”
Danielle, who’d been drinking her frappucino, started laughing. She quickly put her hand over her mouth to avoid spitting it out.
“I’ll get napkins,” Amy said and hurried to the small kitchen in the back.
“Can you face away from my desk?” Tiffany asked Danielle as she hurried to put her purse safely out of reach, just in case Danielle ended up spraying frappucino everywhere.
After a long agonizing moment, Danielle swallowed, and Tiffany breathed a sigh of relief then placed her purse back on the desk.
Amy returned with a group of napkins. “Do we need to clean anything up?”
“No, thank goodness,” Tiffany told her.
Danielle took a deep breath then burst out laughing.
“I don’t see what’s so funny,” Tiffany grumbled.
“It’s not the letter,” Amy assured her as Danielle kept laughing. “I think it’s the fact that Tyler told your parents that you two were married that’s funny.” She glanced at Danielle. “Danielle’s always had a weird sense of humor.”
“Well, you have to admit, it wasn’t expected,” Danielle said. “I thought she was going to tell her parents that she’d had enough of the whole ‘get married’ thing and if they didn’t cut it out, she’d stop talking to them.”
“No, it wasn’t like that.” Though at this point, Tiffany really wished it was.
“Now that Danielle’s had her good laugh,” Amy began, “want to finish it?”
“Hold on.” Danielle looked at Tiffany. “Did anyone mention you being pregnant?”
“No,” Tiffany replied.
“Good. Then I don’t think anything else will take me by surprise. Continue.” She picked up her cup and took another drink.
Tiffany turned her attention back to the letter. “‘I’m really sorry. This is not Tyler’s fault. Please don’t hold this against him. It was my lie that started everything, and now it’s snowballing out of control.’” She glanced at Danielle. “Don’t drink anything for a moment.”
Danielle’s eyebrows rose, and she set the drink down. “I thought you said there were no babies on the way.”
“There aren’t
, but there is something else that you might find funny.”
Danielle nodded and indicated that she should continue.
Tiffany picked up where she left off. “‘Please don’t friend anyone else in Tyler’s family on Facebook. I had to explain to one of his cousins that he and I aren’t married.’”
“Which cousin?” Amy asked.
“Ryan Jackson. He and Tyler are pretty close, so it makes sense she’d go to him first. I already told her not to friend anyone else until I’ve had a chance to explain why.”
“What does the rest of the letter say?” Danielle asked.
She put the paper down. “There’s nothing else. What do you think? Is there anything I should change?”
“Yes,” Danielle said. “Say that you two are having a terrific honeymoon.”
“You’re not helping,” Amy told Danielle.
“Oh come on.” Danielle picked up her cup and returned to her desk. “This is hilarious. Your parents asked for it with all the times they’ve been bugging you to get married. Besides, what’s the harm in letting them believe it? It’s not like they ever come for a visit.”
“It’s about doing the right thing,” Tiffany said. “I can’t let them believe a lie…indefinitely.” Granted, she was willing to let them believe a lie for a short time. She was no saint. But this was much more than she intended. “I have to make things right.”
“Exactly,” Amy agreed. “It’s about integrity.”
Danielle shrugged. “Integrity’s overrated.”
“I’m shocked you’d think such a thing.” Amy paused then shrugged. “Okay. I’m not shocked. You’d do anything if the price was right.”
“Hey, I have no shame in taking advantage of a good opportunity when it comes knocking.”
“Sadly, that’s true.”
“I helped you out in the past because of it,” Danielle told Amy, giving her a pointed look.
Amy glanced at Tiffany. “Sadly, that’s also true.”
Tiffany chuckled, feeling a little better. But only a little. There was still the letter she had to send out.
“I don’t see why you won’t marry Tyler for real,” Danielle said as she leaned back in her chair and swirled around to face Tiffany. “I mean, you two are best friends. You know everything about each other. Sure, he comes off as a bit of a geek, what with those glasses and his love for science fiction and whatnot, but he’s pretty good looking.”
“We’ve never felt anything but friendship for each other,” Tiffany replied.
“Kiss him and see what happens.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“Why not?” When Tiffany sighed and turned back to the letter, Danielle leaned toward her. “Look, the only difference between a friend and a lover is that you sleep with the lover. The fact that he’s your best friend is a bonus. I’m telling you, my husband and I are best friends, and the sex only makes it better.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t start out as his best friend,” Amy spoke up as she unlocked the front door so customers could enter. “You were in love with him first. The friendship followed.”
“I see no reason why it can’t go the other way,” Danielle argued. “All people don’t have to follow one set of rules.” She turned back to Tiffany. “Amy didn’t even like her husband when she first married him.”
“That was because he married me without my permission.”
“Technically, he did have your signature.” When Amy sighed, she added, “All I’m saying is that love comes in many different ways. There is no right or wrong to this whole thing. Why not just marry Tyler for real and enjoy the fact that he’s a man and you’re a woman?” She wiggled her eyebrows. “It’d make things a lot more fun after you two spend the day together.”
“I didn’t take you for a romantic,” Amy teased.
Danielle smiled. “I have my moments. Deep down, I believe in love. I also believe in chocolate. Amy, is there any way you can talk that husband of yours into sending more of those delicious European chocolates our way?” She glanced at Tiffany. “They say chocolate is a natural aphrodisiac.”
“We’re just friends, Danielle,” Tiffany told her. “And that’s all we’ll ever be.”
“Danielle, please leave her alone,” Amy said.
“You two are no fun,” Danielle muttered but didn’t say anything else about Tyler.
Tiffany lowered her gaze and reread the letter. It stated everything simple enough, but it still wasn’t right. She couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong. Was it because she knew they’d be disappointed?
The door opened, and the first customer of the day entered. Tiffany quickly put her letter away and indicated that she’d help him, glad for the much needed distraction.
***
By the time Tyler opened the door to his office, it was ten minutes past eight. He was late. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d ever been late. The whole Thanksgiving weekend had been a disaster, and apparently, it was taking him some time to get back to normal.
The wedding had gone smoothly enough, he supposed, though his ears were still ringing from Zoe singing her and Brad’s special song. As much as her parents wanted to believe their daughter could do everything, singing definitely wasn’t one of her talents. He hoped in the future, she’d confine all singing to the shower. He put his briefcase on the desk and plopped in his seat. He had to stop putting Zoe down.
Resting his head against the back of his chair, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind of it all. He was back home. Things could get back to normal, though he still felt bad that Tiffany had to deal with the ramifications of his lie. He’d have to find a way to make it up to her. He wasn’t sure how yet, but he would.
A knock at the door made him open his eyes, and he saw Nathan entering his office, holding a small piece of paper in his hand. “Don’t tell me I’m paying you to sleep on the job.”
“I’m not sleeping,” Tyler assured him as he straightened up.
“Carmen was going to give this to you, but I had to bring it myself.”
“What is it?”
Nathan handed him the paper. “You got a message from your mother-in-law.”
“My what?”
“That’s what I asked. I thought for sure Carmen got the ‘in-law’ part wrong since you aren’t married, but she insists that is how the woman referred to herself. So,” Nathan sat in the chair in front of him and crossed his legs, “do you want to adjust your tax withholdings because of your spouse?”
“I’m not married,” Tyler said, already knowing this was going to lead to more questions. Questions he really didn’t want to answer.
“And yet Mrs. Clark, your mother-in-law, asked you to call her back.”
“She’s not my mother-in-law.” He winced. “Sort of.”
“I’ve never heard of a sort-of-mother-in-law before. Either she is or she isn’t your mother-in-law.”
“She isn’t. She just thinks she is.”
“What?” Nathan asked, giving him a look that told him he was going to have to explain everything, even if Nathan had to bug him needlessly about it.
“In a moment of frustration, I blurted out that Tiffany and I were married in front of the entire family.” Or most of the family, but Nathan didn’t need to be bothered with the details.
Nathan sat forward in interest. “Why did you do that?”
“The family is crazy.” Tyler thought of how he could best explain it, but since words eluded him, he decided to show him. He pulled out his smartphone and pulled up the picture he’d taken. “Here. The first night we got there, Tiffany’s mother did this to her bedroom.”
Nathan took it and chuckled. “Her poor mother just wants to see her happy.”
“She’s a little too enthusiastic, though.”
“Maybe, but Tiffany is thirty-five. I’m sure her mother wants grandchildren.”
“Not everything is about having children, Nathan.” Nathan might have gotten married for that reason, bu
t other people—like him and Tiffany—didn’t want to get married to give their parents a grandchild. When they married, they wanted it to be because they found someone worth spending the rest of their lives with.
“I understand that, but it might be what her mother is hoping for, and I can understand her reason.”
“I don’t think so. I think she just wants to see her daughter married. No one brought up children or grandchildren. It was all about marriage.”
“So maybe her mom just wants her to get married. There’s nothing wrong with that either. And,” Nathan zoomed in on the book that had been on Tiffany’s bed and showed it to Tyler, “this is actually a good idea. You will benefit nicely from it.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Nathan.” Tyler grabbed the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. “I didn’t show it to you for that reason. I’m just saying her entire family went overboard. They didn’t even hint about us getting married. They pretty much came out and told us to get married.”
“At least there won’t be any miscommunication issues in your in-law relationship.”
“There’s not going to be any miscommunication issues because we’re not married. At all. We’re just friends.”
Nathan shrugged. “I could marry you two by proxy to solve all that.”
“No, you won’t. And we’re not interested in getting married.” Tyler leaned back in his seat and groaned. “This is all my fault. If I’d just kept my big mouth shut, her parents would leave me alone.”
“Suit yourself,” Nathan said as he rose to his feet.
Tyler ignored him as he left the room and turned to his work. He threw the message from Tiffany’s mom in the wastebasket. There was no way he was going to answer it. He had nothing to say to her, and after she got Tiffany’s letter, she’d want nothing to do with him anyway. He really wished Tiffany would let him take the blame for everything, because the whole mess was his fault. Her lie was a simple one to resolve. His wasn’t. Maybe he should write the letter. Or, maybe he should call her back and tell her the truth. Then he could take the blame, and Tiffany would be free to get their sympathy. That’d be best. She was their child after all. He didn’t ever have to see these people again.
Just Good Friends Page 8