Page 29 of Simply Irresistible
I rolled my eyes. “They wouldn’t care if you were female. They’re just thrilled I’m bringing a date.”
“But you said your family was like the one inMy Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
“Yeah, as inbigandGreek. They don’t care if we marry other Greeks. Not that you and I are getting married or anything.”Jesus, Melanie!How embarrassing. “I swear I didn’t tell them that.”
“Pink is such a cute color on you.” Tyler said, kissing my nose.
“Stop it,” I said, swatting him away. My cheeks were so flushed, I knew I was more than just pink. I laid my head back on his shoulder, and he ran his fingers through my long hair.
“You know...I’m definitely not ready for marriage.” I felt his body shiver as he cringed at the words. “But if I needed to play the role of doting fiancé for one day, I’d totally do it for you.”
I closed my eyes as my heart literally melted in my chest. We were having a ridiculous, hypothetical conversation, and I was falling more in love with him with each word he spoke. We hadn’t said the words to each other—better yet, I hadn’t said them to him. It was too soon, and I’d probably send him running for the hills, but I felt it. Oh, did I feel it. How could I not? He was the sweetest man, and I knew he cared deeply for me. He didn’t say the words, but he showed them.
The train screeched to a halt at the station, and I took a deep breath.
Showtime.
I grasped Tyler’s hand as we walked down the narrow aisle to the exit. Stepping onto the station platform, the sun warmed my bare shoulders as I looked around for whichever one of my family members drew the short straw to pick me up.
“Wow, Mel. You didn’t say he was hot.”
I spun around and saw Meredith standing a few feet away by the stairs. Ignoring what she’d said—I’d get her for that later—I released Tyler’s hand and took off running. It had been far too long since I’d seen my BFF, I thought as I crashed into her. She smelled like Sunflowers, the perfume by Elizabeth Arden.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, releasing her and taking a step back.
“Your mom said someone needed to pick you up, so I volunteered.”
“I didn’t know you’d be there today.”
Meredith shrugged. “I wanted to see you. Maybe talk fabrics.”
I eyed her suspiciously. “If you wanted to meet Tyler, we could have set something up.” Her eyes focused on something over my shoulder, and I knew Tyler was near. I leaned back into his chest as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Meredith, this is Tyler. Tyler, Meredith.”
He reached his free hand around me and shook Meredith’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Spice here talks about you a lot.”
“Spice?”
“Spice Girls reference,” I mumbled, elbowing Tyler in the gut. “Nevermind. Let’s go!” I circled my arm around Meredith’s, and we skipped towards the parking lot, leaving Tyler behind.
“It’s all right. I’ll just find my own way.”
“He’s so cute,” Meredith whispered, leaning her head in towards mine.
“I know,” I told her. “Stop being dramatic,” I yelled back to him. We slowed our pace so he could catch up.
“So, Meredith, will you be my getaway driver if things get crazy?” Tyler asked as we settled in Mer’s car.
“Of course.”
“Don’t encourage him,” I interjected.
“We’ll just have to come up with some kind of code,” she continued as if I hadn’t even spoken.
“How about I scratch my nose?”
“Amateur,” Meredith said. “What if you actually have an itch on your nose?”
“Hmm, good point. My nose does get itchy quite often.”
