When Meg entered her living room, Tyler stood and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful."

Once again she dressed to please her mother. Feeling rebellious, she had clasped a string of pearls around her neck. Dressing beyond her mother's expectations was a sarcastic response. The woman, under the silk dress, had sex with a stranger and liked it.

Meg greeted Tyler's mother, Chickie,  with a kiss on her cheek. "Meg, dear, you are simply glowing."

Tyler cleared his throat. Meg rolled her eyes at him. Arthur Hathorne said, "Happy belated birthday. I hope you celebrated."

She looked at her best friend. "We did. Thank you." Everyone looked at her. Was her lipstick smudged? Her parents had been friends with the Hathornes for years. "What did I miss?"

Tyler replied first. "Nothing. Politics."

She made a face which she quickly righted as her mother gave her the look. One look from Shannon put Meg in line. She was no better than a trained dog. If not for her work and her friends, she would be a prisoner.

As expected, they moved to the dining room. Their mothers discussed the elite social hierarchy of Boston, while Tyler kept her entertained by whispering comments in her ear. All old Boston families had skeletons in their closets. Each member acted as if they didn't. Affairs were the least of the issues. Shannon was critical when people married beneath their family stature. Meg held her breath and waited for it.

"Tyler and Meg are perfect."

"I agree. A daughter-in-law I already love."

Meg looked at Chickie. "We're not getting married."

Brian Rice said, "You aren't getting any younger."

Chickie laughed. "She's still young, but you've been together for so long."

Meg pinched Tyler's knee under the table. He smiled at her. Thankfully, he always had her back.

Tyler cleared his throat. "Meg isn't ready. I'll wait for her."

Her mother glared. "She's ready."

Meg sat up. "No, I'm not."

Just the day before, she was worried about Tyler and Lucy and suddenly he wanted to marry her. How could she love Tyler that way? She thought about Cade. Straddling him felt right and exciting. As much as she and Ty laughed and teased, could she ride him and call out as she came?

No longer hungry, she pushed food around her plate and waited for dinner to end. The conversation sounded as if her ears were under water. She tamped down her desire to run. Most mornings she ran, either on the treadmill or outside if the weather was right. It kept her fit and helped ease stress. Her stress meter was off the charts. First the police woke her, then this push for marriage. Tyler was always on her side.

She waved away dessert and considered the consequences of excusing herself. Ironically, leaving the table would disappoint her mother. An adult should be able to sit through an entire meal. Her excuse at the restaurant was the service had been slow.

Finally, her father stood, and they moved into the living room. She hoped their guests would leave since it was a work night. Unfortunately, her father poured the cognac and port. She declined a drink, citing an early start the next day. The deadline for their next edition was looming. Long hours were typical, but Meg didn't mind them. At work, she was just one of the staff.

Meg turned her head to tune in when Arthur cleared his throat. "Son, did you give Meg a gift?"

He looked at her. "I paid for the VIP lounge, so you could say I was responsible for her fun last night."

Meg's eyes widened, but only she and Tyler knew about her celebration.

"We have a gift for you to give her." Tyler's father pulled out a small velvet box.

Meg pleaded with Tyler whose jaw went slack. He cleared his throat. "Meg and I should talk privately."

She followed him out of the living room, but then she pulled him up the stairs to her bedroom. Tyler looked around. He hadn't been in her room since they started puberty.

"Why is the world suddenly upside down?"

He frowned. "I think it's finally right side up."

"Ty, you don't want to propose to me?"

Pain moved across his face. "I didn't know what they were up to, but it has always been my plan. Now we're thirty."

"But last night? You know I was with Cade last night."

He nodded. "But you came home to me. It was hard, but you needed your last fling. It's over. Like I said I didn't know about their plan, but my plan was to shower you with love until you stopped being happy with Blue between us in my bed."

She covered her ears. "My head is spinning. You're my best friend."

"That's what makes us a perfect couple."

"But Ty, don't you want love?"

A puff of air from his nose turned his brown eyes sad. "I love you, Meggy. I always have."

She sighed. "I love you too, but I want to be in love."

"What does that even mean?"

She threw up her hands. "I want my pulse to race and my belly to flip. I want excitement."

"That's just lust. What you had last night would burn out in a week or a month." He reached out his hand. "What we have will last forever. Our slow burning candle is fueled by love and friendship."

As she put her hand in his, he pulled her to him. They had hugged hundreds of times, but her body never started purring. When she danced with Cade, the purr was deafening.

He put his hand on her cheek. "Meggy, I love you." Before she could respond, his lips met hers in a tender kiss. She gave the kiss a chance as she waited for passion to kick in. Tyler pulled back with a smile. "See. That's chemistry."

She tried to shake her head, but his beaming smile stopped her. Hurting him would devastate their friendship. "I'm not ready to be engaged."

"But we're a couple right?"

Meg slowly nodded. It wasn't like she would ever see Cade again. At the club she had been content with one night, but after being with him, she wanted more. The knock on the door changed everything.

"Let's go tell our parents." Ty brushed her lips.

When they entered the living room, Brian and Arthur were deep in conversation. "Why can't they get Pacheco off the streets? Now they've locked his kid up."

Brian Rice frowned and shook his head, but Meg had no interest in her father's legal business.

Tyler cleared his throat. "We, um, need more time."

"For what?" Shannon asked.

"Ty, you've been dating since high school." Chickie added.

Meg stepped forward. "We haven't. We went to different universities and..." Slept with others. They had never had sex with each other.

"Time will just postpone it. You are the prime age to start a family." Shannon held her hands together like a prayer.

"We should live together. Everyone does. We should too." Tyler looked from his mother to Meg.

Chickie said, "Eli didn't live with Sonia."

"And it didn't last." Tyler smiled.

Chickie frowned.  "Your brother is too busy working to think about my future grandchildren."

Meg shook her head. "I'm not ready to have a baby. I'm working towards a promotion."

Brian said, "Legally, that has no bearing on promotions."

"Legally, maybe, but in practice it's hard to prove."

Tyler stepped forward. "She's right. Give us some time together."

Shannon said, "Don't think we didn't know how you were celebrating last night."

Meg wanted to blend into the wall. She couldn't look at Tyler. She was with Cade while he waited for her on his sofa, because he loved her. Thirty sucked. As much as she wanted to leave her parents' house, living with Tyler felt overwhelming. Having sex with Tyler scared her. She looked at the front of his pants. For years, she never even cared that he had a penis, but she would have to meet it and touch it. Like Cade's. She wasn't scared with him.

Meg sighed, "We can decide another day. I need to go in early tomorrow." It was only eight o'clock.

"We should go. I have some important meetings tomorrow."

Meg smiled. Tyler always supported her, if he didn't she would be engaged.

As they said goodbye, Tyler's kiss lingered on her lips longer than their previous platonic greetings. She tried to feel it. When he left, she turned to escape to her room, but her mother's voice stopped her.

"I don't know what you're waiting for. Tyler loves you. You can't do better than Tyler Hathorne."

"Good night."

In her room, she flopped on her bed and the pearls bounced up and hit her in the teeth. "Damn, pearls!"

She resisted the urge to pull them off. Each pearl was individually tied so they wouldn't scatter. She could hear her mother telling her she needed to wear them on her wedding day. Shutting her eyes, she wasn't sure she could marry him.

Meg stood to change into flannel pants and a comfy tee. Then she looked at her phone with anticipation until she remembered. Cade couldn't call her.

Lucy had texted her. She pressed send by her friend's picture. A day ago, Meg was jealous of her girlfriend.

"Hey. How was last night?"

"It was fun. I heard you met someone."

Lucy laughed. "I didn't go home with him."

Meg stood up. "How did you get home?"

"With, um, Mick."

Meg laughed. "Ty kissed me."

"Finally!"

"He says he loves me."

"Honey, he does. Poor thing. Last night was hard for him."

"I'm so confused. Our parents think we should be engaged. Ty wants me to move in with him."

"Have you had sex with him?"

"No! I had amazing sex with Cade, but then, um, I went to Ty's and didn't know he likes me."

"You are blind. We've been waiting for you to catch up."

She felt like the one left out of a joke. "Don't let on to Ty I'm not sure."

"I bet one night in his arms and you'll change your mind. Remember when he dated Bella? She was happy."

Maybe, but all she could think of was her night in another man's arms. She didn't even remind Lucy that Bella was a bitch.

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