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CHAPTER TWELVE

I hear noises and it sounds like they’re getting up. Pearce starts talking again. “I’m really proud of you, Garret. You turned your life around this year and you did it all on your own.”

“I didn’t do it on my own. Jade is the reason I changed. Or she was at least the inspiration that got me to change.”

“It’s funny how one person can have such an effect on your life, isn’t it?” He doesn’t wait for Garret to answer. “Actually Jade is the one who got me thinking about all of this.”

“All of what?”

“About being a better father to you and Lilly.”

“Why? What did Jade do?”

He clears his throat, then waits before speaking again. “When you were shot and lying on the floor, you should have seen her. She thought she was losing you. She was screaming, crying, begging for you to be okay. Watching her, I finally realized how much she loved you. But it disturbed me that I wasn’t reacting the same way. You’re my son and you were lying there, blood pouring from your chest, and this girl who had only known you a few months was more worried about you than I was. Soon after that happened, I decided I needed to talk to someone and figure out what was going on with me. But I never would’ve done it if it weren’t for seeing Jade’s reaction that day.” He pauses. “Seeing you two together reminds me of how your mother and I used to be. And although I’ll never have that kind of love again, it makes me very happy to know that you have it. And hopefully Lilly will, too, someday.”

I hear footsteps and it sounds like Pearce is leaving. “Well, I’ll let you finish packing.”

“What’s that box for?”

“Oh. Yes, this is for you. Open it.”

It gets quiet and then I hear Garret again. “Where did you get these? You told me you got rid of them.”

“Because I didn’t want you to have them. I thought it would help you move on if I told you I destroyed all the photos of her. But it was wrong of me, and again, I’m sorry. Those are yours to keep. I have some others in my office. I kept a few for myself.” He pauses. “I miss her, too, Garret. I have since the moment she was taken from us.” I hear him walking away again. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

Seconds later, the door to the bathroom opens and Garret walks in. He sees me crouched down on the floor with my tear-stained face.

He sits next to me. “So I take it you heard all that?”

“Yeah.” I crawl onto his lap and hug him. He hugs me back, taking deep breaths. We don’t say anything because nothing needs to be said. We just remain there on the floor for several minutes.

“We should probably get going,” he says.

“Yeah, okay.” I get up and grab a tissue and go over to the mirror to clean up my face. “I’m a mess. I need to redo my makeup.”

Garret stands next to me. “You don’t need makeup. You’re beautiful without it. Come on.”

We go in the bedroom and I see the box Pearce gave to Garret. It’s sitting on the bed and the top is open and inside is a stack of photos.

“Do you mind if I look at those?” I ask him. “If you don’t want me to, that’s okay.”

“I forgot that you’ve never seen her before.” Garret takes a photo from the stack and hands it to me. “That was at Easter. I was probably around 5.”

The photo shows a woman with dark brown hair that falls in loose waves just below her shoulders. She looks tall, maybe 5’9, and has on a sleeveless dress in a soft blue color that matches her light blue eyes. She has a gorgeous face, almost like a model, with a wide smile, high cheekbones, and flawless skin. She has her arms around Garret, who’s standing in front of her. He was a really cute kid. He has a grin on his face that looks both happy and mischievous. He’s wearing a suit for Easter and a blue tie that’s the same color as his mom’s dress.

“She was beautiful, Garret.” I almost cry seeing the photo, knowing what happened to his mom and how she’d be alive today if it weren’t for the organization.

“Yeah, she was.” Garret takes the photo back. “You can look at the rest later.” He packs the box in the suitcase and zips it up. “Let’s go say goodbye to Lilly.”

He takes our luggage and we go downstairs. We each give Lilly a big hug. She’s sad to see us leave but we remind her that we’ll see her in a couple weeks, which seems to make her feel a little better. Pearce and Lilly stand at the door and watch as we drive away, Lilly waving the entire time.

We head to the airport for the long flight back. As soon as the plane takes off, I fall asleep on Garret’s shoulder and stay asleep for almost the entire flight.

* * *

When we get home we take our stuff inside, then go next door to see Sean and Harper. As we walk in, I notice Sean’s suitcase sitting by the door and for a moment I think maybe she broke up with him and he’s moving out. But she would’ve told me that over the phone.

“Are you guys going somewhere?” I ask Harper.

“San Francisco. Just for a few days. Sean got time off from work and he’s never been there so we decided to go.”

Sean comes down the stairs and over to where we’re standing. “Hey, welcome back.”

“I was telling them about our trip.” Harper smiles up at Sean and wraps her arm around his waist. He pulls her into his side and kisses her.

The two of them always look so happy when they’re together. I wish Harper could just admit to herself how much she loves Sean. Maybe it’s not the same love I have for Garret, but it doesn’t have to be. She loves him in her own way and he loves her and that should be enough.

“You planning to do any surfing while you’re there?” Garret asks Sean.

“No.” Sean laughs and looks at Harper. “I don’t think Harper would be too happy about that. This is supposed to be a romance trip.”

Harper rolls her eyes. “It’s not a romance trip. It’s just a little getaway. And don’t worry about the wedding, Jade. Everything’s set. I wouldn’t leave town if it wasn’t.”

“I’m not worried. And you shouldn’t worry either. I want you to relax and have fun on your trip.”

“Come upstairs and help me pack.”

I follow her up to her room but her suitcase is already packed and sitting on the floor.

“What do you need help with? It looks like you’re ready to go.”

“I am. I just wanted to talk without the guys around.” She plops down on the bed. “Tell me about your trip.”

“It was great.” I sit across from her, crossing my legs and leaning back on my hands. “It’s the best time I’ve ever had with Garret’s family. Of course, Katherine wasn’t there, which made a huge difference. I could actually relax without her around.”

“What about his dad? Was he nice to you?”

“Really nice. It’s like he’s totally changed. He even hung out with us. Garret thought he’d be at work the whole time, but he didn’t go into the office at all. We had a cookout, went swimming, watched movies. It was like being with a normal family. I hope he keeps it up. I like the new Pearce.”

“Good, because I didn’t want him ruining your wedding day. It’ll be bad enough having Katherine there.”

“She’s not coming.” I smile as I say it. “Garret’s dad won’t let her. He told her she couldn’t come unless she was going to be happy for Garret and me. And she isn’t, so she’s not coming.”

“But what about Lilly? We need a flower girl. I already got this cute little basket for her and—”

“She’s coming. We told her about being the flower girl and she’s super excited. And while she’s out here, Pearce is taking her to Disneyland.”

“Seriously? What’s gotten into him?”

“I don’t know. I think he just misses Garret and it’s made him want to be more of a dad to Lilly.”

As usual, I can’t tell Harper everything about Garret’s family. And I don’t tell her what happened with Garret’s grandparents. She already knows they aren’t coming to the wedding and when she asked why, I explained how they didn’t approve of Garret marrying someone with my background. But I didn’t tell her how they aren’t even speaking to him now.

“It’s about time Garret’s dad was nice to you. It’s good if you can get along with your in-laws, at least that’s what my mom always says. She loves my dad’s family so she got lucky.”

“Speaking of in-laws, when are you meeting Sean’s parents?”

She laughs and moves back on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “They’re not my in-laws, Jade.”

“They could be. Maybe someday.”

She shakes her head but she’s smiling, like the idea of marrying Sean makes her happy, which I know it does. She just won’t admit it. “We’re probably going to see them around the middle of August. We talked about it while you guys were gone. Sean wants to stay there for a week so we have time to—” She stops and looks off to the side like she’s thinking.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just realized that we’ll miss Garret’s birthday if we go that week. I’ll ask Sean to talk to his parents. Maybe we could go later.”

“Harper, it’s fine. Just go. We’ll have an early party for him. We’ll do it the week before.”

“Are you sure?”

“Totally sure. You know I’m making him dinner, right? Trust me, you don’t want to witness that. It may not even be edible. I’m already trying to come up with a back-up meal in case it doesn’t turn out.”

“It’ll turn out. You have the best cooking instructor.”

“Yeah, Sean’s been great. You have to tell me where he likes to buy his cooking supplies. I want to get him a gift card to thank him. So what are you guys going to do at his parents’ house?”

“We’re not sure yet.”

Sean’s parents live in New Hampshire on a dairy farm. I can’t imagine Harper hanging out at a dairy farm all week. They’ll have to find stuff to do around town or take some day trips to the mountains. They both like to go hiking.

“Jade.” I hear Garret calling me from the bottom of the stairs.

“What?” I call back.

“Sean and I are going surfing. We’ll see you guys later.”

I go out in the hall and stand at the top of the stairs. “We just got home. We haven’t even unpacked.”

“Yeah, I’ll do it later.”

“But it’s almost dinner time. Don’t you want to eat?”

“We’ll only be out for an hour or so. We’ll just order something for dinner so we don’t have to cook.”

I run down the stairs. “You two are crazy. I swear you’re addicted to surfing. But have fun.”

“See ya soon. Love you.” He kisses me, then takes off out the front door. Sean’s already left. I love seeing Garret with a real friend. He’s so happy. Way happier than when I first met him.

“Did they take off?” Harper yells from the bedroom.

“Yeah. They’re gone.” I meet her back in her room. “I bet they stay out there for more than an hour. I can’t wait that long for dinner. I have to eat something.”

She hops off the bed. “Let’s grab a snack and go out on the deck.”

We go downstairs to the kitchen. She gets a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa while I take some sodas from the fridge. We bring them outside to the table. I look out and see the guys already way out in the water.

“I was only gone a few days but I missed being on the ocean,” I say, taking a chip.

“Yeah, I’m going to miss this when I go back to Moorhurst.” Harper pulls her hair back and secures it with an elastic from around her wrist.

“Maybe you should stay here in California.”

She gives me a funny look. “What are you talking about? I can’t do that.”

“Why not? You don’t like Moorhurst that well.”

“It’s not that bad. And I get to be on the tennis team. Plus Sean’s in Connecticut. I can’t move.”

“You’re right. I don’t know why I said that. I guess because I’m going to miss not seeing you every day.”

“I know. It’s going to totally suck not having you there this year, but you’ll be way happier out here with your new husband. I’m so happy for you, Jade. I know I tell you that all the time but I just love seeing you and Garret together. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.”

“You’re such a romantic.”

“I can’t help it. I’ve always been that way.”

“So how are things going with Sean?”

“Good.”

“Good as in you’re not going to break up with him?”

“I never said I was breaking up with him.”

“You talked about it before I left.”

“Because I thought Sean and I had to have the same type of love you and Garret have, but then I realized that I’ll never have that type of love so I need to stop looking for it.”

“Harper, don’t try to compare our relationships. What you have with Sean is great. He loves you and he’d do anything for you.”

“I know.” She looks off into the distance, where Sean is surfing. “I should be happy with what I have.”

“Hey.” I nudge her arm until she looks at me. “Are you happy with him or not?”

“I’m very happy. I’m just not sure he’s the one. But I’m not going to worry about it. Now that Sean and I have been spending more time alone together I’ve been feeling better about things between us.”

“Sorry. Garret and I shouldn’t have been spending so much time over here.”

“No, I didn’t mean to say it like that but—”

“Harper, don’t worry about it. You and Sean need time alone and Garret and I are fine with that. We can find plenty of things to keep ourselves occupied.”

She smiles as she dips a chip in some salsa. “Yeah, I know.”

“I wasn’t talking about that . I was talking about—”

“You guys can get pretty loud. Sometimes we even have to close our windows.” She pops the chip in her mouth.

“Are you serious?” I feel myself blushing. “I’m so sorry. I promise we’ll be quieter from now on.”

She’s laughing. “I’m joking. We’ve never heard anything.”

I kiddingly punch her. “Then why did you say it? Now you’ve got me all worried about it.”

“Forget I said anything. Be as noisy as you want. The waves are so loud we’d never hear you guys.” She gets this goofy grin on her face. “So tell me, Jade. Is Garret good in bed?”

“Harper! You know I don’t talk about that stuff. Even with you.”

“Why not? All girls talk about this stuff.” She glances at Sean who’s now standing on the beach. “Sean’s great in bed. I mean, really great. We’re totally compatible that way. And we’re both open to trying most anything at least once.”

“Okay, stop. I don’t need to know this. It’s too much information.”

“So tell me about you and Garret.”

“I told you. I don’t like talking about it.”

She puts her hand on my arm and frowns. “That bad, huh? Well, I knew everything couldn’t be perfect between you two. I’m just sorry it had to be your sex life.”

“What? No! That’s not what I meant by—” I stop, realizing what she’s doing. I smile. “You’re good, Harper.”

She laughs. “If you don’t tell me anything, I have to assume that means it’s bad.” She sits back in her chair. “You sure you want to marry him? I mean, sex is a big part of your relationship and if it’s that bad—”

“It’s not bad!” I’m laughing, too, now. I look out at the ocean and just seeing Garret out there on his surfboard gets me all hot inside. I turn back to Harper who’s still waiting for a response. “It’s good, okay? It’s more than good. It’s amazing. Better than I could’ve ever imagined. That’s why we do it all the time. There. Are you happy now?”

“I knew it. You guys are too perfect.” She smiles as she says it.

“We’re not perfect. We’re just lucky we found each other. That’s all.”

We sit outside and talk until the guys come back an hour later.

“Ready to eat?” Sean asks Harper. He leans down to kiss her and all I can think about is the two of them together. Not the visual I want in my head. This is why I don’t talk to Harper about sex!

“Dinner’s on us tonight,” Garret says, standing behind me and rubbing my shoulders. It quickly wipes the Sean and Harper images from my head. “What do you guy’s want?”

We decide on Chinese food and Garret and I head back to our place.

“Can you call in the order?” Garret asks. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

“Yeah, okay.” I order the food, then go upstairs to our room. He’s in the shower and the earlier sex talk I had with Harper has got me all worked up. I strip my clothes off and meet him in there.

“I thought I should rinse off,” I tell him. “You know, from being on the plane earlier. Those things are filthy.”

He smiles. “Then let’s get you cleaned up.” He takes some soap from the bottle and starts lathering me up, taking his time with certain spots while we kiss. “You know, you could’ve showered earlier. I was gone for over an hour.”

I kiss his chest. “It’s way more fun with you.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

I look up to see his cocky smile and it gets me even more turned on. He lifts me up and pins me against the wall for a quick round of shower sex before the takeout guy arrives.

“Garret, do you think we have a good sex life?” I ask him as we get dressed.

“Yeah, why?” He looks concerned. “Are you thinking we don’t?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just wondered if maybe you were getting bored and wanting to try something new.”

He comes over and kisses me. “Our sex life is great. I have no complaints.” He stands back a little and smiles. “But I’m always up for something new. You have something in mind you’d like to try?”

“No. It was just a question.”

He’s still smiling as he crosses his arms over his chest, staring at me and looking like he’s thinking. “You know, you’re right. We should mix it up a little. I’ve got some ideas. We’ll try them later.”

“What? No. Really. I’m fine with everything as is. We have a good sex life. We don’t need to try anything new.”

He shakes his head. “Sorry, Jade, but ‘good’ is not at all how I want you to describe our sex life. It’s gotta be better than good. It needs to be incredible. Amazing. Mind-blowing.”

“It’s already all those things. I just didn’t—”

“If it was, you would’ve said that before.” He gives me a quick kiss. “I’m glad you brought this up. I’ve been slacking off in this area. Doing the same old thing. But no more. I’m gonna get to work on this. We’ll be married soon and there’s no way my wife is using ‘good’ to describe our sex life.”

“But, Garret, I didn’t mean—”

The doorbell rings. “That’s our food.” He lets me go and takes off.

I did not at all intend for him to take that question about our sex life as a challenge. But I should’ve known he would. The guy loves a challenge.