Page 2

CHAPTER TWO

Right at 10 I hear Garret talking to someone downstairs. I go down and see him sitting across from a nice-looking man, probably in his mid-fifties, with gray hair wearing light-colored pants and a black button-up shirt. He’s friends with Harper’s dad which is why we decided to hire him. Harper said the guy did some acting when he was younger and that’s when he met her dad. Years ago, the guy got ordained so he could do the ceremony for a friend’s wedding and then other people started asking him to officiate their weddings and he’s been doing it ever since.

“Is this your bride?” the man asks as I walk down the stairs.

“That’s her,” Garret says, smiling.

“Nice to meet you.” The man stands up and extends his hand. “Andrew Wield.”

“Hi, I’m Jade.” I shake his hand. “Thanks for making the drive up here.”

“It’s no problem. I was coming this way anyway. I’m doing a wedding in Santa Barbara the week before yours.” He sits down again and Garret and I sit across from him on the couch. “So Garret tells me you’ll be writing your own vows.”

“Um, yeah, I guess we will,” I say, looking at Garret.

“You aren’t sure yet?” Andrew asks, eyeing us both.

“We’re sure,” Garret says, smiling at me. “So tell us how the ceremony will go.”

“That’s up to you. I like to get input from the bride and groom and go from there. It’s your day. I’m just there to make it official. How do you picture your wedding, Jade?”

“I’m not really sure. I’ve never been to a wedding.”

“A wedding can be anything you want. Harper told me you wanted a short ceremony. If you need ideas, I can tell you about some of the weddings I’ve done in the past.”

“That would be helpful.”

Talking with him, I realize how clueless I am about weddings. Growing up, I wasn’t someone who dreamed about her wedding day, probably because I never thought I’d get married. Even now, I don’t really care about the flowers or the decorations or any of that stuff. In fact, Harper volunteered to do all of that for me and I can’t thank her enough. She’s been working really hard the past few weeks getting plans made. It’s a very small wedding but there’s still a lot to do and she insists on doing all of it. She checks in with me to make sure I like what she’s planning and I always offer to help, but she won’t let me. She loves planning parties and I think she secretly wants me to just let her do her thing and I’m more than happy to do so. I totally trust her judgment on stuff like this, way more than I trust myself.

Andrew describes several options for the ceremony and after a half hour, Garret and I decide what we want, which is basically just Andrew saying a few words about love and marriage followed by the vows and the ring exchange. Harper is my maid of honor and Sean is best man. Frank is walking me down the aisle and Lilly is going to be our flower girl.

“Well, that was easy,” Andrew says when we’re done. “Usually the bride has so many requests that it takes much longer than this. But Jade, I have to say I’ve never met a bride as easygoing as you. Usually brides are completely stressed, worrying about the ceremony, the flowers, the cake—trying to make sure everything’s perfect.”

“It’s just a wedding. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Besides, it’s the marriage part that’s important, not the wedding, right?”

Andrew stares at me, not answering. I turn to Garret, who’s also staring at me, but with a huge grin on his face. He kisses my cheek and looks over at Andrew. “You see why I love her?”

He nods. “It’s good to hear. Most couples put all their effort into the wedding and no effort into the marriage.” He smiles at us. “But I can tell you two are on a good path.”

“Do you need anything else from us?” Garret asks.

“Sometimes couples give me a copy of their vows, so if you want to send me those, go ahead and do so whenever you have them written. Otherwise, I’ll be in touch a week before the wedding to go over any last minute details and then I’ll see you at the rehearsal.”

“Sounds good.” Garret looks at me. “Did you have any other questions?”

“No, I can’t think of any.”

Garret walks Andrew to the door. “Thanks again for making the trip up here. We’ll see you in a few weeks.”

Andrew leaves and Garret remains at the door, looking out at the ocean. “The waves are huge today. I gotta get out there.”

Garret’s become quite the surfer since we moved here. He’s really good for someone who’s only been doing this for a month. Of course he surfs every day, so he’s had lots of practice. But he’s way better than Sean which makes Sean want to spend even more time out there trying to get better. Guys. They’re way too competitive.

I walk up behind Garret, hooking my arms around him. “Why don’t you skip surfing today and hang out with me on the beach?”

He turns to face me, trying not to look disappointed. “Yeah, okay. I guess I could.”

“I’m kidding. Go do your surfing. I just said that to see if you’d actually skip out on those waves for me.”

“You know I would.” He leans down and kisses me, then pulls back and smiles. “But only for a couple hours. And then I’d be out there on my board.”

I shake my head, smiling, as he walks past me and up the stairs to change clothes. Just as I’m about to shut the door, Sean appears.

“Hey, Jade. You guys done with the wedding thing?”

“Yeah. Come on in. Garret will be right down.”

Sean always has a smile on his face showing off his dimples. He’s like the happiest guy I’ve ever met. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a bad mood. Harper says he sometimes comes home in a bad mood after a rough day at work, but it doesn’t happen that often.

Sean’s already got his wetsuit on. His blond hair is sticking up everywhere like he just showered and let it dry like that. Or maybe Harper messed it up. She’s always playing with his hair. He has good hair. It’s thick and a little longer than Garret’s. And he has really bright blue eyes. If Sean and Harper ever get married, they’ll have super cute kids.

A few minutes later Garret runs down the stairs. “Sean, did you see those waves?”

“Yeah, we gotta get out there before they die down.”

Garret stops and kisses me quick. “See you later.”

“Hey.” I grab his arm and pull him back to me as Sean takes off out the door. “Don’t get hurt out there. I don’t want you showing up at our wedding with stitches and a broken leg.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.” He turns to leave but I keep hold of him.

“And I need a better kiss than that.”

He takes my face in his hands and leans down to give me a real kiss.

“Garret, come on!” Sean yells from outside.

He pulls away. “Love you. Have fun today.”

“You, too.”

Harper walks in as Garret races out the door. “Those two are like little kids. They just can’t wait to get out there every day.”

“Yeah, I know. Garret’s not going to be happy when school starts again and he can’t surf every day.”

In the fall, Garret and I will be staying here in California and going to Camsburg College, a private college in a coastal town that’s midway between Santa Barbara and San Francisco. It’s about an hour north of where we are now. The college is small and very exclusive which is why we’re going there. After Garret’s rise and fall as a reality show celebrity, we need to hide away for a while. We wanted someplace quiet where people would leave us alone and not ask questions or gossip about us.

Harper’s dad, Kiefer, is the one who suggested the college. Some of his celebrity friends have sent their kids there because it’s secluded and has tight security which keeps out the paparazzi. Kiefer even made some calls on our behalf, which I’m sure is the reason we got accepted so quickly. I’ve learned that Kiefer has a lot of influence and not just in Hollywood. He seems to have a lot of friends in high places. Harper says that’s because rich, important people like to say they’re friends with a movie director. It sounds impressive at parties, so her dad gets connected with a lot of people in other industries outside the movie business.

At the end of May, Garret and I went to visit the campus. We spent the day there and got a tour and met with some of the professors. They have a decent science department for me and a good business school for Garret. The school turned out to be just what we were looking for, but it’s very expensive. Luckily, I’m now a multimillionaire thanks to my grandparents. Garret is broke but still has his college fund so he can at least pay for his tuition.

A couple weeks ago, Garret and I drove up there and met with a real estate agent. She found us a small house that’s for rent during the school year. The owners only live there during the summer. The house is furnished and it’s right on the beach. The real estate agent took care of all the details and just last week, we put down our deposit. The place isn’t cheap but Garret and I really want to live there and I can easily afford it.

The fact that I have money hasn’t really sunk in yet. I keep pretending it’s Garret’s and not mine because otherwise I’m not sure I’d be able to spend it. I still have trouble buying a t-shirt that’s not on sale. It’s like my mind still doesn’t believe that I have this money. Like it’s not real.

Back in May, Garret taught me the basics of how trust funds work and he helped me get Frank the money I promised him. Other than that, Garret hasn’t said much to me about the money. He knows I need some time to let it all sink in. I was worried he might feel weird now that I’m the one with money and he’s not, but so far everything’s been fine. He hasn’t acted any differently. Then again, we haven’t really talked about it.

I told Harper a week after we moved here that Garret and I wouldn’t be going back to Moorhurst in the fall. She was sad, but she took the news better than I thought she would. She understands the reason why we had to leave Moorhurst. She knows how the people there would gossip about us and talk to the tabloids and make up more lies about Ava and Garret being a couple.

But that’s only part of the story. Harper doesn’t know that Garret and I also wanted to get as far away as possible from the organization, which is based in New York and often holds meetings in Connecticut. Harper doesn’t know about the organization and has no idea Garret was picked to be our future president someday. That’s something I’ll never tell her or anyone else. She also doesn’t know that Garret is no longer rich or that I’m now a millionaire.

“I’m sure Garret will survive not being able to surf every day.” Harper goes to the kitchen and takes a water from the fridge. “Besides, by then you guys will be married and he’ll have husband responsibilities. He won’t have time to surf.”

I laugh. “What are husband responsibilities?”

She stands at the kitchen island adjusting her ponytail. “I don’t know. Taking the garbage out. Fixing stuff.”

“He already takes the garbage out so I don’t think that’s a husband responsibility. And he won’t have to fix anything. The house is newly renovated and if something breaks, we’ll just hire someone.”

“Yeah, I guess. So anyway, I was thinking we could skip the beach today and go shopping for your dress.”

“But it’s such a nice day. I don’t want to spend it shopping.”

“This is California, Jade. The weather’s nice every day. You can’t use that as an excuse.” She grabs another water and hands it to me. “Let’s go right now. The stores just opened. They won’t be crowded.”

“Where are we going?”

“To some bridal shops. My mom’s friends with a wedding planner and the woman emailed me a list of places we should try. They’re all within an hour of here.”

“So we’re going out of town? Harper, you should’ve told me. I need to tell Garret and now he’s in the ocean.”

“I told Sean we might be going. He’ll tell him. Or leave Garret a note if you’re that worried about it.”

“Okay, but I don’t want to spend all day on this.” I grab a pen and search for a piece of paper. “Let’s just go to whatever store has the biggest selection and I’ll pick something. I don’t need to go to multiple stores.”

She hands me a pad of sticky notes from the counter. “Jade, this is your wedding dress. You can’t just pick the first one you find.”

“I don’t know why I can’t just find a simple dress at the mall. I don’t like wedding dresses. They’re too poofy and frilly and lacy. You know that’s not me.”

“They’re not all like that. We’ll find you one you love. I promise.”

“Well, now you’re just being crazy. I might find one I like , but I definitely won’t love it.”

“Write your note and let’s go.”

We get in her Lexus SUV and she takes me to the first store, which is only a few miles away. The place is filled with poofy dresses. We leave right away and drive to the next town, stopping at two more stores. I try a couple dresses on but they don’t look right. They’re still too ornate and they flare out at the bottom like a fish tail. Not my style.

We have lunch and then continue up the coast. Garret calls just as we arrive at yet another bridal boutique. The front window is full of lacy dresses, the type I’d never wear.

“How’s the shopping going?” I can feel him smiling through the phone.

Harper gets out of the car and I motion her to go without me. “I’ll be right in.” I tell her. “Did you know about this?” I ask Garret as I watch Harper go inside the small white building.

He laughs. “Not until I saw your note. Sean said Harper was taking you shopping this week, but he didn’t know what day. So did you find anything?”

“No. Everything is too over-the-top. They don’t seem to make just a basic, simple dress.”

“Keep looking. I texted Harper and told her not to bring you back until you picked something.”

“Garret!”

“You have to find a dress. We’re running out of time. We’ll be out of town this weekend and then again on the Fourth of July weekend.”

“I know but—”

“Just pick something, Jade. You’ll look beautiful in anything.”

“Not if it has lace on it or big, puffy sleeves.”

“I gotta go. I’ll see you tonight, unless you don’t find anything, in which case I’ll see you when you finally pick a dress. And given how things are going, that’ll probably be our wedding day.”

“I can’t wait that long to see you, so I guess that’s my incentive to pick a dress.”

“Then I’ll see you tonight. Sean and I are going back out in the water. He doesn’t have to work so he’s making dinner.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

Harper comes back out and gets in the car. “Don’t even bother going in. Even I didn’t like anything in there.”

We go to two more stores with no luck. She swipes through her phone. “That was it. That was the last place on the list. You sure you didn’t like any of the ones we saw earlier? We could go back so you can try them on again.”

“I didn’t really like any of them.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either. I mean, I saw some that I would like, but nothing that seemed right for you. It’s getting late. Should we just head home?”

“What happened to your promise to Garret?”

She sighs. “I know. I’m not supposed to take you back without a dress. But we’ll keep looking. We’ll go again tomorrow. I’ll ask my mom’s friend for more recommendations.”

Great. Another a day of shopping. I’m not looking forward to it. I can’t seem to get into this wedding dress thing. I know I need one, but they just aren’t me. And I don’t want to end up wearing a dress I don’t even like at my own wedding. But I know Garret wants to see me in one, so I’ll keep looking and just have to pick something.