Page 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Garret gives me a kiss, then whispers in my ear, “I love you.”

I say it back as the music starts playing again. Garret takes my hand and leads me down the aisle as people snap pictures. As a wedding present, Kiefer hired a really expensive photographer to take photos. The guy’s been here since noon, snapping candid shots.

When we reach the end of the aisle, Harper hugs me. “Congratulations!”

She hugs Garret next. “Oh my God, your vows totally made me cry. And the way you looked at her up there?” She wipes her eyes. “I’m still a crying mess.”

Sean gives Garret one of those guy hugs that aren’t really hugs but more like part shoulder grab, part handshake. He gives me an actual hug.

Everyone is gathered around us now, waiting to give us more hugs and congratulations. Then it’s time for the formal pictures. As photos are being taken, Harper sends people over to the area that’s been set up for the reception.

We hired a company to set up a dance floor on the beach. They put wooden panels together to make a hard floor surface. At one end of it, we set up some tables for dinner and the rest of it serves as the dance floor. Big poles secured in the sand support a white tarp ceiling, just in case it rains but I don’t think it will. The sky is bright blue and the sun is shining. It’s a warm day but it’s cooling off a little as the sun starts to go down.

After the photos are taken, I grab Garret’s hand, looking over at the reception where the DJ is already playing music. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Not yet.” He catches me around my waist and draws me into him, his hand on my lower back. We’re standing under the trellis where the photos were being taken. “I want a minute alone with you first.” His other hand reaches behind my neck and he brings me in for a kiss. “You look so beautiful, Jade. When I saw you coming down the aisle, you literally took my breath away.”

“Thanks.” I glance down. I’m still not very good at accepting compliments. “So you like the dress?”

He tilts my chin up. “I love the dress. It’s perfect. It’s exactly the type of dress I imagined you wearing.”

“You imagined my dress?”

“I imagined this whole day. That’s what I do when I want something really bad. I imagine it in my head. I try to picture all the details. And if I keep focusing on it, it eventually works.”

“Really? Have you tried this before?”

“I used to do it all the time for sports. I’d imagine myself winning a swim meet. I’d imagine each stroke, the feel of the water moving over me, the sound of my breathing.”

“I keep learning new things about you. What other little secrets do you have?”

He smiles. “You’ve got a whole lifetime to find out.”

Just the thought of that makes me smile so wide my cheeks hurt. “I get a whole lifetime with you.”

“Yeah.” He laughs a little. “Did that just occur to you? Because if it did, it’s too late to change your mind. You are now officially stuck with me. And the Kensington men tend to live a long time so you could be stuck with me for the next 80 years.”

”I’ll take it. I’ll take as many years as I can have with you.”

He gazes at me with those bright blue eyes, the ones I couldn’t stop staring at when I first met him. “I love you, Jade. I haven’t said that enough to you today so get ready to hear it some more.”

“I love you, too.”

He leans down and gives me a kiss. “Should we go join the party now?”

“Yes. And you have to dance with me.”

“Of course I’ll dance with you.” He takes my hand and we head toward the reception area. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I’ve never seen you dance before.”

“I danced with you at my house at the fundraiser.”

“That wasn’t really dancing. That was more like a hug with a little swaying.”

He stops walking. “What are you trying to say? I can’t dance?”

“I don’t know. Can you?”

“Yeah, and I’m good at it, too. Slow dance. Fast dance. Ballroom dance. I can do all of it.”

“Are you serious?”

“You don’t believe me?”

I laugh. “No. I don’t. So if you can dance, then there’s another thing I didn’t know about you.”

He bends his arm at the elbow and offers it to me, like he’s escorting me down the aisle. “Come with me, Mrs. Kensington. First we’ll have dinner and then get ready to be amazed.”

“Okay, but I still don’t believe you.”

When we get to the reception area, everyone stops talking and starts clapping. The DJ announces us and Harper takes us over to one of the tables to sit down. The tables are covered with white tablecloths topped with gray runners and vases full of light pink roses. White sparkling lights hang from the ceiling and around the small potted trees that line the dance floor. I insisted on the white lights given my newfound love of Christmas lights.

After dinner, the dancing begins. Garret and I decided not to do the first dance by ourselves because I didn’t want everyone staring at us while we danced. So instead we did the opposite and made a rule that everyone has to do the first dance. The couples paired up and those who were single had to find a partner. Frank dances with Grace, Pearce dances with Lilly, and Ryan dances with one of the girls from catering who Sean works with at the restaurant.

For the next song, Garret doesn’t stick to just swaying side to side. He starts moving his feet and taking me with him.

“Wait. I don’t know what I’m doing,” I tell him.

“You just have to follow my lead. The guy leads, the girl follows.”

“I never follow. I always lead.”

“Not on the dance floor.” He has a firm grip on my waist and leads me, just like he said, and eventually I get the whole following thing and somehow we’re dancing.

Then a fast song comes on, one that’s always on the radio.

He smiles. “You sure you want to see this?”

“See what? Your dance moves?”

“Yeah. Sure you can handle it?”

I laugh. “I can handle it. Go ahead.”

He starts dancing like people do at clubs. At first it’s funny, but then I see that he’s really good. Sean and Harper are dancing next to him and they’re good, too. I just stand there in shock. How did I not know this about my three best friends? Garret grabs me to join him but I don’t know what to do so I just try to copy Harper. I’m having so much fun I don’t really care if I look stupid. Luckily, Lilly comes over and starts flailing her arms and jumping around in circles, which makes my horrible dancing look a little less ridiculous.

We take a break and Garret whispers something to Harper. She nods and goes over to the DJ.

“What are you up to?” I ask as he hands me some sparkling water.

“You’ll see.” He takes a drink of his own sparkling water.

The dance floor is empty except for Harper, who’s standing right in the middle. And then some music starts. It sounds like a waltz. Garret goes over to Harper and the two of them begin moving across the dance floor, like they actually know how to do this. I sit there, mesmerized by their fluid movement.

Sean’s sitting next to me. I nudge him. “Were they practicing this for the wedding?”

“Not that I know of. But I remember Harper telling me she took a lot of dance classes growing up.”

“She took ballroom dance lessons as a kid?”

He shrugs. “I guess.”

“When did Garret learn this?”

Sean laughs. “He’s your husband. Shouldn’t you know the answer to that?”

“Apparently he has hidden talents.”

Ryan sneaks behind me, bending down to talk. “Did you know he could do that?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“He’s pretty good.” Ryan walks off.

I watch as Garret circles Harper around, his feet never faltering.

“Damn, my girl is freaking awesome,” Sean says.

I’m not even watching Harper. My gaze is fixed on Garret. I’m almost jealous of Harper, being swept across the dance floor by him. I wish I knew how to dance like that so I could be the one in his arms.

When the dance ends, he comes and sits next to me, dropping a kiss on my lips. “You believe me now?”

I lean over to talk in his ear. “That was totally hot. We need to hurry up with this party so I can take you home.”

He turns his head to kiss me. “We’re not going home, remember?”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. And don’t keep asking because I won’t tell you.”

“So where did you learn to dance like that?”

“I was forced to take ballroom dance lessons. Everyone I grew up with had to. It was even a required class at my prep school.”

“Why?”

“Because you have to dance like that at parties and other social events.”

The night continues with more dancing and talking to people. Garret and I decided not to do the garter belt thing or the chicken dance or any of those other things people do at weddings. We also told everyone not to bring gifts because we really don’t need anything and we don’t have room for much stuff in the furnished house we’ll be renting this fall.

Harper kept insisting on getting us something but I wouldn’t let her. Planning the wedding was enough of a gift. And Sean’s gift was making all the food. Knowing Harper, she’ll send me something later and call it a one-month anniversary gift. She loves giving presents.

I knew Frank and Ryan would still give us a gift so I told them it had to be something small. Ryan gave us a toaster because he says everyone has to get at least one toaster for their wedding. It’s a nice toaster. It even has special slots for bagels. His girlfriend, Chloe, wasn’t able to be here but she still sent a gift; a silver picture frame for one of our wedding photos. And Frank gave us silver candlesticks; not the tall, skinny ones that look like old, stuffy people would use, but cool, modern ones that are kind of short and thick.

Grace is giving us a honeymoon trip for whenever we decide to take one. She told us to pick anywhere in the world and to make sure it’s for at least a week because anything less than that is not a honeymoon.

Pearce didn’t give us anything and I know it’s because he’s afraid the organization would find out. They said Garret couldn’t get any of Pearce’s money and although buying us a gift isn’t technically giving us money, it would be bought using Pearce’s money and he wouldn’t want to risk any of us getting in trouble for that. Maybe later, once some time has passed, he’ll give us something, but right now, it’s too risky. Besides, having Pearce be a good father to Garret is the only gift we need.

Later that night, as a slow song starts playing, Frank gets up from the table and says to Garret, “Would you mind if I steal her away for a dance?”

“Not at all. Go ahead.”

I get up and go around the table to meet up with Frank.

“I didn’t know you could dance,” I say as he leads me around the floor in a circular pattern.

It’s not like he’s moving fast but he seems to have some kind of footwork going.

“My wife, Ryan’s mother, loved to dance. I wasn’t a big fan of it, but it made her happy so we took some lessons and I took her out a few times a month.”

“That’s very romantic.” I look over and catch Garret watching us, smiling.

“That’s important,” Frank says. “Always try to keep the romance going even now that you’re married. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Sometimes the small things are even better than some grand gesture. That’s why I gave you those candlesticks. They make an average dinner more special. Don’t save them for holidays. Just set them out and use them and you’ll see that it changes the whole mood of the dinner.”

“Did you and your wife do that?”

“Yes. It was my wife’s idea. We didn’t have much money so we couldn’t go out for romantic dinners, but we could still have candlelit dinners at home. We received a set of candlesticks for our wedding and my wife used them almost every night.”

As the song comes to an end, Ryan taps Frank on the shoulder. “My turn.”

“She’s all yours.” Frank hands me off.

“You dance, too? What’s the deal with you guys knowing how to dance?”

“I have no idea how to dance, so don’t expect much here.” He’s doing the side-to-side shuffle, barely moving.

“You’re doing fine.”

He smiles. “You look really happy, Jade.”

“I am happy.”

“That guy better treat you right or I swear to God I’ll kick his pretty-boy ass.”

I laugh. “Please don’t ever call him ‘pretty boy’ to his face.”

“I accidentally did when we were driving up the coast the other day.”

“Ryan! What the hell?”

“He didn’t care. He’s a good guy. I just don’t like the fact that he’s taking you away from us so soon.”

“He’s not taking me anywhere. I’ll still come home and see you guys.”

“Yeah, but it won’t be the same. It won’t be just the three of us anymore. I know I need to get over it. We’re growing up and that’s what happens. But you’re still my kid sister no matter what.”

“And you’re still my overprotective older brother.”

When the song ends, Ryan takes my hand and leads me back to Garret who’s standing at the side of the room.

“You better take good care of her,” Ryan says to him. “If I hear otherwise, I’ll be on the first plane out here.”

Garret nods. “Understood.”

“I have to get Dad back to the hotel,” Ryan says to me. “It’s been a long day and he’s tired.”

“You guys will be over tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, probably early afternoon.”

I give him a hug and then Garret and I go over and tell Frank goodbye.

As we’re walking back to the dance floor, Pearce stops us. “Could I have a dance?” he asks me.

I’m surprised he wants to dance with me, but then again, he has changed. I can’t imagine the old Pearce asking me to dance.

“Yes, of course.” I look at Garret, who’s smiling as his dad takes me away. I don’t think Garret’s stopped smiling this entire day.

“Welcome to the family, Jade.” When Pearce says it, I instantly remember when he said those same words to me just months ago, right after I saw him shoot Royce Sinclair. It’s different this time. It doesn’t sound as scary as when he said it then, but still, it freaks me out a little.

“Thank you, Mr. Kensington.”

He laughs. “Jade, for the last time, you need to stop calling me that. You married my son today. You’re my daughter-in-law. You need to call me Pearce.”

“I know. It just doesn’t seem right for some reason.”

“Why is that?”

“I guess because you’re really important and it kind of seems weird to call you by your first name.”

“I’m not any more important than anyone else. I just have money. That doesn’t mean anything.”

That may be true but he still intimidates me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s his money. Or his power. Or his sheer size. He’s so big I feel like a child next to him. I have to really reach to get my hands on his shoulders as we dance. He has big shoulders, like Garret, and they seem to be all muscle. If he wasn’t a rich businessman he could get a job as a bodyguard.

“It’s getting warm in here,” Pearce says as the song ends. “Do you mind if we step out in the breeze for a moment?”

“Okay.” I follow him out to the chairs that are still set up on the beach. As I sit down, he flips one of the chairs around and sits so that we’re facing each other.

“Jade, I just wanted to say that you’ve been a wonderful influence on Garret. I’m glad you two found each other and ended up together like this. I know I made things difficult for the two of you this past year, but I think you understand my reasons for that. It certainly wasn’t because I didn’t like you or didn’t think you were good enough for my son.” He pauses. “Anyway, I truly am sorry for my behavior.”

I nod and smile, not sure what to say.

“Garret will be a good husband to you, Jade. And he’ll make a good father. I know he looks like me, but he’s actually very much like his mother. Generous. Caring. And he somehow always manages to stay positive. His mother was the same way. I wish she could’ve been here today. She would’ve loved seeing her son get married.”

“I wish she could’ve been here, too. I know Garret really misses her. He tells me about her sometimes.”

Pearce seems surprised. “I didn’t think he ever talked about her. What did he tell you?”

“He said she laughed a lot and liked to give hugs. And that she grew flowers. He took me to your old house and showed me where she planted them. And he showed me the tree that he—”

“Fell out of and broke his arm. Twice.” Pearce shakes his head, smiling. “He was always climbing that damn tree. I should’ve built him a treehouse. He would’ve lived up there.” Pearce gazes down at the sand. “Seems like a whole different life back then.”

I feel like I should leave Pearce alone with his thoughts. I glance back at the dance floor. “I should probably get back there.”

His head jerks up. “Yes. Go ahead. I think I’ll stay out here a couple more minutes. When you see Lilly, tell her we need to leave soon.”

“Okay, I will.” I stand up.

“Oh, and Jade. Don’t ever feel like you can’t come visit us. I know how Katherine’s treated you in the past but I promise you, I’ll deal with her. If I have to, I’ll make sure she’s not there when you come over. You’re family and you’re always welcome at our home.”

“Thanks.” I start to walk away but his mention of family makes me think of something and I turn back around. “Pearce, can I ask you something?”

“You finally said my name.” He smiles. “Go ahead.”

“Do you think your parents will someday accept Garret again? I know they’re mad at him for marrying me, but I also know that Garret really wants his grandparents back in his life.”

“I know he does. And I’ve spoken to my parents about it. Unfortunately my father sees the world a certain way and if you don’t go along with his way of thinking, he shuts you out. It upsets my mother a great deal when he cuts his family off like this. He did the same thing when I married Garret’s mother. But my mother eventually got him to accept me again and I know she’ll do the same with Garret. Just give it time.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I walk away, feeling a little more hopeful about the grandparent situation. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything to Pearce about it. I probably shouldn’t get involved with family issues I really don’t know that much about. But I want Garret to be happy. And I know that a part of him is sad that his grandparents didn’t show up here today.

So actually, I’m glad I said that to Pearce. I want him to fix this, or make his mother fix this. Maybe it’s not my place to intervene, but when you love someone the way I love Garret, you’ll do everything you can to make them happy.