Page 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

When I get back to the reception, Garret is dancing with Lilly, twirling her around and making her giggle. I go up to them. “Are you having fun, Lilly?”

She doesn’t answer. She just twirls away and runs into Harper who picks her up and twirls her some more.

I replace Lilly as Garret’s dance partner. “Your dad’s leaving soon. He wants to get Lilly to bed.”

“What were you guys talking about out there?”

“Just stuff.”

“You’re not going to tell me, huh? You and my dad keeping secrets now?”

“Maybe a few.”

Harper’s parents wave at us as they leave. They said goodbye earlier.

“It looks like this party’s winding down,” Garret says. “Which means we’re free to go soon.”

“Are you anxious for this to be over?”

He leans down, putting his lips to my ear. “I’m anxious to have you all to myself.”

I’m just as anxious as he is. I loved the wedding and the reception and having everyone here, but now I just want to be alone with him.

A few minutes later, Pearce appears next to Garret. “We need to be going but we’ll stop by tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

Pearce picks Lilly up off the dance floor as Grace comes over to say goodbye. The three of them leave and the only remaining people are Sean, Harper, Garret, and me. We ask the DJ to play some fast music and we all dance for a few songs. Then Sean and Harper go out on the beach as a slow song starts to play.

I look around at the empty space. The sparkling white lights add a soft glow all around us.

“One last dance?” Garret asks, his arms closing in around my waist. “It’s just you and me.”

“Okay, but no fancy footwork this time. Just this.” I press my cheek to his chest and put my arms around him and we sway side to side.

“I love you,” I hear him say as he kisses the top of my head.

I look up at him. “I love you, too.”

We continue to dance and when the song ends, I look over at the DJ who smiles and nods, indicating he’s done for the night.

Harper returns and goes up to Garret. “Go change and head down there. It’s all ready. Sean and I will take care of this.”

“Thanks. We’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Harper gives me a sly grin. “Have fun, Jade.”

Garret and I walk back to our place.

“Okay, Garret, what is this all about?”

“Just wait and see.” He scoops me up in his arms. “It’s finally official. I can carry you over the threshold.” He steps through the door.

I laugh. “You and your traditions.”

He carries me all the way up the stairs to our room, then sets me down. I go to kiss him but he turns and walks away.

“Aren’t you going to kiss me? We’re finally alone.”

He comes back over, but only gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “If we start, we’ll never leave. We need to get going. We’ll do plenty of kissing once we get there.”

I don’t bother asking where ‘there’ is because I know he won’t tell me. He helps me out of my dress, then takes off his tux.

“What should I wear?” I ask him as I yank the pins from my hair and remove the clip. My hair falls down to my shoulders and I shake it out a little to loosen it up.

“Harper left you some stuff.” He points to the dresser. On top of it there’s a white tank top, white cotton skirt, and white flip flops with sparkly accents.

I put the clothes on while Garret puts on shorts and a white t-shirt.

“Aren’t we bringing anything?” I ask as I follow him down the stairs.

“Everything we need is already over there.”

We go back outside and start walking down the beach past the other houses. We keep walking for a good 10 minutes. We pass the last house and now we’re on the public beach and there’s nothing around.

“Garret, I’m starting to get worried. It’s really dark out here. It might be dangerous.”

“What are you worried about?” He puts his arm around me. “You’ve got me with you. You know I’ll beat the shit out of anyone who tries to hurt you. You’re completely safe. And we’re almost there.”

I look up ahead and see some flickers of light in a little alcove on the beach. As we get closer I see that the light is coming from a string of torch lights sticking out of the sand. And in the middle of them is a big blue tent.

“Garret, what is this?”

He leads me to the entrance of the tent and pulls the opening aside. “Welcome to the honeymoon suite.”

I step inside. The floor of the tent is covered in sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. Dozens of flameless candles provide light. There’s a small table topped with chocolates and chocolate-covered strawberries that look like the ones we had on Valentine’s Day. And next to those are two champagne glasses and a bucket of ice with champagne.

“What do you think?” Garret is standing behind me. He runs his hands down my arms and kisses the back of my neck, causing a shiver to run through me. I’ve been craving his touch all day so my skin is super sensitive.

I turn around and hug him. “I love it. It’s perfect. And not at all what I would’ve guessed when you said you had a surprise.”

“What did you think I had planned?”

“I had no idea. But not this.”

He moves around me and sits down, holding his hand out. “Come here.” I sit next to him and see him smiling. “Now we can start the kissing.”

He takes his shirt off and lays me down on my back. As soon as his lips touch mine, my insides get all fluttery like it’s our first kiss. Maybe because I’m so happy right now and the butterflies dancing around my stomach are, too.

I want to feel his skin against mine so I reach down and slip my skirt off, then break from the kiss to yank off my tank top. Garret quickly strips himself the rest of the way when he sees how anxious I am.

I’m left wearing just my white silk-and-lace bra and panties which I bought just for today.

Garret pauses to look at me. “You’re so damn beautiful.” His head dips down to my stomach and he leaves kisses along my hip and down my lower abs. His hand glides over my skin, hitting all my sensitive spots, stopping only to remove my special wedding lingerie.

The butterflies that were fluttering inside me have been replaced by an aching need to be with him, as my husband, for the very first time.

“Garret,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” he whispers back, his kisses trailing up my chest.

“I can’t wait any longer.”

“Good.” His lips meet up with mine. “Because I can’t either.”

His warm, strong body lays over me and I keep my eyes open as he brings us together. He gazes back at me. “I love you.”

As I say it back, his lips cover mine and our need for each other takes over, our kisses deeper, our bodies moving together.

I hear the ocean just outside the tent and realize that this is my fantasy. Having sex on the beach. That’s why Garret did this. He wanted me to have my fantasy. But this is so much better than that. My fantasy was just about sex. This is about love and sharing this moment with the man I’ll spend the rest of my life with. A man I trust more than anyone else and who I know I can always count on. I feel even closer and more connected to him now, being together like this as a married couple.

Afterward, he grabs a blanket and places it over us, then turns on his side to face me. “I love you, Jade Kensington.”

Hearing him say my new name makes me smile. “I love you, too.” I scoot up closer and kiss him. “Do you feel any different now that we’re married?”

“I think I love you even more. You just keep taking up more space in my heart. I’m gonna run out of room soon.”

“I don’t think so. You have a big heart.”

“Do you feel any different?”

I nod. “I feel like, um, like I finally have a home.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. It’s hard to explain.”

“Jade. Tell me.”

“It’s just that I never felt like I had anything permanent. A place that was mine that wouldn’t be taken away from me. A place where I belonged and wasn’t just a guest. But I have that now. It doesn’t matter where I am or where I go, I know you’ll always be there. And that I belong with you. So you’re my home, Garret.”

He smiles as he picks my hand up and kisses it. “I hope you like your home because you’re never moving.”

I smile back. “I love my home.”

I glance around at the tent, noticing the flameless candles flickering all around us, the little round table set up in the corner, and the colorful pillows and blankets scattered over the floor. “This is so incredible. Thank you for doing this.”

“I didn’t do all of it. Sean and Harper helped.”

“Is this all because I told you my fantasy?”

“I know it’s not on the actual beach, but you mentioned something about not wanting sand in your girl parts so this is what I came up with. But if you change your mind about the sand, the beach is right there.”

“I don’t want the sand. This is way better.”

“Did it live up to your fantasy?”

“Definitely. And the extremely hot guy I’m with put it over the top.” I walk my fingers down his chest. “Now I need to give you your fantasy. Tell me what you want.”

“I already did. That’s why I had Harper give you the skirt. You in a skirt? That’s my fantasy. Or a sundress. I like those, too.”

“You’re easy to please. So I guess I should’ve left the skirt on.”

“Save it for later.” He smiles. “We’ve got all night.”

“I smell chocolate,” I say, inhaling the scent of it.

“You want some? I got the Belgian chocolates you like. Or do you want something to drink? There’s a cooler over there with some soda.”

“It’s our wedding night. Let’s have the champagne.” I sit up, wrapping one of the blankets around me. “We’ll save the chocolate for later.”

Garret gets up and takes a white beach towel and wraps it around his waist. I notice it says ‘groom’ in gold swirling letters.

“Did you buy that?” I ask, laughing at the towel.

“It’s a gift from Harper. Yours is right behind you.”

I glance back and see it sitting there, folded so the gold ‘bride’ lettering shows.

Garret takes the champagne from the ice and pops the cork. He pours it in the glasses and hands me one, sitting across from me.

“To us.” He clinks my glass and we sip the champagne.

“Garret, do you think if I’d used better garbage bags we wouldn’t be here tonight?”

“What?” He laughs. “What are you talking about?”

“When we first met, you only stopped by Ryan’s car that night because my garbage bag broke and my clothes spilled all over the ground.”

“That’s not the only reason I stopped.” He sets his champagne down and runs his hand over my leg. “I saw your hot ass and these legs as you were reaching into the trunk. I had to stop and check out who they belonged to.”

“And here I thought you were just being nice.”

“I was being nice. But I was also checking you out. And once you finally let me take that bag from you and I got to see your beautiful face and those gorgeous green eyes, that was it. I couldn’t stay away from you.”

“But if you hadn’t been walking by at that very moment, we wouldn’t have met.”

“We would’ve met at my house. My dad always has the scholarship winner over for dinner. But I wouldn’t have waited that long. If I hadn’t met you at the car that night, I would’ve seen you around and once I did, I would’ve gone up and introduced myself.”

“And I would’ve insulted you and you would’ve walked off and never came back.”

“Obviously that’s not true because I put up with your insults for months.”

“Sorry about that. I hope you know that insulting you was actually my way of flirting with you.”

“Yeah, I know. The insults didn’t bother me. If anything they just made me try harder.”

I take another sip of champagne and notice Garret watching me.

“What are you thinking?”

He slips his hand around mine. “I’m thinking that I don’t know how I got so lucky. You’re everything I ever wanted and somehow I got you to marry me.”

“You were very persistent.”

He laughs. “I was, wasn’t I? I do have a tendency to go after what I want. And I usually don’t stop until I get it.”

“Thanks for doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Going after me. Not giving up on me. Sticking around after I pushed you away. And being there for me when I needed you even when I told you I didn’t.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I wasn’t going anywhere. You could’ve pushed me away for years, I still wouldn’t have gone anywhere. I’d still be at your side, annoying the hell out of you until you finally agreed to marry me.”

“I don’t believe you. I think you would’ve eventually given up and found someone who isn’t so difficult.”

“I like difficult. I like a challenge. And as soon as I realized you were the only person in the world for me, I had no choice but to keep chasing you until you agreed to be with me. Even if it took years. And given how stubborn you are, I’m surprised it didn’t take that long.”

“It didn’t take long because I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone but you.” I set my champagne down and glance around the tent. “Hey, did Harper pack anything for me?”

“Yeah. She packed you a bag with some other clothes in case you wanted to change. You want me to get it for you?”

“I’ll get it. Just wait here.” I spot the bag in the corner. I go over and open it. Inside are a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, a bikini, some lingerie, and the envelope I told Harper to bring to wherever it was Garret was taking me. I’m glad she remembered. I thought she might forget with so much going on today.

I take the envelope and go back over to Garret.

“Here.” I hand it to him.

“What’s this?”

“It’s my wedding gift.”

He jumps up. “I almost forgot about that. Hold on.” He goes over to his own bag, then comes back and sits beside me. “Open it.” He hands me a small white box.

The box holds a necklace with a silver chain and something circular hanging from it. It’s a piece of round glass with something inside it.

“It’s sand,” Garret says as I hold it up to the light. “It’s the sand from the beach at Cape Cod. The place we went on Valentine’s Day. I thought you might want to save it to remember your first trip to the ocean.” He smiles. “And the first time someone called you Mrs. Kensington. Do you like it?”

“I love it. That was a great idea. Can you put it on me?” I flip around, pulling my hair back. “I almost thought you were going to propose on that trip.”

“I thought about it.” He fastens the necklace and I turn back around to face him. “But I knew it was too soon, which was confirmed when I saw the look on your face when I gave you those earrings. I almost started laughing when I saw how panicked you were.”

“Well, it looked just like a ring box. And you’re right. It would’ve been too soon. I did want to marry you back then. I just wasn’t ready to commit to it that night.” I pick up the envelope and hand it to him. “Your turn.”

“What is it?”

“I always want to tell you stuff, but I can’t always find the words. I mean, I know what I want to say, but I have trouble actually saying it. So I wrote it down. I want to get better at telling you this stuff instead of writing it down, but I’m not there yet so just read it.”

He opens the envelope which contains a piece of paper from my notebook, the one he got me last year to write stuff down that I couldn’t say out loud. I wrote this for him without even thinking about it. I just let the words flow from my heart and this is what came out.

Garret,

I never used to believe in love. I thought it was just something in movies or books. I thought it was just a word. But you taught me that it’s so much more than that. It’s a feeling deep inside that is so overwhelming that at first I didn’t understand it. And you literally had to explain it to me. And after you did, I could finally make sense of the feelings I had for you. I realized that I loved you more than I ever thought I could love someone. That scared me. A lot. Because I was afraid of how much it would hurt if I ever lost you. So I tried to push you away. Many, many times. But you stuck by me. And I can’t thank you enough for that. You knew all along that we belonged together. You knew that I wanted this more than anything, but you also knew that I was too stubborn to admit it and too scared to go after it. If I were you, I would’ve given up on me a long time ago. But you never did. And I will always be grateful to you for that. I love you, Garret. I will love you forever.

—Jade

Garret sets the letter down and draws me into his arms. “Now the necklace looks pretty lame. I should’ve wrote you something, too.”

“You don’t need to. You already tell me all that stuff. And I’m going to do the same. I just need to practice doing it more.”

I feel his lips brush against my ear. “Speaking of doing it more, do you want to…”

“Put a skirt on?” I push him down on the sleeping bag. “Yeah, I could do that. Or I have some lingerie in that bag over there.”

“Let’s start with the skirt.”

As I climb over him to get it, my blanket falls down around me.

Garret grabs my hips and brings me back down to him. “Forget it. I changed my mind. I like you just like this.” He flips me over and rips the towel from his waist and lowers his body over mine. And we do it again. And then again an hour later.

I don’t want this night to ever end. I love it way too much. Our private tent in an alcove on the beach, the sound of the roaring waves in the background. And best of all, Garret. My husband.

It still sounds funny when I say that word in my head. And saying it out loud is even weirder. But I love it. I can’t wait to introduce him as my husband. I want to shout it to the world. Garret Kensington is my husband and I’m his wife!