Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

The next day Harper and I go shopping again, this time for her bridesmaid dress and to find a dress for Lilly. We go back to some of the same bridal shops we went to yesterday.

I let Harper pick out her dress because I always hear that bridesmaids never like the dress the bride picks out so I decided to let Harper get whatever she wants. Besides, I have no idea what she should wear. I was lucky I found a dress for myself that I liked.

After we find a dress for Harper, we search for one for Lilly. It’s more fun looking for dresses for her. They all look cute so it’s hard to decide, but we finally just pick one. I’m sure Katherine will hate it but she’d hate anything I pick so it’s no use trying to find something she’d like.

On Friday, the weather is cloudy for a change and a light drizzle is falling. Harper says she has errands to run, so she goes into town and I stay home and try to write my vows. Garret and Sean don’t want to surf in the bad weather, so Garret stays home with me and Sean takes an extra shift at the restaurant since he can’t work this weekend.

Tomorrow the four of us are going to LA for a party that Harper’s parents are hosting. At first I was worried about having Garret in a town full of paparazzi, but we’re going directly to Harper’s house in Malibu so we shouldn’t encounter any photographers.

Harper really wants me to meet her family. She talks about them all the time, especially her sisters. Even though I’ve never met her parents, I invited them to the wedding because her dad helped Garret and me get into that college on short notice. I didn’t think her parents would accept the invitation since they don’t know me, but they did, so they’re coming.

Sean already met Harper’s family when he came home with her for spring break. And Garret knows her parents because he’s seen them at charity events.

The party is on Saturday night so we’re staying overnight at Harper’s house and coming back on Sunday.

“What are you working on?” I hear Garret behind me and slam my notebook shut.

“It’s private. And don’t sneak up on me like that.”

He sits beside me on the couch. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you. I was just seeing what you’re doing.”

“I’m trying to write these stupid vows.”

“They’re not stupid. Don’t say that.” He tucks my hair behind my ear and kisses my cheek.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just frustrated because I’ve been doing this for hours and everything I write sounds stupid.”

“I’m sure that’s not true. Let me see what you have so far.” He tries to take the notebook but I keep hold of it.

“I don’t want you to see it. In fact, I don’t want you to read it even when I’m done.”

“Don’t you think we should go over the vows before the wedding?”

“Nope. I’d rather have you hear them that day for the first time.”

He puts his arm on the couch behind my head. “Hmm. Okay. So you don’t want to read mine?”

“Are you saying you’re already done?”

“I wrote them a couple days ago.”

“And that’s it? You don’t have to go back and rework them or anything?”

“No. I’m done.”

I toss my notebook aside. “Damn, that’s annoying. How did you write them so fast? Can you write mine?” He doesn’t answer, but he looks disappointed and a little sad. “I’m sorry, Garret. It’s not like I don’t want to write them. I just want them to be really good and I’m afraid I’ll screw it up.”

“I told you. Just write from the heart. Pretend it’s just you and me up there and that nobody else is listening. The vows don’t have to be very long. A few sentences. That’s it.”

I sigh. “I know. But they need to be really good sentences.”

He gets up from the couch. “I’m going to run to the store. You want anything?”

“Maybe some candy bars for our road trip tomorrow? And a bag of potato chips.”

He leans down and kisses me. “How about some fruit instead?”

Garret’s been trying to get me to eat better since we moved in together. And with his help, I’ve actually improved my diet a lot.

“Fine. I’ll take a banana. But I still want a candy bar.”

“Deal. See you soon.” We kiss goodbye before he leaves.

When he returns we have lunch and then I spend the rest of the afternoon working on my vows, but I still don’t finish them. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me. Maybe I’m overthinking it.

That night, Harper stops over and helps me pick out something to wear to her parents’ party while Garret and Sean watch a baseball game downstairs.

“So how are things with Sean?” I ask Harper as she takes some dresses out of my closet.

She pretends not to hear me. “You could probably wear this.” She holds up the light green dress she gave me last spring. It actually came from her sister. One of Harper’s sisters is an actress and because of that, designers send her tons of clothes for free. Most of my wardrobe is now full of the stuff she couldn’t wear.

“Harper, what’s the deal with you and Sean? I know you’re not telling me something.”

She collapses on the bed next to the stack of dresses she took from my closet. “I don’t know. I’m so confused. Part of me feels like I’m stringing him along, knowing this won’t last. And I know that’s wrong, so then I think I should break up with him. But the other part of me wants to be with him more than anything. I know I’ll never find anyone who treats me as well as he does.”

“Can’t you just keep dating? I mean, it’s not like you have to decide right now if you want to marry him.”

“Yeah, I know. But he wants me to move in with him in the fall and I don’t think I’m ready for that. I mean, obviously I live with him now, but moving into his apartment seems more permanent.”

“I’m sure he’d understand if you want to stay in the dorm. Just tell him that’s what you want to do. You can still go to his apartment and stay there on the weekends. You did that all last semester and it worked.”

She sits up and adjusts her headband. “You’re right. I’m making too big a deal out of this. I guess planning your wedding has me thinking about marriage, but Sean and I aren’t even close to that stage.” She gets off the bed, taking the dresses with her. “None of these will work. We’ll just find you something to wear when we get to my house.”

“But what if we can’t find anything? I need to bring a backup.”

“My sisters have plenty of stuff. But if you’re worried about it, bring this one.” She holds out a red dress with short sleeves and red beading along the neckline. Harper gave it to me last April and I haven’t worn it yet. I take it from her and put it in the suitcase.

She hangs the other dresses back in the closet. “Let’s go downstairs and see what the guys are up to.”

We watch the rest of the baseball game with them and then Sean and Harper go back to their place.

Garret and I go upstairs and get ready for bed. It’s only 10:30, but we’re leaving at 8 in the morning, which is early for us since we’re used to sleeping in every day.

“Does Sean ever say anything to you about Harper?” I ask Garret as I change into one of his comfy t-shirts to sleep in.

“Sometimes. Why?” He yanks his shirt off and drops it in the laundry basket.

“I was just wondering what he tells you about her. Do you think he loves her?”

“I know he does. And so do you, so why are you asking me that?” He kicks his shorts off and tosses them in the closet.

“Do you think he loves her enough to propose?”

“Is she expecting a proposal? Did she say that?”

I get into bed. “No. I was just trying to figure out if Sean is really serious about her or not.”

Garret lies on top of me wearing just his black boxer briefs. “You don’t need to worry about those two. Everything’s good. Now can I get a kiss goodnight?” He starts to kiss me, but I hold him back.

“When you say everything’s good, do you mean that he’s serious about her? Like he might consider marrying her?”

“Where is this coming from? Why are you so concerned about them?”

“I need to know what Sean’s thinking. Did he say anything to you that you’re not telling me?”

Garret sighs and shifts onto his side, propping himself up on his arm. “He asked me not to tell you this, but I told him I wouldn’t keep secrets from you. But if I tell you, you can’t say anything to Harper.”

I sit up. “I won’t. So what did he say?”

“He said he’s thinking of proposing to her.”

“Garret!” I push on his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“He just told me yesterday. Honestly I hadn’t even thought about it until you brought it up.”

“How could you forget to tell me something like that? That’s huge news!”

“I just didn’t think about it. Marriage proposals aren’t something guys think about unless it directly involves them.”

“So when is he doing this?”

“Not for a while. Maybe next Christmas or Valentine’s Day.”

“Oh. Good.” I lie back on the bed, relieved.

“What does that mean? Are you saying Harper doesn’t want a proposal?”

I don’t answer.

“Jade, what do you know? Is she breaking up with him?”

“Maybe,” I say quietly.

“Shit, really? Damn, Sean is like totally in love with her. When is this happening?”

“She might not break up with him. She’s not sure. She’s confused.”

“Confused about what? She either loves him or she doesn’t.”

I laugh. “I said the same thing, but then she explained that there are different types of love.”

“What do you mean?”

“She loves Sean, but she doesn’t love him the way I Iove you . And she wants that. She wants the type of love we have.”

Garret smiles, gazing down at me with those beautiful blue eyes I find so irresistible. “And what kind of love is that?”

“Passionate, all-consuming, can’t-think-straight kind of love. The kind of love that makes you excited to wake up every day because you get to see the person again. The kind that makes your heart hurt when you’re apart for too long. The kind that makes your body all tingly inside whenever the person touches you.” I pull him closer and kiss him. “You know what I mean?”

“I know exactly what you mean.” He tugs my shirt up and I sit up a little, raising my arms so he can slip it off.

“Garret, we’re not done talking about Sean and Harper.”

“We’ll talk about them later.” His hand moves over my breast, causing the tingly feeling I just mentioned. “Right now I want to do something else.”

“But we need to sleep. We have to get up early.”

He kisses my stomach as he inches my panties off, sending a rush of heat through my core. “You turning me down?”

“I can sleep in the car.”

I hear him laugh a little. He knows I won’t turn him down. Well, maybe someday I will, but it hasn’t happened yet.