Page 6

CHAPTER SIX

In the morning we leave promptly at 8. Harper’s driving us in her SUV. The drive ends up taking forever because as we get closer to LA, traffic comes to a crawl. We arrive at Harper’s house in Malibu around noon, much later than expected.

Her house is a mansion, almost as big as Garret’s house in Connecticut. It’s surrounded by a really tall privacy wall made of concrete with security cameras placed all around the top of it. It feels even more secure than Garret’s house and I’m wondering why they need such a fortress. Harper never acts like her family has psycho stalkers after them. Maybe her parents are just extra cautious.

“Can you guys get the bags?” Harper asks Sean and Garret as we get out of the car.

“Yeah, we got ’em,” Sean says.

“Come on, Jade.” She takes my arm and leads me down the long hedge-lined entrance to her house.

The front door opens and a tall, thin woman who looks just like Harper appears. She has straight blond hair that hangs a few inches past her shoulders and a tan that’s so even in color that it looks like it might be a spray tan. She’s wearing a fitted black t-shirt and white shorts, and sandals that show off her manicured toes which are painted in a bright pink shade.

She gives Harper a hug. “Honey, what took you so long?”

“We hit traffic. Sorry, I should’ve called.”

Harper’s mom smiles at me. “And you must be Jade.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

I reach out to shake her hand but she gives me a hug instead.

My face must show my surprise because Harper laughs. “We’re huggers, Jade. The whole family, so get prepared for more.”

“Come inside.” Her mom leads us into the foyer. “Where are the guys?”

“They’re getting the luggage,” Harper says.

“Hi, Mrs. Douglas.” Sean walks in with two suitcases. Harper packs way too much for an overnight stay.

Harper’s mom gives him a hug. “Sean, I told you to call me Kelly. Mrs. Douglas makes me sound way too old.”

It does make her sound old and she definitely doesn’t look old. She’s in her mid-forties but she looks more like she’s in her late twenties or early thirties. She doesn’t even have any wrinkles. I wonder if she gets those injections in her face that are supposed to get rid of wrinkles. Harper said people in LA are obsessed with looking younger.

Garret walks in with our one small suitcase. “Hi, Mrs. Doug—I mean, Kelly.”

“Much better,” she says, giving him a hug. “So, Garret, when’s the last time I saw you? Two years ago? In New York?”

“That sounds right. I think it was the fundraiser for the children’s hospital.”

“Yes, that’s right, it was. How’s your family doing?”

“Good. Jade and I are going back to visit them next weekend.”

She smiles. “For the Kensington Fourth of July celebration?”

He smiles back. “Yes, but it’s just the family this year. We’re not doing the big party.”

“Well, tell your parents I said hello. Oh, and I have some things for Lilly. I was cleaning out our storage room last week and found some princess costumes the girls used to play with and I thought Lilly might like them. Unless you think Katherine wouldn’t want her having them.”

“I’m sure she’d be happy to get them.”

Garret’s just being polite. Katherine would never allow Lilly to wear used clothes, even used play clothes.

Kelly continues to talk to Garret. As I stand there watching their exchange, I find it odd that Garret’s family knows Harper’s family. It makes sense that they see each other at charity events, but sometimes I think they’re more than just casual acquaintances.

Last spring, when Pearce was trying to make Garret look bad in the media, he said he’d have Harper’s dad make some fake videos. Pearce acted like he’d worked with her dad before and said that Harper’s dad owed him a favor.

It makes me wonder if maybe Harper’s dad is somehow involved in the secret organization Garret’s dad belongs to. I try not to think about it because Garret’s no longer involved in any of that and thinking about it just stresses me out.

“I need to say congratulations to you two,” Kelly says, smiling at Garret and me.

“Thanks.” I take Garret’s hand. “It’s only a few weeks away.”

“I’m sure you have people telling you you’re too young to get married, but just ignore them. Everyone’s different. Harper’s dad and I got married young and we’ve been happily married ever since.”

“Are you talking about me?” A man with blond hair, tan skin, and artsy, black-rimmed glasses walks up behind Kelly. He puts his arm around her and kisses her.

“I warned you guys about the two of them,” Harper says, referring to their public display of affection. She always tells me how her parents can’t take their hands off each other. “Jade, this is my dad. Dad, this is Jade.”

“Hi, Jade. Welcome to our home.” He smiles and extends his hand.

“Hi.” I shake his hand. “I like your movies.” It’s a dumb thing to say, but I’m kind of nervous being around him knowing he’s one of Hollywood’s biggest movie producers.

“Thank you.” He laughs a little. “But honestly, some of my movies aren’t that great. I’m the first to admit that, so it’s okay if you don’t like them. I won’t be offended.” He turns to Garret and shakes his hand. “Garret, I was just talking to your father last week. He invited us out to Connecticut in December for a holiday party and fundraiser. Will you be there?”

“Probably not. I think it’s the same week as finals.”

He nods. “Yes, I suppose it is, although it’s the week before Christmas so maybe your finals will wrap up early and you’ll be home by then.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Garret glances at me. He knows I don’t want to go back to his family’s house for winter break. Maybe we’ll go back for a few days around Christmas or New Year’s but I can’t spend a month at his house with Katherine.

“So how did you like the campus?” Kiefer asks us.

Garret answers. “It was great. I think it’ll be a good school for us. Thanks again for the recommendation. And for helping us get accepted so quickly.”

“Certainly. I was happy to help.”

I just realized that Harper’s dad hasn’t even said hello to Sean. He just keeps talking to Garret, like Sean’s not even there even though Sean’s standing right next to Garret.

Harper must notice this as well because she says, “Dad, you should see how good Sean’s gotten at surfing. Maybe you guys could surf together later.”

Kiefer finally turns to Sean. “Sure we could do that.” He looks at Garret again. “You surf, Garret?”

“Yeah. Sean and I go out almost every day.”

“Then the three of us should get out there this afternoon.”

Kelly puts her arm around him. “Honey, you don’t want to do that. You need to get ready for the party.”

He leans down and kisses her cheek. “We’ll just go for a couple hours. Us men don’t need much time to get ready. And this way we’ll be out of the way so you girls can do whatever you need to do.”

“Let’s at least show them to their rooms and feed everyone before you head out.”

Kelly gives us a tour of the house. It’s painted white, like Garret’s house, but the red Spanish tiles on the floor and the wood beams along the ceiling warm up the cold white walls. The furniture is very casual; warm wood tables and big, comfy couches and chairs. It’s not like the stiff, uncomfortable furniture at Garret’s house.

Kelly takes us upstairs to the rooms we’ll be staying in. I figured she’d put us all in separate rooms but she doesn’t. Sean is staying with Harper in her room and Garret and I are staying in a room just down the hall.

We drop our stuff off, then everyone meets up for lunch on the back patio, which overlooks the ocean and their private beach. Attached to the patio is a large oval-shaped pool with a waterfall.

Lunch consists of a bunch of salads and a bowl of chopped fruit. Now I get why Harper eats that way. But I hope they have more than salad at the party tonight or I’ll be starving until we get home.

After lunch the guys go surfing and Harper takes me to one of the upstairs bedrooms to shop for something to wear tonight. And when I say shop, I mean it. The entire bedroom is set up like a store. In the middle of the room there are eight racks of clothes with the tags still on. I walk past the racks and see shelves along the wall that hold folded jeans and t-shirts. Then I peek in the walk-in closet and see boxes of shoes neatly arranged in tall stacks.

“It’s just like being at the mall,” I say to Harper.

“I know, right? Every time I come home she’s got new stuff in here.”

“So this is all freebie stuff designers sent your sister?”

“Yeah, and this is nothing. Just wait until her movie comes out. She’ll get so much stuff it won’t even fit in here.” Harper holds up a bright pink dress. “What do you think of this one?”

“Too pink.” I sort through the rack next to her but all the dresses are long, like evening gowns, and too formal for the party.

“This one’s cute.” She takes out another bright pink dress. “Too bad it’s not my size.”

“You should go into a fashion career. How did you end up liking sports anyway?”

“My dad took me to games when I was little. My mom and sisters hate sports so they refused to go, but I loved going with him. I got my own father-daughter time.”

I hold up a turquoise blue dress. It’s way too short so I put it back. “So you and your dad bonded over sports?”

“Football, baseball, and basketball. And tennis, of course. My dad won’t admit it but I know he was hoping for a boy when my mom was pregnant with me.” She laughs. “I was his last chance because my mom told him they were only having three kids. Luckily for him I ended up liking sports.”

“So he must be excited about you going into sports broadcasting.”

“He doesn’t say much about it. I think he’s holding back his excitement until I actually get a job. It’s a tough field. I may not make it.”

“You’ll make it.” I pull out a yellow dress. “You like this one?”

She scrunches up her face. “Yellow’s not your color. I don’t look good in yellow either. Not many people do.”

I put it back on the rack. “Harper, does your dad get along with Sean?”

She stops shuffling through the dresses. “Um, yeah, I think so. Why?”

“He just didn’t seem that friendly to him. That’s all.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t really care if my dad likes him.” She sorts through the dresses again, not really looking at them but just shoving the hangers side to side like she’s angry.

I decide not to push the topic. It’s definitely bothering her, but she’s not ready to talk about it. Either that or she’s in denial, because after seeing that earlier encounter it’s clear that her dad doesn’t like Sean.