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CHAPTER EIGHT

“Let’s go upstairs,” Garret says quietly.

“Let me tell Harper.” I walk over and tell her we’re going up to our room and will see her in the morning.

When we get upstairs, Garret closes the door and locks it.

“Are you worried about something?” I ask him.

“No,” he says, taking off his tie.

“Then why are you locking the door?” I take the clip out of my hair and set it on the dresser.

“I don’t want anyone to walk in on us.” He smiles. “Just in case we happen to do something we don’t want others to see.”

“Who were those men downstairs? Do you know them?”

He nods. “Yeah. But I can’t say who they are. It was part of the deal.”

“Should I be worried? Because I already am, Garret. I’m freaking out here. I didn’t like those guys, and the way they were acting it was almost like—”

“Jade.” He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Everything’s fine.”

His elusive answer just confirms that those guys were members of the organization. The secret society of powerful men that almost forced Garret into being president someday.

I didn’t want to think about them or their group or what they put us through ever again. And now they’re right downstairs. Why are they at this party? They obviously know Harper’s dad. He’s somehow connected to them, but how?

“I guess I never told you about the surfing,” Garret says, trying to get my mind off the men downstairs. “We didn’t surf the entire time. Kiefer gave Sean and me each a Jet Ski and we took those out, too.”

Garret takes off his tux jacket and goes in the walk-in closet. I follow him in there. “Did Kiefer and Sean seem to get along?”

“I guess. I didn’t really notice.”

Guys. They never notice anything unless you hold a giant neon sign in front of them.

“Can you help me?” I turn around and Garret unzips my dress. “Did Kiefer talk to Sean?”

“We were out on the water. There weren’t really many opportunities to talk.”

I hang up my dress, then put on my pajama shorts and a t-shirt. “Did it seem like they were avoiding each other? Or was Kiefer just avoiding Sean?”

Garret gives me a puzzled look as he unbuttons his shirt. “Jade, I don’t know what you’re asking me here. We just went surfing. Nobody was avoiding anyone. Is there something I’m missing here?”

“I just thought Kiefer was kind of mean to Sean when we got here. Didn’t you think he ignored him?”

Garret takes his tux pants off and lays them over the suitcase. “I wasn’t really paying attention, but Kiefer’s a nice guy. He gets along with everyone. I’m sure he wasn’t intentionally ignoring Sean.”

“Yeah, okay.” I leave the closet and get into bed.

Garret joins me, hugging me into his chest. “Don’t worry so much about Sean and Harper. You can’t do anything about whatever’s going on with them. They’ll work this out. And if they don’t, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

He’s right, but I wish I could do something. Now that I know Kiefer doesn’t like Sean, it makes me wonder if that’s why Harper is afraid to get too serious with him. She’s really close to her parents and she seems to always want their approval. She’d never admit that but just from things she’s said in the past, I know it’s true.

* * *

The next morning, we all meet downstairs for breakfast. The hired help is gone and Harper’s mom makes scrambled eggs and pancakes. Kylie and Caitlyn are there but they both drink black coffee and don’t eat. Sean and Garret pile their plates with food, like they always do, which makes Kelly laugh.

“I’m not used to feeding hungry young men,” she says as she makes another batch of scrambled eggs.

“My dad doesn’t eat much,” Harper explains.

I don’t think anyone in her family eats. They’re all so thin, except for Harper who has more of a muscular, athletic body.

“Morning everyone.” Kiefer walks in wearing workout shorts and a t-shirt. He gives Kelly a kiss, then grabs a bottle of water from the fridge.

“What time will you be back from your run?” she asks.

“Probably in an hour.”

“The kids will be gone by then, honey.”

“Oh. Well, then I guess I’ll say goodbye now.” He goes over to Harper who gets up and hugs him. “Bye, sweetheart. Call us later so we know you made it home safe.” He kisses her cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He comes over to me next. “Jade, it was a pleasure meeting you. You’re welcome to stay here anytime, even without Harper. Same goes for you, Garret. We have plenty of room.”

I glance over at Sean, who’s staring down at his plate.

“Thanks,” I say. “And thanks for inviting us to the party. It was fun to see so many celebrities.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He picks up his bottle of water. “I’ll see you two at the wedding.” He smiles at Garret and me, then walks right out the side door, not even acknowledging Sean.

Harper looks hurt but she forces out a smile. “I’m going upstairs to finish packing.”

She takes off and I follow her to her room. “Harper, are you okay?”

“Jade, what are you doing here?” She turns around and I see that her eyes are wet. “Go finish your breakfast. I’ll be right down.”

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

She drops down on the bed and starts crying.

I close the door and sit next to her. “What’s wrong? Is it your dad?”

She nods. “He hates him. He hates Sean. And I don’t know why. Sean’s polite. He always offers to help. He treats me well.”

“When did your dad start acting like this? I thought he liked Sean when you guys were here for spring break.”

“He did. But for the past month or so, whenever we talk on the phone, my dad says bad things about him, like he’s trying to get me to break up with him.”

“What was he saying?”

“I don’t remember. It doesn’t matter. The point is that he doesn’t like him and I don’t understand.”

“Maybe it’s hard for your dad to see you growing up. I mean, Sean is kind of taking his place as the man in your life and your dad’s probably not ready for that.” I have no idea if that’s true but it sounds good.

“My sisters have had boyfriends in the past and he wasn’t mean to them. And he wasn’t mean to any of my boyfriends in high school.”

“Yeah, but you’re more serious with Sean. Your dad might be thinking you’ll marry Sean someday. That’s a big deal. He didn’t have to worry about that with your other boyfriends.” I spot a box of tissues on her dresser and bring it to her.

“You think that’s it?” She takes a tissue and blots her face with it. “Because that kind of makes sense. My dad and I are super close and maybe he thinks he’s losing me.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it. He’s just not ready for his little girl to grow up and get married.” I know nothing about her dad or her relationship with him but my explanation seemed to help, so whatever works.

She hugs me. “Thanks, Jade. I needed to hear that. You’re really smart, you know that?”

“Come on. Let’s go back downstairs and get the guys before they clear out the refrigerator.”

She laughs. “Did you see my mom’s face when they filled their plates? I swear she’s never seen anyone eat that much.”

When we get to the kitchen, Sean is cleaning up the dishes and Harper’s mom is sitting at the table.

“Mom, why are you making Sean clean up?”

“He wouldn’t let me. I tried, I swear, but he insisted so I gave up. He said whoever cooks doesn’t have to clean.”

Harper goes over and kisses him. “Yeah, he does say that. He’s sweet, isn’t he?”

“He’s definitely better than the other boys you’ve brought home.” She says it quietly but we all hear.

“Mom!” Harper yells.

“It’s true.” Kylie laughs and goes over to give Harper a hug. “I need to get going. Call me later, okay?”

“I will. Have fun.”

Kylie looks at the rest of us. “I expect all of you to come back here for my movie premiere.” She’s in a vampire movie that comes out next winter. “Oh, and Jade, be sure to take some clothes back with you.”

“I will. Thanks, Kylie.”

Caitlyn also gets up to leave, saying goodbye before following her sister out to the driveway. They’re going shopping, which is crazy because the last thing they need is more clothes.

Garret and Sean go upstairs and get our bags, then we say goodbye to Kelly before heading out to Harper’s SUV.

Sean drives this time while Harper takes a nap in the front seat. Garret talks sports with Sean, and I rest my head on Garret’s shoulder, thinking about our weekend. It wasn’t what I thought it’d be. On the way there, I was really excited to go to the party and meet Harper’s parents. But then the party was ruined when those men approached Garret. And although Harper’s parents seemed nice, I didn’t like the way her dad treated Sean. And I really hated seeing Harper upset. So all in all, it wasn’t the greatest weekend.

* * *

The next week goes by and Garret and I get ready to go to Connecticut for the Fourth of July. I didn’t want to go, but Garret insists I celebrate all the holidays in a big way. This is the last major holiday we have yet to celebrate together and he wants to make sure it’s as great for me as all the other ones were.

Going to his dad’s house doesn’t sound like a great way to spend the holiday, but Garret assures me it’s worth going because his family makes a huge deal out of the Fourth of July. Usually they host an all-day party with their wealthy friends, but this year they’re not having it because Garret and I are coming. Pearce didn’t want his rich, nosy friends around us. They’d start asking questions about why Garret’s with me and why he’s no longer the bad boy he was last spring and why he’s not going to Moorhurst in the fall. The questions would never end and if we didn’t give them answers they’d make up their own.

Katherine is furious that she’s not allowed to host her usual huge social gathering for all her snobby friends. Since Garret and I are the reason for that, I’m sure she’ll be even meaner than normal but I don’t care. I’m not going to get all worked up about her.

We fly out Friday morning for the cross-country flight. With the layover it takes all day and we get into Connecticut at 6. Garret rented a car so his dad wouldn’t have to pick us up.

“I’m getting nervous,” I say as we’re driving to his house.

“What are you nervous about? Katherine?”

“Just everything. Being back here. Being close to Moorhurst. Going back to your house. So many bad things have happened here.”

He reaches over and takes my hand. “And lots of good things happened, too. Think of those things instead of the bad things.”

I nod in agreement, but I still feel nervous being back. My heart’s beating faster than normal, my stomach’s in knots, and I can’t stop tapping my foot on the floor of the car.

I did not at all expect to feel this way. Before I got here I was looking forward to seeing everything again. Maybe it is Katherine making me feel this way. Or it could be the fact that last time I was in this area I thought I’d lost Garret for good. I thought I’d never see him again. Yeah, that’s probably why I feel so sick right now.

“Hey.” Garret brings my hand up to his mouth and kisses it. “I’m right here.”

He keeps hold of my hand, rubbing the top of it with his thumb. He’s trying to calm my nerves because he knows what I’m thinking. We just passed Moorhurst and my mind is replaying the memory of saying goodbye to him the woods.

“We just passed campus,” I say, stating the obvious.

“I know.” He smiles. “I went to school there, remember?”

“Were you thinking what I was thinking?”

“About what a great time we had there? Yeah. That’s exactly what I was thinking. The movie nights. Chasing you around the track. Kissing you for the first time. Endless amounts of sex in my room. I can’t believe we used to have sex on a twin bed. I can’t imagine doing that now.”

He’s completely avoiding our goodbye in the woods, acting like it never happened. And maybe I should, too. It’s over and I don’t need to relive it. I need to forget it and focus on where we ended up. Together. Engaged. Soon to be married.

I feel my shoulders relax and my foot stops tapping. My heartbeat is slowly returning to normal. I’m always amazed at the way Garret can calm me down. He always seems to know what to do or say to make me feel better.

We drive into the small town that’s a few miles from campus and pass the coffee shop that Harper always went to. Next to it is the Thai place where Garret and I used to get takeout all the time. And across from that is the place where we used to go for pizza.

Garret points to the bright red train car sitting off to the right. “You want to go to the diner this weekend? Get a Boxcar Sundae?”

“Yeah, that would be fun. And maybe we could go to that Mexican place by your house. I want to see if that horrible mariachi singer is still there.”

“You still want him to sing at our wedding? We could fly him out there for it. We’ll fly out the whole band.”

I laugh just thinking about that guy singing. “No, that’s okay.”

“You sure? I still have the business card he gave me.”

“You do? Why did you keep it?”

“I thought you might want it someday. That was our first official date. I kept our bowling scoresheet, too, even though I’d rather not look at it again, given how bad you beat my ass.”

“I totally beat your ass.” I smile. “I can’t believe you kept that stuff. Did you keep other stuff from our dates?”

“Yeah, I got a whole box of stuff. Movie ticket stubs, pens from the hotels we stayed at, takeout menus from our favorite places. I can’t remember everything that’s in there.”

“Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“I was waiting until it would mean something to you. Last fall you would’ve said it was just junk, but I knew after I softened you up you’d want it.” His cocky grin appears.

“You didn’t soften me up.”

“Oh, really? Then I guess when we get home, I’ll just toss all that shit in the trash.”

“No!” I almost yell it, then feel my cheeks heat up. “I mean, you might as well keep it now that you went to all that work to save it.”

He shrugs. “It wasn’t work. I just tossed it in a box. But you’re right. We don’t need to keep it.”

“Okay, you’ve proved your point. You’ve softened me up. Are you happy now? I want everything in your stupid box.”

He laughs and so do I.

“Maybe I’ll make one of my famous scrapbooks. I’ll take a class this time so it doesn’t look like a five-year-old made it.”

“There’s the park where we ate lunch your first day here.” He motions to the sign. “You acted like I was some serial killer. I’d never had a girl be that scared to have lunch with me.”

“I wasn’t scared. I was being careful. A lot of people get killed at parks.”

“Did I ever give you any indication that I was dangerous?”

“No, but killers don’t come out and tell you that. Some look perfectly normal and then when you least expect it they kill you and leave your body in the woods.”

He glances over at me. “Well, I wasn’t trying to scare you. I just wanted to eat lunch outside.”

“It was a good idea. I liked the lunch. And the park. And you. I liked you most of all.”

He squeezes my hand. “See? We have all kinds of good memories here.”

“Yeah, we do.”