Page 6

CHAPTER SIX

I feel Garret’s hand on my lower back as he leads me through the hotel lobby.

“So what do you think?” he asks as we wait for the elevator.

“About what? The hotel? It’s nice.” I look up at the giant chandelier hanging above us.

“I wasn’t talking about the hotel. Did you hear anything I just said?”

“I think you said something about the restaurant.”

He rolls his eyes, smiling. “I was telling you how the restaurant rotates. But I guess you didn’t find it that interesting.”

We’re on the elevator now with people all around us, so I don’t want to ask about the rotating restaurant even though I’m dying to know more. How does a restaurant rotate?

My ears pop as the elevator takes us to the top floor. It opens to the restaurant which has windows on all sides showing off views of the city.

Garret leads me to the coat check room where a tall, dark-haired woman in a red dress is waiting. She’s very pretty and looks like she’s only a couple years older than me. We take off our coats and hand them to her. Her face puckers up as she holds mine between her thumb and index finger, like it’s dirty or something. There’s not a speck of dirt on it, but compared to the long expensive coats hanging behind her, mine looks pretty shabby.

Garret doesn’t even notice the rude but beautiful coat check girl. He slips his arm around my waist and goes up to the hostess. “Kensington for two.”

When he says it I feel like we’re a married couple and a stir of happiness goes through me. Damn Garret and those damn rings! What is he doing to me? I’m not even the marrying type. Or at least I didn’t think I was.

The hostess seats us at a small table next to the window.

“It’s great, right?” Garret says, checking out the view.

“Yeah. I love seeing the city up high like this.” I glance around. “So what did you mean when you said this place rotates?”

“It slowly rotates while you’re eating, so by the time our dinner arrives we’ll probably be over there.” He points to the other side of the room.”

“How do they do that?”

“Well, if you’d listened to me earlier you would know.” He pretends to act annoyed.

“I’m sorry. Now tell me.”

He smiles. “I was kidding. I have no idea how it works. I just wanted you to admit you weren’t listening.”

We open our menus. Everything is a la carte. The main dish is just a piece of meat and you order the sides separate. I notice the person next to me eating a pork chop topped with some type of sauce.

“What do you think you want to order?” Garret asks.

“Probably the pork.”

“And what else?”

“I’m not sure yet.” I glance at the menu again. “Why aren’t there any prices on here? How are you supposed to know what things cost?”

He leans in and lowers his voice. “Because if you have to ask you shouldn’t be here. A lot of fancy restaurants don’t list the prices.”

“Oh. Well, that’s just weird.”

Garret reaches across the table and pushes my menu down. “I don’t want you to talk about, or even think about, how much this costs, okay? I’ve been wanting to take you here for a really long time and I just want you to enjoy it. I don’t want a lecture about how I’m spending too much.”

“I’m not lecturing you. I just—”

“Jade. Please.”

“All right. I won’t say anything.”

“Hey, look.” He points out the window. “We’re at a different spot now. That building that was in front of us is behind me now.”

He’s right. The restaurant moved and I hadn’t even noticed. “Okay, whatever this costs, it’s worth it. This is really cool.”

The waiter comes by to take our order. Just as he’s leaving our table, we hear a girl squealing across the room. We look over and see a guy on his knee, putting a diamond ring on her finger.

“Looks like she said yes,” Garret says.

“Then why is she crying?” I glance over to see the girl wiping her tears with her napkin.

“Because she’s happy. They’re tears of joy.”

“I don’t get that. I’ve never understood the crying-because-you’re-happy thing.”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either but a lot of people seem to do it.”

The newly engaged couple is now eating dessert, holding hands across the table.

“Garret, did you really never want to get married?”

“What are you talking about? I tell you I want to get married all the time.”

“In that notebook you gave me at Christmas you said you never wanted to get married.”

“Yeah, that’s true. I told myself I never would.”

“Why? Because of your dad?”

“He’s not the best role model for marriage. My grandfather’s not either. They’ve both had affairs. Several. But I don’t think my dad ever cheated on my mom. At least that’s what he told me and I actually believe him. I think she was the only woman he ever really loved. Katherine’s just a trophy wife. She fit the mold. She’s the type of woman he’s supposed to marry, even if he doesn’t like her.”

“And you didn’t want to end up the same way. That’s why you never wanted to get married?”

“I used to think marriage was stupid. I decided I’d rather be a lifelong bachelor.”

“So what changed your mind?”

“You already know the answer to that.” He picks up his water glass and takes a drink.

“Are you saying I did?”

“I told you that in the notebook.”

“And it didn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense. When you meet the right person, you see things differently. You do stuff you didn’t think you’d do.” He glances over at the newly engaged couple. “A year ago, I would’ve made fun of that guy, saying what a huge mistake he was making. Guessing how long the marriage would last. But then I met you and now I understand why he just got down on one knee in front of a room full of people and asked a girl to marry him.”

“So what’s the reason? I mean, I get the whole thing about being in love, but why get married? Why not just live together or date forever?”

He considers it. “I don’t know. I guess I’m old fashioned. I like the idea of the woman I love being called my wife and me being her husband. When you’re married, it seems like you’re more of team and not just two people sharing a house. And I like that it’s not so easy to break apart. If you have a fight, the person can’t just leave and never come back.”

“That’s the reason I’m scared to death to get married. I like the idea of being able to walk away. If things aren’t going well, I just want out.”

“So you’ve got commitment issues.” He nudges my foot under the table. “I guess I’ve got some work to do on you then.”

“You’ve already got me changing my mind, which is really annoying by the way. I can’t figure out how you do it. I swear you have some kind of mind-control abilities.”

He leans back. “Damn, my secret’s out.”

“Even if I’m open to marriage, it’s not going to happen for a long time. I have stuff to get done before I even think about that.”

“Like what?”

“Finish school. Get a good job. Pay you back all the money I owe you.”

“Hey. No talking about money.”

“Yes, I know.”

The waiter brings our food. As a side dish to the pork, I ordered mashed potatoes. They aren’t served with gravy like I’m used to, but I’m guessing they’re so good you don’t need gravy. I take a small bite. Yep, you definitely don’t need gravy.

“Jade, look how much we’ve moved. That building that was next to us when we got here is way over there now.”

I look across the room and see the building on the other side. “I should’ve been watching this whole time. It goes so slow you don’t even feel it. We’ll have to get dessert so we can spend more time here. Maybe we’ll go around again.”

“We’re definitely getting dessert. They have this awesome chocolate cake. You have to try it.”

The great dinner. The rotating restaurant. The amazing views. It was all way more than I was expecting. As we’re waiting outside for the car, I get up on my tiptoes and give Garret a kiss. “Thank you. I loved the meal. And the restaurant.” I kiss him again. “And my dinner companion.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you liked it. We’ll have to go again sometime.” He takes my hand and starts walking down the sidewalk. “I see the car. Let’s just head down there so we don’t have to wait.”

Garret waves at the driver. He sees us but has to get over a few lanes. We wait for him in front of the jewelry store. I glance back at the ring I liked in the first window. I can’t imagine wearing a ring that sparkly and beautiful. And that expensive.

Garret sees me looking at it and squeezes my hand. “You really like it, don’t you?”

“I was just checking out how much it sparkles. That’s all.”

He leans down and kisses my cheek. “I won’t talk about the marriage stuff anymore. I know it bugs you and you’re probably sick of it. I’ll just have to find a new topic that drives you crazy.”

Where did that come from? I was just kidding when I told him not to talk about marriage. I actually like it when he teases me about it. It’s kind of become our thing. It doesn’t bug me. I just said it did because that’s what I do. I say the opposite of what I want. I’ve been doing it forever and although I’m trying not to anymore, I’m not doing a very good job.

I glance back at the ring one more time, then feel Garret tugging me forward to the car.

* * *

Crowds line the entrance to Rockefeller Center. We weave through the people until we’re right in front of the magnificent tree.

“Wow.” It’s the only word that comes out as I stare up at the sea of lights.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Garret stands behind me, his arms holding me close to him to shield me from the frigid wind.

Never in a million years did I ever think I would be standing in New York City in front of the Rockefeller Christmas tree wrapped in the arms of a super hot guy who I love more than anything. I swear I’m going to wake up from this one day and realize it’s all been a dream.

“Do you want to walk around?” Garret asks after a good 10 minutes of standing there.

“Yeah. Sorry. I guess I have a thing for Christmas lights. I didn’t know that until you put those blue lights in my room. So it’s all your fault that we’ve been standing here so long.”

“I don’t mind. We can stay as long as you want.”

“No, I’m ready to go. We’ve been out a long time and your chest is probably hurting.”

He doesn’t deny it.

I turn to face him. “Garret! You have to tell me if you’re in pain. We could have skipped this tonight and gone tomorrow.”

“I wanted you to see the tree. And I wanted you to be next to it when I do this.” He leans down and holds my face in his hands and kisses me. A gentle, sweet kiss. The kind that makes me feel calm and safe and warm inside. It’s just what I need right now in the chaos of the crowds with the cold wind blowing by.

He keeps me close as people swarm past us. “This has been a perfect night, Garret. I’m pretty sure you can’t top this one.”

“I’m up for the challenge. We still have New Year’s Eve.”

“Why don’t you call the driver? I need to get you back to the apartment now that I know you’re in all this pain.”

“I’m fine, but we can go.” He gets his phone out. “I can’t hear with all the noise. I’m gonna go over to the side where it’s not as loud. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Garret disappears into the crowd while I get another look at the tree.

As I’m gazing up at it, someone bumps into me so hard it moves me forward and I almost trip.

“Excuse me, miss.” I hear a voice next to me and glance over to see an older man, nicely dressed in a dark wool coat, wearing one of those stiff hats you always see men wearing in black and white movies. “I’m terribly sorry. Some kids were running up behind me and they pushed me into you.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” I focus back on the tree.

I feel his hand grip my arm. “Are you sure you’re okay? I feel terrible for bumping into you like that.”

“I’m fine.” I pull my arm away, keeping my eyes on the tree.

“Do you happen to have the time?” He moves right in front of me, blocking my view.

As I see his face, he seems very familiar. I check my watch. “It’s 9:50.”

“Thank you.” He smiles and then stands there for a moment, staring at me, almost like he wants me to get a good look at him. Like I should recognize him.

When he finally turns and walks away, it hits me. I do recognize him. I’m almost sure I saw him at the fundraiser for Royce Sinclair last November. And I saw him somewhere else. But where? I try to remember his face. I think I saw him on TV. Yes, I know I did. When Garret and I were in Des Moines watching the news about the caucus, that guy was standing behind Sinclair as he talked to reporters. The old man is somehow connected to Sinclair!

My pulses races as I search for the old man. But he’s gone. I don’t see him anywhere.

What is he doing here? Does he know I’m Sinclair’s daughter? The only evidence of Sinclair’s crime years ago? He had to know! He had to have purposely bumped into me. He wanted me to see him.

I scan the crowd trying to find Garret. He was just over to my right, but now he’s not there. Where the hell did he go?

People are streaming past me. Laughing. Talking. Coughing. Clearing their throats. Kids are screaming. Babies are crying. It’s too much noise. Where did all this noise come from? I didn’t hear it before.

I make my way through the crowd to the place I saw Garret last. But he’s not there. He’s not anywhere. What if someone took him? That old man, or people connected to him, could’ve taken Garret to get revenge for his dad shooting Sinclair.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I say it repeatedly to myself as the noise around me gets even louder.

“Garret!” I scream it into the crowd. The people next to me give me an annoyed look and quickly walk ahead. “Garret!” I scream it again, but there’s no way he’d ever hear me in these crowds.

I don’t know what to do. I’m too panicked to think straight. I start walking around, searching for him, but I just keep bumping into strangers. Maybe Garret had to use the restroom. But he’d tell me if he was doing that. He wouldn’t just leave.