“What do you think, Jade?” Garret’s been talking this whole time but I have no idea what he said.
“About what?”
“About these guys flying out to see us in October for your birthday.”
“Um, yeah. Sure. That’d be great.”
“Good, then we’ll plan on it,” Frank says.
The bill arrives and Frank gets his wallet out and pays. I almost stop him but then remember that he has money now.
In the afternoon, we hang out on the deck and play cards. We’re having such a good time I don’t want them to leave. But October isn’t that far away, so I’ll see them again soon.
After we take them to the airport, Garret and I go home and I collapse on the couch.
“That’s it. The wedding’s officially over. Everyone went home.”
“Are you sad?” Garret lies over me, supporting himself on his arms.
“No. We got to spend a few days with everyone, which was plenty. And now that they’re gone, we’re finally alone.”
“So the extended honeymoon has begun?”
“It has.” I pull his face down for a kiss. “And you know what people do on their honeymoon?”
“Go surfing?”
“Garret!” I push on him but he doesn’t move.
“I’m kidding.” He kisses the side of my neck. “Where do you want to do it? Right here?”
“Here’s good. We can go upstairs later. Maybe the shower next, and then the bed.”
He lifts his head. “How many times we gonna do this today?”
“It’s already after 6 so I don’t know. We’ll see how things go.”
He smiles. “I already like this honeymoon thing. Maybe we should make it two weeks instead of one.”
“Just kiss me, okay? I’ve been dying to be with you ever since you put your hand on my leg at the restaurant.”
“Really? That wasn’t meant to be sexual, but if that got you going, then what happens if I put my hand here?” He shifts onto his side and slips his hand down my shorts.
I don’t answer. He knows what that does to me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
29
The honeymoon doesn’t go exactly as planned because the next day Harper comes over to talk about Lilly’s party. She stops by after breakfast while Garret’s upstairs in the shower.
“Harper, I told you this was honeymoon week, meaning no visitors.”
She sits cross-legged on the chair and messes with her ponytail. “How much time do you need to have sex? It doesn’t take all day, even if you do it a bunch of times.”
I sit across from her on the couch. “We’re not just having sex. We were going to do other stuff, too.”
“Like what?”
“We’re going to try bodyboarding, but we have to go buy a couple of those bodyboard things.”
“You really want to go in the ocean? It’s full of trash and chemicals and urine and remnants of dead sea creatures.”
“Thanks a lot, Harper. You just ruined the ocean for me.”
“It’s true.” She unties her legs and sets her feet on the coffee table. “So what should we do for the party?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never been to a birthday party.”
“You’ve at least been to your own, so what did you do?”
I haven’t told Harper much about my childhood. She knows about my mom, but I didn’t go into details. She doesn’t know that I never celebrated my birthday.
“I didn’t have parties. My mom was a drunk, remember? There was no way she could plan a party.”
“Oh.” She gazes at her pink toes propped up on the table. “Well, what do you think of a princess theme?”
“I don’t know. That seems so overdone. How about a fairy theme? The party’s going to be around Grace’s flower garden. Don’t fairies hang around flowers?”
Harper sets her feet on the floor and sits up. “Yes! That’s perfect!”
“So are we done now or what else do I need to do? Should I buy her a fairy costume or a wand or something?”
“Let me do it! I’ll get some of that glitter lotion and glitter nail polish.”
“Harper, don’t go overboard. It’s just a small party.”
“What are you guys doing?” Garret walks downstairs, fresh from his shower, his hair still wet. He’s shirtless because he didn’t expect Harper to be here. He looks so freaking hot I can’t take my eyes off him. And I’m married to this guy! I have the hottest husband on the planet. Harper needs to leave so I can do what I’m supposed to be doing on my honeymoon.
“We’re planning Lilly’s party,” Harper says. “Jade came up with a fairy theme.”
Garret comes behind the couch and leans down to kiss me. “A fairy theme, huh?”
I shrug. “They hang out in gardens around flowers so it made sense.”
“And when did you become an expert on fairies?”
“I’m not really an expert. I’ve just seen them in cartoons.”
“Garret, do you have any suggestions?” Harper asks. “What does Lilly like?”
“Let me grab a shirt quick. I’ll be right back.”
“You don’t have to—” Harper and I say it at the same time. I look over and see her blushing.
Garret’s staring at both of us, confused. “Um, yeah, I’ll be right back.”
I wait for him to go upstairs, then say, “Were you just checking out my husband?”
She smiles. “He’s hot. Can’t I look? I don’t care if you check Sean out.”
“Sean’s hot, but I don’t check him out.”
“Well, you can if you want to. I don’t mind. It’s not like you can’t ever look at a hot guy again now that you’re married.” She checks behind her to make sure Garret’s not there. “And come on, Jade. Your husband’s abs are freaking amazing. A girl’s gonna look at that. Any girl. Not just me.” She twirls a strand of her hair around her finger. “Sean has good abs, too, but not that good.”
Garret walks back down wearing a fitted gray t-shirt. Harper sees his abs are now covered with fabric and she looks disappointed. I try not to laugh.
“Why is it so quiet down here?” he asks, going to the fridge. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Just some girl talk,” I say, looking at Harper. “But we’re done now.”
Garret comes over with a bottle of water and sits next to me on the couch. “Harper, don’t worry about Lilly’s party. A cake and some balloons are all she needs. And I’ll take care of that stuff.”
“Sean really wants to make her a cake. He’s never made a kid’s cake, other than in his pastry classes.”
“Then I guess I’ll just get some balloons.”
“I really want to get her a fairy costume and some sparkly stuff. Is that okay?”
He laughs. “If you really want to, then yeah. I’m sure she’d love that. You really like kids, huh?”
Before she can answer I say, “On Sunday, when we were all out on the beach, Harper told Sean she wanted one and I thought he was going to have a stroke.”
“Is that why he looked that way during the volleyball game? He came back with the ball and I thought he was gonna pass out.”
Harper rolls her eyes. “He wasn’t that freaked out. He loves kids. He just doesn’t want them right now.” She gets up. “I’ll get out of here so you two can get back to your honeymoon. I’ll call you later, Jade.”
When she’s gone, Garret asks, “What were you guys talking about when I came down here?”
“She was checking out your abs.” I can’t even say it without laughing. “And don’t tell her I told you that or she’ll kill me.”
“Checking them out as in checking them out?”
“Yeah, she thinks you’re hot. I yelled at her for looking at you that way, but she gave me permission to check out Sean whenever I want.”
“You better not be checking him out.” Garret wrestles me down on the couch and kisses me, his lips tickling my neck.
“Okay, I’ll
try not to,” I say, laughing.
“What does that mean? You think he’s hot?”
“He has a good body but he’s not my type. I’m not into blonds. And he’s too short.”
Garret stops his kisses and looks at me. “He’s 5’11. That’s not short.”
“Anything under 6 feet is too short for me. I like tall men.”
“So I guess that means you won’t be checking Sean out.”
“I don’t need to. You’re way hotter.” I lean up and kiss him. “Could you take your shirt off?”
“I thought we were leaving to get the boards.”
“We were, but then you had to flaunt your abs for the world to see and now I have to have you.”
“I wasn’t flaunting anything. I didn’t know she was here.”
“I know. I’m kidding. But I still need you to take your shirt off.”
“We’re never leaving here today, are we?” he asks as he kisses me.
“Probably not.”
And we don’t. I blame Harper. She started the whole thing by saying Garret was hot, which I already know, but whenever someone else says it, I think he’s even hotter.
The next day, we actually do make it to the store to buy the bodyboards and we try them out in the afternoon. The water is cold and it’s not very sunny so we don’t stay out there long. We try it again the next day and are able to stay out there longer because the sun is really hot. Turns out I really like bodyboarding. It’s easy and fun and something Garret and I can do together. I’m glad he suggested it.
Friday morning, we pack up and head to Grace’s house. Sean and Harper are following us there in her SUV. They’re going home after the party but Garret and I are staying and spending the weekend with Grace.
When we get to her house, she’s out front, trimming her rose bushes. I race up and give her a hug.
“Hi, I hope we’re not too early.”
“Not at all.” Grace locks her garden clippers and sets them in a bucket that has roses sticking out of it. “I was just cutting some roses for the party.”
“Go ahead. We’ll just take our stuff in and start setting up.”
“Jade, I can’t treat guests that way,” she says quietly. She goes over to Sean and Harper. “Welcome. Let me give you the tour and then we can all have some iced tea on the patio.”
Grace is so old-fashioned. She’s really into manners and etiquette and being a good host, things that nobody seems to care about anymore.
We have our tea on the patio and then start setting up for the party. Garret and I tie pink and white balloons around the gazebo and cover the long foldout table that Grace had with a fairy-themed tablecloth that Harper found. Sean goes in the kitchen and puts the finishing touches on the cake. He decorated it with butterflies and flowers and put little plastic fairies on top.
Harper takes a small round table from the patio and uses it to set out all her glittery lotion, nail polish, and hair accessories. She calls it her “fairy transformation station.” She makes me try it out, painting my nails in a light green glittery color, coating my eyelids in sparkly green eyeshadow, spreading glitter lotion on my face and arms, and putting pastel-colored ribbons in my hair. I look ridiculous but I’m hoping it will cheer up Lilly.
Garret laughs when he sees me. “I like the fairy look on you. It’s very, um, colorful. And to think just last year you only wore black and white.”
I kiddingly punch him. “I’m doing this for your sister, okay?”
“That’s very sweet of you.” He leans down and kisses me. “And she’s your sister, too, now.”
When he steps back I see glitter on his cheek and nose that must’ve rubbed off my face when he kissed me. I don’t tell him. He should have to be glittery, too.
Pearce and Lilly arrive at 3. She talks nonstop about the rides and the characters and the food she ate. She seems happier now, but like Pearce said, she’ll be sad again when she gets back home, stuck all alone in her room and missing her brother.
When we take her out back she jumps up and down with excitement. Pearce informs us that fairies are her new favorite thing, so that worked out well.
While Harper transforms Lilly into a fairy, the rest of us sit and talk in the gazebo.
“How was the park?” Garret asks his dad.
“Exhausting. I don’t remember being that tired when we took you there as a kid.”
“We went to Disneyland?”
“Disneyworld. The one in Florida. You were only 4. Anyway, I was a lot younger then. Now it’s harder to walk all day like that. And then Lilly got tired and I had to carry her.”
“Did you go on any of the rides with her?” I ask him, assuming he didn’t. I’m sure he made Brian, the security guy, go instead.
“I went on almost all of them with her. And unfortunately I got sick.”
Garret laughs. “Sick as in you threw up?”
Pearce nods. “Yes.”
“You never throw up.”
“Not since college.”
“What ride made you sick?” Sean asks him. “Was it one of the roller coasters? Those ones that go upside down?”
“No.” Pearce hesitates. “It was the—never mind.”
Garret’s smiling. “You have to tell us, Dad. I’m dying to know.”
“It was those—” He lowers his voice and says, “It was those damn teacups.”
We all burst out laughing.
Pearce tries to explain. “They just kept spinning and spinning. I didn’t think the ride was ever going to stop.”
“You should’ve got a picture of that,” Garret says. “I can’t even imagine you sitting in one of those teacups.”
“Daddy, look!” Lilly runs into the gazebo wearing her fairy costume, complete with wings. Her skin sparkles from the glitter lotion and she has on the same green nail polish as me. “I’m a fairy!”
“I see that.” Pearce sets her on his lap.
“What was your favorite ride at Disney?” I ask her.
“The teacups!” She yells it. “I went on it a whole bunch of times.”
“After I got sick, Brian had to go with her,” Pearce explains. “And if you think I look funny sitting in a teacup, you should’ve seen Brian.”
“He’s like 6’8, 300 pounds,” Garret tells Sean.
The party continues with dinner and cake and the present opening. Garret and I gave Lilly a doll she’s been wanting. Harper gave her a kid’s nail polish kit that I’m sure Katherine will toss in the trash as soon as she sees it. Grace gave her an art kit full of a million different types and colors of crayons and markers.
It feels like a normal kid’s birthday party. Well, without the other kids.
The next morning, Pearce and Lilly pack up to go home. We meet them out by the car to say goodbye. Pearce asked us to make it a quick goodbye so Lilly doesn’t feel like she’ll never see us again.
“See you later, Lilly,” I tell her. It’s my preferred way of saying goodbye.
She gives me a funny look when I don’t say goodbye, but then she smiles and says, “See you later.”
Garret tries the short ‘see you later’ goodbye but it doesn’t work as well for him. Lilly hugs him and won’t let go.
“When will you come home?” she asks him.
“I don’t know yet, but it won’t be too long.”
“Can I stay here with you?”
“No, you need to go home and take care of your dolls and practice swimming.”
“I’ll miss you.” She whispers it as tears run down her cheeks.
“I’ll miss you, too, but I’ll see you soon, okay?” Garret looks at his dad.
“Come on, honey.” Pearce takes Lilly from Garret. “You can call him as soon as we get home.”
He puts her in the car but she keeps her eyes on Garret until they drive away.
“That was really sad,” I say, wiping my eyes.
“She’ll be okay.” Garret puts his arm around me as we walk back to the house. “Once she starts hang
ing out with kids her own age, she’ll forget all about me.”
“I don’t think so. She’s really upset that you’re gone. I wish I could do something to make her feel better.”
He stops walking and his arms circle my waist. “You already did. That party was a great idea. She had a really good time.”
“The party was Harper’s idea, not mine.”
“Yes, but you came up with the fairy theme, which Lilly loved. And she loved seeing her big sister all covered in glitter.”
“Look.” I laugh as I hold up my arm. “I’m still covered in it. It’ll probably take weeks before I’m glitter-free.”
“I could help you get it off. I know how you like the shower.” He leans down and gives me a slow, deep kiss, then pulls back just a little. “You do realize that our honeymoon got cut short because of this party. I’m thinking we need to finish it when we get back on Monday.”
“That would mean you’d have to go another three days without surfing.”
“I don’t care.” His lips touch mine for another kiss that gets my insides all hot. “I want to spend more time with my wife. You got a problem with that?”
“Not at all.” I kiss him back. “Maybe we’ll actually try for eight times.”
He laughs. “Are you serious? Because that’s a lot for one day.”
“If it’s not possible, then you shouldn’t have told Harper that. She’ll know you were lying.”
His cocky smile appears. “It’s possible.”
“Are you sure? Because if not, I could have Harper make you more of that green juice.”
He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. “I don’t need that damn juice. And I’ll prove it to you when we get back.”
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, laughing.
“To your grandmother. I need a break from your insults.”
“I wasn’t insulting you.” I’m still laughing as he opens the front door and sets me down in the foyer.
“See you at dinner.” He drops a kiss on my cheek, then heads back toward the door.
“Dinner? Wait. Where are you going?”
Forever You Page 24