Page 85 of Promising You
“I don’t think I can let you wear that in public. You’ll have guys all over you. You’ll definitely havemeall over you.” He leaves kisses along my shoulder and starts untying the strings of my top.
“Garret. The hot tub, remember?”
He pulls away and looks at me again. “Yeah. I don’t think we’ll be in there very long.”
And we’re not. The bikini leads us right back to the bed.
* * *
The next morning,we sleep in, eat a late breakfast, then have our couple’s massage. I don’t like to be touched by strangers, so at first I’m a little on edge, but as soon as the woman begins rubbing the tension out of my shoulders I totally relax. By the time she makes it to my back I’m almost asleep.
After the massages we have lunch, then walk on the beach. It’s crazy how warm it is for February—65 degrees, although it feels cooler than that with the ocean breeze.
Garret takes photos of me on the beach to send to Frank and Ryan. Then I collect shells and colored stones to take back to my dorm room.
“Ooh! Look at this one.” I reach down and pick up a silvery blue shell.
“Lilly does the same thing when we go to the beach,” Garret says.
I laugh. “Are you saying I’m like a little kid?”
“No.” He stops to kiss me. “I just like seeing you happy. You’re happy, right, Jade?”
I kiss him back. “I’m very happy.”
“Good.” He looks down at my shells. I’ve collected so many I had to curl up the bottom of my shirt to use as a make-shift bag. “I can hold those for you if you want to get some more.”
“That’s okay. I have plenty. Let’s go inside so I can clean them off.”
Back in the room, Garret watches TV while I rinse the dirt and sand off my shells in the bathroom sink.
“I guess my dad won’t be home for Valentine’s Day,” I hear Garret say from the living room.
“How do you know that?” I go in the living room and join him on the couch. “Did he call?”
“He’s on TV. I just saw him at a fundraiser in Florida for Kent Gleason.” He points to the screen. “Right there. You see him? He’s standing off to the side.”
“Your dad didn’t tell you he was going there?”
“He travels all the time. I never know where he is.” Garret leans back and puts his feet up on the leather ottoman in front of the couch. “I wonder if he’s meeting that woman. Maybe that’s why he wanted to get away this weekend.”
“Where does she live again?”
“She lives in DC, but she travels just as much as he does, so it wouldn’t surprise me if—” He stops and watches as the camera scans the crowd. “Yep. I just saw her. So I guess we know what he’ll be doing for Valentine’s Day.”
I back myself into the pillows at the end of the couch and rest my feet against Garret’s leg. “Does it bother you that he cheats on Katherine? I know you hate her, but still.”
“I don’t really care.” His eyes remain on the TV, which shows Kent Gleason shaking hands with people in the crowd. “It’s none of my business. Besides, Katherine’s probably cheating, too.”
His answer makes it sound like cheating isn’t that big a deal. I don’t think he meant it that way, but then again, I’m not really sure.
“Garret, would you ever cheat? Like if you got tired of your wife? Or if you didn’t like her anymore?”
He picks up my feet, placing them across his lap. “I’d never cheat on my wife. If I wasn’t happy in my marriage, I’d get a divorce, not have an affair. Why are you asking me this?”
“No reason. I was just making conversation.”
He reaches for the remote and shuts the TV off. “You’re such a horrible liar. Just admit it. You think I’ll be like my father someday.”
