“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. I can tell you’re thinking it.” He holds his hand out. “Come over here.”
I grab his hand and scoot over on the couch. He lifts me up and sits me on his lap, facing him. “I’d never cheat on you, Jade. Not as your boyfriend. Not as your husband. I’m not my father and I’m not my grandfather.”
“But they probably didn’t think they’d cheat when they got married and look what happened.”
I glance down, but he tips my chin up with his hand and locks his eyes on mine. “I’m not like them. Cheating’s not an option. It’s not even on the table.”
“What about divorce? You just said you’d get a divorce if you weren’t happy in your marriage. But you’re not going to be happy all the time. Nobody is.”
“Divorce is the absolute last option. If things weren’t working between us, we’d fix them. We’d do whatever we have to do. I’m not taking the easy way out.”
“Well, you might—” He puts his finger to my lips.
“Listen, Jade. I love you more than anything in this world. And if I’m ever lucky enough to get you to be my wife, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go.”
Did he just come up with that? Because what he just said was perfect. In fact, I’d like to frame what he said and hang it on my wall so I can read it over and over again.
It’s one of those times when I’m so blown away by his sweet words that I can’t seem to find any of my own. So I just wrap my arms around him and hug him. I love him so much right now that if he got down on one knee and proposed, I’d say yes. It would be completely crazy and I know it’s too soon, but I know for sure now that this is the man I want to be with forever.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
“You’re good with words, Garret.”I shift off his lap and sit next to him on the couch.
He looks surprised. “I am? Why? What did I say?”
“It’s just a general comment.”
Why do I have such a hard time with this? Why can’t I tell Garret how much he means to me or how much I appreciate the little things he does or says, like that statement he just made? What is wrong with me? He pours his heart out to me and I just sit there, afraid to tell him how I feel.
“It sounded like a compliment,” he says. “So I’m taking it as such because I don’t get many of those from you.”
See? Why don’t I give him more compliments? I’m a crappy, crappy girlfriend. And I can’t seem to fix myself.
“I made dinner reservations for 7, so we should probably get ready,” Garret says. “We’re eating here at the hotel. People come from all over just to eat at this restaurant, so it must be good.”
“I’m sure it is. Everything at this place is great.”
“And since we have to drive back tomorrow I made reservations at a restaurant that’s close to my house. It’s a nice place so they make you dress up. I was planning to stop by my house to change so I don’t have to wear my suit in the car. You can change there, too, if you want.”
“When did you plan all this? Because it had to have taken a ton of time.”
“I wanted it to be special. And special takes time.”
“Well, thanks for doing it. All of it. I’ll never forget this.”
“Then it was worth all the planning.” He gets up from the couch and goes in the bedroom. He returns with two wrapped packages; one big, one small. “Even though it’s not technically Valentine’s Day until tomorrow, I’m giving you your gifts now. You may want them for tonight.”
He hands me the larger box first. It’s covered in pink and white paper and looks like it was professionally wrapped.
“Garret, I feel really bad that I didn’t get you anything. I seriously need to find a job.”
“You’re not getting a job. My gift is having you here with me. Plus that black bikini, which I want to see you in again before we leave. Now are you going to open that or what?”
I open the box and inside is the pink lingerie he hinted at back in my room. It’s a silk and lace camisole with matching panties. The pink is a very light pink, not a hot pink or a kid-like pink.
“I like it,” I say, holding it up. “I even like the pink. Did you actually go and pick this out like last time?”
