Page 87 of Promising You
“I did,” he says smugly.
“And you weren’t embarrassed?”
“I have no problem picking that stuff out. The first time I went into one of those stores I felt a little uncomfortable, but I’m good now. I’ve got it figured out.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, really? And what did you figure out?”
“It’s all about confidence. You can’t be intimated by those sales girls. And let me tell you, they try to intimidate you. They come at you with all these questions. But the trick is to tell them you don’t need help and then just pick something out. It shocks them. They don’t know how to react. They’re so used to guys wandering around looking lost.”
His story has images forming in my head of him strutting into a lingerie store, pulling stuff off the rack, and flashing that famous cocky grin at the stunned sales girl ringing him up at the register. It’s hilarious and it’s so Garret.
“Now open this one.” He hands me a tiny blue box. As in Tiffany’s robin egg blue. This box could hold something that would change my life forever. And although just minutes ago I confessed to myself my desire to marry him, I’m not ready for that. Not right now. Not this minute.
“Are you going to open it?”
I swallow hard, finding it difficult to speak. I nod, then slowly lift open the top of the box.
Relief washes over me when I see that it’s not a ring. It’s a pair of diamond stud earrings. And they’re gorgeous.
“Garret, these are beautiful. I love them. I really, really love them.”
“Those other earrings I got you seemed kind of fancy for every day, so I got you these because you could wear them with anything. At least that’s what Harper said. I got her opinion before I bought them.”
I hold them up to the light, noticing how much they sparkle.
“They’re each a half carat.” He leans over and whispers by my ear. “If you marry me someday, I’ll get you ones twice that size.”
I turn my head to kiss him. “These are plenty big enough. I’m sure these cost a fortune. You spent way too much money.” I realize what I said and cover my mouth with my hand.
“Yes! I knew the earrings would make you say that.” He laughs. “Striptease for Garret tonight.”
“I’m more than happy to take my punishment.” I kiss him again. “Thank you for the gifts.”
“You’re welcome.” He pulls me up from the couch. “Let’s get ready for dinner.”
We have a candlelight dinner at the restaurant followed by a night of bedroom fun that includes a lingerie show and my promised striptease.
In the morning we order room service and have breakfast next to the window looking out at the ocean. The weekend is so perfect I hate to see it end.
Early afternoon, we leave the hotel and drive until we get to Garret’s house. Nobody’s there when we arrive.
“Katherine must’ve taken Lilly out for dinner,” Garret says. “I should call her quick and tell her Happy Valentine’s Day. Lilly will love it and it’ll totally piss off Katherine. It’s a win-win.”
“You’re calling Lilly? Does she have a cell phone?”
“It’s a kid phone. She can only call the numbers programmed into the phone. And it only accepts calls from family. But Katherine doesn’t like it when I call Lilly without telling her first.” He dials the number. “I’ll put it on speaker so you can talk to her.”
Lilly answers in her tiny kid voice. “Hello?”
“Hi, Lilly. It’s Garret and Jade. We wanted to say Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Hi, Lilly,” I say. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Guess what?” She answers before we can guess. “I got candy and a pink bear from grandma!”
“So you’re over at Grandma Kensington’s?” Garret asks.
“Nope. Grandma Jacobs.”
