Page 200 of Finding Us

“I won’t tell her. So what did he say?”

“He said that guy he worked for last summer offered him a job. The guy owns a bunch of restaurants up and down the coast and he wants Sean to work his way up to head chef at one of his restaurants.”

“What’s Sean going to do? Did he take the job?”

“No. He won’t take it because of Harper. But you can’t tell her that. He doesn’t want her to know. He still plans to propose to her in a few months. He’s been looking at rings.”

“But she’s not ready for that. Why doesn’t he know this? He needs to be dropping hints to see her reaction.”

“I told him that and he said he already did, but it sounds like she didn’t pick up on them.”

“Did he mention Harper’s dad? Because I’m sure he knows her dad’s not going to be happy about the proposal.”

“I don’t think he cares. I mean, he cares, but he’ll still propose.”

“So Sean’s giving up a huge job opportunity all because of Harper and she doesn’t even know. This really sucks.”

“If he told her, do you think she’d break up with him?”

“She’d tell him to take the job, which would basically mean they’re breaking up. They can’t live on separate coasts and still date. They could try it, but doing that for three years? It wouldn’t work.”

“She could move to California with him. She’d be closer to her family.”

“I don’t think she’d do that. She likes being on the tennis team at Moorhurst and I don’t think she’d change her whole life like that for Sean. She still sees him as just a boyfriend, not a future husband, so if he proposes, she’ll say no. She isn’t ready for that kind of commitment.”

“Then I guess he’s stuck there.” I squeeze her hand. “Look what you girls do to us.”

“What do we do?”

“Make us love you so we end up doing stupid shit we shouldn’t do.”

“You guys do the same thing to us.”

“You girls are way worse. You know we’re weak when it comes to your womanly wiles.”

She laughs. “Womanly wiles? Did you suddenly step back into the Victorian era?”

“That green bikini.” I point to it. “Prime example of using your womanly wiles to get what you want.”

“I did not want anything. I was just sunbathing.”

“Whatever, Jade.” I lean over and kiss her cheek, then we both recline back in our chairs and let the sun bake into our skin.

I hear the waves and am reminded of the invite to go surfing with those guys. I’m glad I didn’t go. As much as I like to surf, that guy who invited me seemed like an ass, which means his friends probably are, too. I’d much rather spend the rest of the day hanging out with my hot wife in her green bikini, which by the way leads back to the bedroom an hour later.

CHAPTERFORTY-NINE

JADE

The alarm goes off and I hit the button to make it stop. I forgot to turn the alarm off last night. Garret and I don’t have class until 10 today and it’s only 6:30.

I’m tired because I kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking about Sean and Harper. I know I should stay out of it but part of me thinks I should tell Harper what’s going on. She’s still not sure about her future with Sean, so it doesn’t seem fair for him to miss out on this great job opportunity. Besides, maybe some time apart would be good for them. It might help Harper make a decision about Sean instead of her constant wavering. And if she decides she wants to break up with him, at least he’ll be left with a good job that has a future. Sean is going nowhere in the job he has now and I know he doesn’t like working there. He’s only staying there for Harper.

I have to talk to her. I won’t say anything about Sean, but I need to get an update on where she stands with him. I know I’m butting in and Garret will lecture me about it later but hey, that’s what friends do, right? Give you advice even when you don’t ask for it? Harper did it to me all last year. I lost count of how many times she lectured me about Garret and how I needed to let him know how I felt about him. And look how that turned out? I’m happily married. So I figure I’m just returning the favor with my subtle matchmaking moves.

Garret’s still sound asleep beside me. He didn’t even notice the alarm. He has the sheet shoved way down by his ankles because he gets hot when he sleeps, probably because my arms and legs are always draped all over him. He only wore boxer briefs to bed, meaning he’s practically naked. It’s a nice view to wake up to.

He’s lying on his side facing me. I lean over and gently kiss his cheek. I love him so much. Every day I tell myself I can’t possibly love him any more and then every morning I wake up and feel like I love him even more than the day before.

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