Page 47 of Finding Us

Before I go to the car, I check Harper’s door to make sure it’s locked. It is, so I text her and let her know. She worries about stuff almost as much as I do. She didn’t used to, but I think the past few months my worrying rubbed off on her.

Garret and I get in my convertible and head to the grocery store. We never have a list. We just wander the aisles and toss whatever looks good in the cart.

I like grocery shopping with Garret. It makes me feel like we’re already married, just doing our normal routine. Last year, if I heard myself say that, I would’ve thought I’d lost my mind. Grocery shopping makes me feel married? And this is a feeling I want? It’s crazy! But now I wouldn’t have it any other way.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

We startin the produce section and Garret places a bag of oranges in our cart along with some bananas. Then he picks out some apples.

“Okay, Garret. I think we have plenty of fruit.”

He sets the apples in the cart, kissing my cheek. “You need to eat better.”

“I know. You tell me that every day. But I can’t eat all that fruit. It’s too much.”

“It’s not too much.” He gets behind me and pushes the cart forward, pushing me along with it. “You’re supposed to eat four or five pieces of fruit a day.”

“Are you serious?” I watch as he takes a plastic produce bag from the dispenser. “Who the hell eats that much fruit?”

“I do.” He shakes the plastic bag open and fills it with green grapes. “I eat fruit at least five times a day.”

“You do?” I stare at him. “How do I not know this?”

“Because you don’t pay attention. I always have it at breakfast and in the afternoon for a snack and usually after dinner.”

“Huh.” Now that I think of it, he does eat fruit at almost every meal.

He drops a bag of lettuce in the cart, then picks up two avocados.

I sigh. “Not the green vegetables.”

“Technically, an avocado is a fruit,” he says as he hands them to me.

“It’s still green.”

He laughs. “I swear. You’re worse than a little kid. I’m going to make you eat better whether you like it or not.” He comes around the cart and kisses me. “I want you around for a very long time.”

I hug him, not even caring that we’re in the grocery store with people watching. “I appreciate your efforts, but I’m still getting pudding cups. And potato chips. And chocolate cereal. And those donuts with the—”

“Jade?” He pulls back, smiling.

I smile back. “Okay, I’ll skip the donuts.”

We finish our shopping, ending up with a cartful of mostly healthy foods. I really don’t mind that Garret’s trying to improve my diet. I think it’s kind of sweet. And he never forces me to eat anything I don’t like. In fact, he keeps trying to find ways to make vegetables taste better so I’ll eat them and so far, he’s doing a really good job. Since living with him, I’ve eaten more vegetables than I’ve eaten my entire life.

When we get home, Garret makes turkey and avocado sandwiches for lunch. It’s a good sandwich but I’m not a fan of wheat bread, which is all he’ll buy. I’m getting used to it, though.

“So I know you don’t want to go anywhere for a honeymoon, but we have to do something,” Garret says. “I want to at least do something special for our wedding night.”

I get up and take our plates to the sink. “Like what? It’ll be a busy day. We’ll probably be too tired to do anything.”

He comes over to the sink and stands behind me. “Are you saying you’ll be too tired to be with me that night?” He leans down and kisses my shoulder.

“No. I won’t be too tired forthat. But we don’t have to go anywhere to do that.”

He turns me around to face him. “You really just want to come back here that night? Like we do every night? That’s pathetic, Jade. We should at least go to a nice hotel or something.”

“There aren’t any nice hotels around here. We’d have to drive forever and I don’t want to do that.”

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