Page 75 of Finding Us

Afterward, we have dinner, which of course Sean insisted on making. Tomorrow he hired people from the restaurant he works at to set up and serve everything and clean up afterward. I gave him money and forced him to hire people because I want him to enjoy the reception with Harper and not be hidden away in the kitchen.

Friday night I go next door to stay with Harper. Sean goes over to stay at our place. There’s no bachelor party but Garret ordered pizzas and invited Ryan over and the three guys are watching action films all night.

Harper and I get takeout from a restaurant in town and bring it back to her place. After we eat, she paints my nails and toenails, then does her own.

“I’m going to miss you, Harper,” I say as I watch her paint her big toe with light pink polish.

“Don’t start, Jade.” She keep her eyes on her toes. “I don’t want to cry tonight. I’ll be crying enough at your wedding.”

“I’m just saying this summer is going so fast. School’s only a month away and then we’ll live on opposite coasts.”

A tear drips down her cheek and lands on her freshly painted toe. “Dammit, Jade. Look what you did. Now I have to redo that one.” She sets her polish aside and looks at me. “I was going to say this tomorrow but I’ll just say it now since I’m already crying.” She wipes her cheeks. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. The friends I had growing up in LA weren’t that great of friends. They acted nice and came to my parties and we hung out, but I knew they were only friends with me because my dad’s famous and because we have money. And yeah, I have some friends at Moorhurst, but it’s not the same. I’m not friends with them like I am with you.” She sniffles. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that.”

I give her a hug. “I feel the same way. I’ve never had a friend like you. You’ll always be my best friend, Harper.”

She smiles and wipes the tears from her face.

I reach over to the table next to us and grab the box of tissues. “Sorry I made you cry.”

“It’s fine.” She takes a couple tissues from the box. “I already cried earlier today. And last night. I cry way too much, don’t I?” She laughs.

“Why were you crying earlier today and last night?”

“Just stuff with my parents.”

“Does it have to do with Sean?”

She nods. “They don’t like him so they’re being really mean to him and I can’t figure it out. I mean, yeah, Sean’s not wealthy but he’s a really good person. And he loves me. But for some reason, that’s not enough for them. I don’t want to talk about it. They’ll come around eventually.”

Harper is a talker, so if she says she doesn’t want to talk about something, she really doesn’t want to talk about it, so I don’t ask her about it. I let her lead the conversation for the rest of the night, which of course means we end up talking about guys and kissing and sex.

She considers this my bachelorette party so she gets her laptop out and pulls up photos of naked men. I’ll admit the guys are really hot but they don’t do much for me. I have my own guy who’s way hotter and right next door. Looking at all these guys just makes me miss Garret. I can’t wait to be with him tomorrow night.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

It’s Saturday.My wedding day. And I’m not nervous at all. This is what I want. I want to be Garret’s wife. I want him to be my husband. I want to be with him forever and I can’t wait for that forever to start. And now it’s just a few hours away.

I didn’t sleep much last night because I’m so excited about today. Plus, it’s hard to sleep without Garret next to me. I’ve been lying awake since 6 this morning, waiting for the day to begin. Harper came into the guest room at 7 to wake me up, all giggly and girly, almost as excited as me about today.

As we’re eating breakfast, someone knocks on the door.

“Can you get it?” Harper asks. She’s making one of her healthy green juice drinks. She has a juicer and uses it every day to make these strange juice concoctions.

I open the door to find Garret standing there, freshly shaved, his hair still a little wet, wearing a light-blue fitted t-shirt and shorts.

“Good morning,” he says.

A huge smile lights up my face, and his, too, as he lifts me up into his arms and kisses me. I kiss him back and we keep kissing until we hear Harper yelling from the kitchen.

“Are you guys ever going to stop?” She’s laughing. “We have things to do today.”

Garret sets me down, keeping his eyes on me. “I missed you last night. I barely slept.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I say, gazing back at him.

He pulls me outside so Harper won’t bother us. “So today’s the day. You nervous?”

I hug his chest, breathing in his freshly showered scent. “Not at all. I can’t wait to marry you.”

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