Loving You (The Jade Series #3) (6 page)

“Do you want some water or a soda?” Garret opens the large stainless steel refrigerator which is stocked with food and drinks.

“Why do you have all that stuff in there? Did your dad stay here recently?”

“I had it stocked for us. We have a service where you just order what you want and they stock the apartment for you. Not just food, but anything. Do you need anything? Because I can call them right now.”

“No, I don’t need anything.” I take a soda from the fridge. “Why did you hire people to buy this stuff? Couldn’t we just go buy it ourselves?”

“We could, but why waste time doing that when we could just use the service?”

“Garret, I think you’ve been around your family too much. You’re starting to act like them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Making people get you stuff. Having your fridge stocked instead of buying your own groceries. I thought you didn’t like that.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He takes the soda from my hand and sets it on the granite-topped counter behind me. He steps closer until I’m backed up against the counter, then puts his lips to mine.
 

I pull back. “Garret, I’m serious. Is this the type of life you want? Having people wait on you all the time?” I turn my head so he can’t kiss me again.

“It’s just a stocked fridge. It’s not that big a deal. And there aren’t any grocery stores nearby. Just little corner stores. And if we find one of those we have to carry bags of groceries and cases of soda down the street. It’s not as easy to get stuff here as it is back home.”

“I guess I didn’t think about that.” I face him again. “Okay, but I better not catch you hiring someone to fill your dorm fridge.”

“My dorm fridge. That’s a good idea.” He kisses me again before I can even get a good eye roll in. His tongue teases my mouth as his body presses against me. A wave of heat courses through me and I get all tingly inside.
 

I break from the kiss. “Let’s go to the bedroom.” I didn’t mean to say it like that, all forceful and demanding, but I really want to be with him and we’re finally alone. I don’t have to worry about his dad walking in. Or Lilly. Or Katherine. Or any of the hired help.

“Already? We just got here. Shit, that must have been some kiss.” He flashes that cocky grin that for some stupid reason always turns me on.

I reach under his shirt, feeling his rock-hard stomach. “Are you saying you don’t want to?”

“Hell, no.” He grabs my hand and takes me down the hall to the master bedroom.

I yank him back. “That’s your Dad’s bed. Gross! There’s no way I’m doing it in there.”

“It’s a king-size bed. The other room has a queen.” He tugs on me again but I won’t budge. “Jade, the cleaning lady was just here. The sheets are all fresh and clean.”

“Forget it. We just won’t do it.” I wait, knowing there’s no way in hell he’s forgetting it.

“Oh, we’re doing it.” He leads me to the other bedroom. “Is this better?”

“Much better.” The room is very modern with a sleek platform bed and dark wood furniture. It looks like an expensive hotel room.
 

As I toss the decorative pillows off the bed, I notice Garret struggling to take his t-shirt off.
 

“This is so embarrassing but I need some help here.” He laughs as he tries again. “That shot the doctor gave me made my shoulder stiff and now I can’t get my shirt off. Can you help?”

“Can I help you get naked?” I smile. “Yeah, I can do that.” I maneuver the shirt over his head and arms and toss it on the floor. “You need some help with your pants, too?”

He tilts his head and smiles. “Yes, please.”

“I was kidding. You don’t need help.”

“No. But I
want
help.”

I take the rest of his clothes off and he gets into bed. I start to quickly take off mine, but then slow down, giving him a show.
 

“What’s this? A striptease?” I can hear the excitement in his voice. Guys are so freaking easy to please.
 

“Yeah, so sit back and enjoy.” I slowly slide my jeans off.

“Damn, I’m taking you to New York more often.”

It makes me laugh. “It’s not about New York. I’m just spicing things up a little.” I leave my black bra and panties on and climb on top of him.

“What about the rest of it?” He whispers as he kisses my neck.

I sit up on my knees showing myself off. “You’re supposed to look at it first. The bra matches the panties. I swear. You guys tell us you like this stuff, so we wear it for you and then all you want to do is take it off.”

He takes a moment to look at it, then focuses on my face again. “Okay, I’ve seen it. It looks great. Now take it off.”

“Stupid boys.” I give him a kiss before I strip the rest of the way. I stay on top of him because he can’t put any pressure on his injury. And despite the fact that we’ve had sex this way several times, I still don’t feel confident. And it’s never as good as when he’s on top. I must be doing something wrong.

When we’re done I lie back on the bed, exhausted. “That’s a lot of work.”

He laughs. “Now you see what I go through. It gets tiring being on top.”

“Oh, please. I don’t want to hear you complain.”

“I’m just saying. It’s a workout.” He puts his arm out above my head. “Come over here and rest.”

Now he’s just making fun of me, but I asked for it by even bringing up the topic. I grab a pillow and bury my head in it.

He’s still laughing. “Maybe we could try some other positions. Ones that aren’t so taxing on you.”
 

“Okay. Enough. I never should’ve said anything.”

“I mean it.” He nudges me. “Next time, we’ll do it a different way.”

I lift my head up slightly. “What way?”
 

“I don’t know. We’ll experiment and see what works.”

I toss the pillow aside and lay my head on him. “I’m not ready for something new. I’m still trying to figure out the whole being-on-top thing. I’m not very good at it.”

He kisses the top of my head. “You’re good at it.”

“I don’t believe you. I know you wouldn’t tell me if I wasn’t.”

“Trust me. It’s all good, so stop worrying about it. Now do you want to go get some lunch? I’m sure you worked up an appetite exerting yourself like that.”

I sit up. “Are you never gonna let this go?” I try to be serious but I’m laughing.
 

“Come on. Let’s have lunch.” He gets out of bed and picks his clothes up from the floor. “Remember that deli I told you about? We could go there.”

“That sounds good.”
 

As I’m getting dressed I hear Garret behind me.
 

“Jade, I can’t dress myself.” He’s barely able to say it he’s laughing so hard. I look over to see his boxer briefs only halfway up his legs. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to pull them up with one hand. His other arm is stuck down by his side like he can’t move it.

“What the hell did that doctor do to you?” I go over and help him with his boxers.
 

“I’m going to call him and find out. He said that shot might make my arm and shoulder numb but this is ridiculous. I can’t even use this arm.”

I help him into his jeans and shirt, then put on my own clothes while he makes the call in the other room.

“What did he say?” I ask when he’s done.

“He said it should wear off in an hour or so. The numbness means the medicine is working.”

“Are you okay to go out?”

“Yeah, but you might have to feed me.” He’s laughing again. At least he’s not upset by it. I wouldn’t be too happy if I couldn’t move my arm and shoulder.

We have lunch, then go to the Museum of Natural History. I’ve seen it in movies but I wanted to see it in person. It’s huge and you could spend all day there reading all the historical facts and listening to the guides. But we’re done in a few hours. I just wanted to walk through and see stuff. Garret’s been there several times, so he acted as my tour guide.

Afterward, the car service guy drives us back to the apartment. He’s like our own personal chauffeur. We just call him whenever we need a ride and he’s there.
 

“I’ve got dinner reservations at 7,” Garret says as he hands me a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to that place I told you about at the top of a hotel. We have a table right by the window. You can see the whole city lit up.”

“When do we get to see the tree?”

My excitement always brings a smile to his face. “We’ll go see the tree after dinner. We can go every night if you want.”

I always tell Garret I don’t care about Christmas, or any other holiday, but he knows it’s a lie. That’s why he brought me here this week. He says we’re here for New Year’s, but I know he wanted me to see all the holiday lights before they take them down. And I’m dying to see the Rockefeller tree.

“Could we have a snack before dinner? I’m starving.”
 

“Sure. What do you want?” He starts opening cabinets. A bag of potato chips falls out and lands on the floor. “Well, look at that. Your favorite food. What are the odds?”

As I pick up the bag, I notice something stuck between the stove and the cabinet. I reach in and pull it out.

“What’s that?” Garret asks.

“It looks like one of those security badges people use to get in a building.”

Garret sighs and holds his hand out. “Let me see that.”

I hand it to him. He holds it up, staring at the photo. “I knew it was her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This woman was at the company conference in Houston. The one my dad made me go to.”

“Yeah. So?”

“Remember how I said my dad was having an affair? I didn’t know who the woman was but I was guessing it was her.” He tosses the ID on the counter. “And obviously it is or she wouldn’t have been here.”

“Maybe she was meeting your dad here to go over business stuff.”

“He has an office just down the street. He wouldn’t have business meetings here.”

“Do you know anything about her?”

“She works for an investment firm in DC. That’s all I know.” Garret places the ID badge in one of the kitchen drawers. “When we leave here on Thursday, remind me to set this out on the table so he can see it. I want my dad to know that I know who his mistress is.”

“Why? Are you going to blackmail your dad again?”

“If he starts interfering with us again, then yeah.”

“Maybe your dad should just divorce Katherine. It doesn’t seem like they get along very well.” I consider telling Garret about the fight I overheard but then change my mind.
 

“He won’t divorce her, because if he does he knows Katherine will try to take Lilly away from him. And he doesn’t want Lilly caught up in a custody battle.” Garret takes the bag of potato chips from me. “Aren’t you gonna eat these?”

“I changed my mind. It’s already 6. I might as well wait for dinner.”

An hour later the driver picks us up. Garret has on a suit and tie and I’m wearing my one and only black dress. Katherine gave me a red dress for Christmas which I actually like, but I didn’t want to wear it because it would remind me of her. And the dress Garret bought me for the fundraiser last fall is too formal for dinner. So the black dress is my only option, but seeing it next to Garret’s designer suit, my dress looks really plain and cheap. And I only have one winter coat and it’s sporty not dressy. It doesn’t match the dress at all.

The driver stops on the street in front of the hotel where we’re having dinner. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t drop you off at the entrance with all this traffic, unless you want to wait 10 or 15 minutes for it to move.”

“No, this is fine,” Garret says. We get out of the car and join the crowds of people on the sidewalk.

The hotel entrance is about a half a block away. As we’re heading down there, Garret stops suddenly.
 

“What do you think of this one?” He’s pointing to an engagement ring that has a diamond solitaire that’s at least 2 carats. I recognize the signature blue in the store and look up to confirm that we’re standing in front of Tiffany’s.
 

“Yeah, you’re funny, Garret.” I tug on his coat. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Do you like it or not?” He puts his arm around my waist and moves me closer to the window.
 

“Well, yeah. What’s not to like? Look how much it sparkles. And the diamond is huge. That ring must cost $10,000.”

“More like $100,000,” he says.
 

“Are you serious?” I look at it again. “How do you know that? There’s no price on it.”

“I just know.” He leads me to the next window. “How about this one?”

“I don’t like the diamond. It’s too big,” I say, playing along. “I like the other one better.”

He laughs. “I’ve never heard a girl say a diamond was too big.”