Loving You (The Jade Series #3) Read online

  I go over to Garret’s bed and slip under the covers, trying not to wake him.

  “Jade?” He yawns. “What time is it?”

  “A little after 5.”

  “Come here.” He puts his arm out and I snuggle up beside him, resting my head on his chest. “Is something wrong or did you just stop by to say hi?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to be next to you.” I pull the blankets up all the way to my chin. This house seems so much colder now.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Garret kisses my forehead. “I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

  “I’m okay. What time are we leaving for New York?”

  “I have the car scheduled for 9. Why?”

  “Is there any way we could leave earlier? Like maybe 7 or 8?”

  “We’d have to get up right now if we did that.”

  “Yeah. I guess. Goodnight.”

  He falls back asleep. But I can’t. I keep replaying that conversation in my head. Parts of it made no sense. Like when Mr. Kensington said that I know their ways? What ways? What does that mean?

  He said I was one of them now. I don’t want to be one of them. If Garret and I ever got married, I’d want to run as far away as possible from them, or at least Katherine. I still don’t know what to think of Garret’s dad. Part of me thinks he’s okay, but another part of me knows he can’t be trusted. He’s definitely involved in something I probably don’t want to know about.

  I can’t decide if I should tell Garret everything I heard. I’m thinking I should only tell him some of it, like the part about Katherine trying to get rid of me. But then again, maybe he’d be mad at me for listening in. Maybe he doesn’t want me knowing about the things I heard. I decide to keep quiet for now.

  At 6:30, I go back to my room to shower and dress. Then I pack everything in my suitcase. On a chair by the bed I spot the Katy doll that Lilly gave me. It’s ironic she gave me a doll that has the same name as her mother. I consider poking pins in it and making it a voodoo doll. But that would be stooping to Katherine’s level and I’m better than that.

  I pick up Katy and take her over to my suitcase. But before I can pack her I hear faint knocks on the door. I open it to find Lilly standing there. She has on her pink pajamas, pink robe, and pink bunny slippers.

  “Mom said I’m not supposed to come in your room without asking first. So can I come in your room?”

  “Yes, you can come in.”

  She notices Katy in my arms and her eyes get big. “Did Katy sleep in your bed? I let my dolls sleep with me, too, but they take turns because they don’t all fit in the bed.”

  “Yep, she slept right beside me.”

  “Are you leaving now?” She sounds so sad.

  “I think we’re having breakfast first. You want to come with me?”

  She nods repeatedly and grabs my hand.

  Katherine’s already in the dining room having coffee. Lilly runs up and hugs her. “Hi, Mom.”

  I remember Garret saying that Katherine doesn’t allow Lilly to call her ‘mommy’ because it sounds too babyish and she wants Lilly to act mature for her age. But Lilly still calls Mr. Kensington ‘daddy,’ so he must’ve won that battle.

  “Good morning, Lilly. Jade.” Katherine smiles at me. Her smile always looks forced. Now I know why.

  “Good morning, Katherine.” I sit down across from her, smiling back. “So I guess you’ll be glad to finally get rid of Garret and me.”

  My comment makes her spill some of her coffee. She sets her cup on the saucer. “Not at all. Mr. Kensington and I love having you both here. We’re sad to see you go.”

  “Please don’t go, Jade,” Lilly says. “Please!”

  “Lilly, it’s rude to beg,” Katherine scolds. “And we’ve talked about this. Jade is very busy with school. She doesn’t have time to play with you anymore.”

  “But she signed a paper. Now she has to play with me.”

  “What paper?” Katherine asks.

  “I signed a document saying I would play with Lilly,” I answer. “It’s very official. Your husband made it himself.” I smile again just to piss her off.

  “I see.” Katherine’s normally expressionless face springs to life. She’s definitely pissed. To the point that she can’t sit at the table a second longer. She gets up from her chair. “I need to attend to some things. Have a good trip, Jade. And good luck with school next semester.” She hurries out of the room.

  Garret walks in moments later. “Hey, breakfast with my two favorite girls. How did I get so lucky?” He’s in a really good mood. Probably because we’re finally getting the hell out of here.

  Lilly hops down from her chair and gives him a hug. She’s big into hugs, just like Garret. He obviously taught her that. I’ve never seen Katherine hug anyone.

  “Are you ready to go?” I ask as he sits down across from me.

  He grabs a pastry from the tray. “Yeah, I just need an okay from the doctor before we leave.”

  “Why? Is something wrong?”

  “He just wants to check that everything’s healing like it should. Then he’s giving me a shot to curb the pain. The pills just aren’t doing the job.”

  “Garret, why didn’t you tell me you were in pain? Let’s just forget the trip. We’ll do it later when you feel better.”

  “We’re not doing it later. New Year’s Eve only comes once a year. I’ll be fine.” He pours himself some juice. “Have you seen my dad? He told me to check in with him before we left but I can’t find him.”

  “I think he’s already at the office,” I say, knowing he left hours ago.

  “Then I guess whatever he had to tell me wasn’t that important.”

  “Garret, are you ready?” An older man in a suit walks into the dining room. It’s the same man I saw the night that Garret was shot. He was one of the four men who came in and took Garret away in a van. Mr. Kensington said the men were doctors and that the van was a mobile medical unit. I never did find out where they took Garret that day.

  Rule number one. Don’t ask questions. Mr. Kensington told me that several times after the incident with Sinclair. So I never asked. And Garret never told me.

  “Yeah, I’m ready.” Garret finishes his orange juice and follows the man out.

  The car service arrives promptly at 9. We get in the back seat of a black luxury sedan with dark tinted windows. Why do all car services use the same type of car? It’s just like in the movies. Do rich people only ride in black luxury sedans with tinted windows?

  “What did the doctor say?” I ask Garret as we drive away.

  “He said it’s healing really fast. After he gave me a shot for the pain he gave me another shot to help speed new tissue growth. He said it should feel a lot better in a week or so.” He wraps his hand around mine. “Just in time for me to come see you in Des Moines.”

  “Where is your doctor from? Does he have an office in town?”

  “No, he’s more of a consultant-type of doctor. He works with private clients.” Garret gazes out the side window.

  “I’ve never heard of a doctor like that. Is he your family doctor?”

  Garret shifts in his seat. “I don’t want to talk about doctors right now. Let’s talk about where you want to go for lunch.”

  He starts telling me about some of the restaurants we could try in New York, but my mind is still on his doctor. He’s not a normal doctor, and neither are the other three men who took Garret away after he was shot. Well, they’re probably real doctors but they know about the cover-up of Sinclair’s death, which means they’re somehow part of whatever it was that happened that day. They saw everything.

  I really want to know what’s going on with these doctors, but whenever the topic comes up Garret changes the subject, like he did just now.

  We get to Mr. Kensington’s apartment midmorning. It’s on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which Garret says is the rich, fancy part of town. A doorman greets us in the lobby. Well, he greets Garr
et. He doesn’t seem that interested in me. They spend a few minutes talking before we head upstairs.

  The apartment has an open floor plan with the kitchen and living room all together in one space. It has a very masculine feel, decorated with dark wood furniture, a black leather couch, and leather chairs. The kitchen cabinets are a dark brown, almost black color, and are surrounded by stainless steel appliances.

  Garret takes me down the hall and shows me two bedrooms, one big and one small.

  “Do you and Lilly share a room when you come here?” I ask him.

  “This isn’t really a family apartment. It’s just for my dad when he’s here for work. Sometimes Katherine stays here, but she prefers to stay in a hotel where she has people waiting on her. The second bedroom was for me. My dad thought the two of us would have father-son weekends in the city. Go to a ball game or a museum. But that never happened. As you can tell, we’re not exactly close.”

  Knowing that Katherine was the reason for that only makes me hate her more. Garret and his dad would actually get along if it weren’t for her. And Garret probably wouldn’t have drank away his teen years.

  “This place is smaller than I thought it would be,” I say as we walk back to the living room.

  “My dad doesn’t need much space. He’s not here that much. Besides, Manhattan real estate costs a fortune. This place was $5 million and that was 7 years ago.”

  I almost choke when he says it. “Dollars? Five million dollars?”

  “That’s normal for this neighborhood.” He picks up a remote control on the living room table and clicks a button that opens the blinds on the windows.

  “That’s a lot of money. That’s gotta be more than your house cost.”

  “Uh. No. The house cost a lot more than that.” He sets the remote down and goes into the kitchen.

  I’m not sure how much “a lot more” is and I don’t ask. I can’t even comprehend numbers that big. And to think that they have five more houses and two more apartments. Where do they get all this money?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  5

  “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.