The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(103)
It didn’t occur to her until that very second that Jeremiah might be somewhere else. Maybe he was in the city for a meeting. What if he’d left for California early? Oh God.
“No, I’m not in Heart Beach,” he said, and her stomach sank. “Funny you ask, though. Can you come to your door?”
“Huh?” She blinked. “My door?”
“Yes, please.”
Confused, Noelle did as he asked. When she opened the door, Jeremiah was walking up the staircase to the second floor right toward her. His hands were filled with several items: a bouquet of white hydrangeas, a stuffed teddy bear that looked very similar to the prize bears at the games section of the boardwalk, a paper plate covered with aluminum foil, and a box of her favorite Smith’s Sweets salted caramel chocolate chip cookies.
“Oh my goodness,” she whispered, heart pounding.
“Hi,” he said, coming to stand in front of her. The scent of funnel cake wafted up her nose from beneath the aluminum foil. “I didn’t know if you were still coming to Heart Beach for the talent show, so I wanted to bring Heart Beach to you. I brought your favorite flowers from Timeless Blooms, a bear from the boardwalk, a funnel cake from Marty’s, and last but definitely not least, your favorite cookies from our house.”
“Oh my goodness,” she repeated. It seemed to be the only thing that she was capable of saying. The butterflies attacked her brain as she gazed up at him. A giddy laugh bubbled up inside of her. “Thank you! I don’t even know what to say!”
He smiled. “Can I give them to you?”
“Yes, of course!” She took each of the items and hurried to place them on the kitchen table. Then she ran to meet him in the doorway again, like she was afraid that he’d delivered his gifts and would now disappear into thin air.
“I know you wanted space,” he said. “And if that’s what you still want, I can leave. But there’s something I need to say to you first, because I want you to know that I’m fighting for you, fighting for us. It’s been one of the hardest weeks of my life not being able to talk to you. I know it’s only been one summer, but you live deep in here now, Noelle.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I love you. I love you so much.”
She stared at him, speechless, near ready to swoon. There were so many things she wanted to say, but he’d started in the right place by saying what really mattered.
“I love you too,” she said softly.
His smile was huge, contagious. His shoulders sagged as he sighed in relief. Then he pulled Noelle into his arms and kissed her with all the pent-up passion and love that he’d been holding on to all week. By the time they came up for air, Noelle was breathless.
“That’s…that’s so great to hear,” he said, chest heaving as he leaned his forehead against hers. “That you love me too. I’m sorry about everything that happened last weekend. It was dramatic and sometimes my family can be dramatic, but I promise for the most part, we’re chill. Not perfect, but normal in our own way. I told them about my conversation with Pop, and they didn’t judge me. They were really understanding. And I admitted that I’d lied about having a girlfriend in order to avoid Heart Beach. I told them the truth about how we started too.”
Noelle winced. “Were they mad?”
“They definitely didn’t love that I lied,” he said sheepishly. “But they were forgiving. I promise to shield you from any drama in the future.”
“I know you will,” she said. “The real reason that I wanted space is because while everything was going on last weekend, I realized how much I love you.” She swallowed thickly as he pressed his hand against her lower back. “And that scared me because I was afraid that being in love with you at this point in my life might upend everything I’ve worked so hard for. I freaked out about not getting that meeting with my advisor. Even after I was able to schedule a meeting and everything turned out fine, I still hesitated to call you this week because I was worried about getting too caught up with you—with us—and losing sight of my goals, but I know I won’t let that happen again. And I know you won’t let that happen either.”
“Of course I won’t,” he said. “I’m not gonna get in your way. I’ll be right behind you, supporting you.”
She nodded, heart melting. “I know we’ll be okay. Even if we’re three thousand miles apart.”
He laughed softly. “Right. I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. I’m not moving.”
Her eyes popped. “You’re not moving?”
He shook his head. “I’m going back to Smith’s Sweets to work with Percy. Working with my family on our legacy is where I belong. We’re not going to sell.”
Noelle threw her arms around him and squeezed him close again. “You’re going to work with your family! And you’re not moving! That’s amazing!” She abruptly pulled back. “Wait, are you sad about leaving Good Boy?”
“Not at all.” He rested his hands on either side of her waist, keeping her close. “What happened with your interview this week?”
“I got the job,” she said, and his lips split into a grin. “And thank you for helping Harold with the grant for the store. That was so kind of you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” he said. “I’m sorry that I didn’t think to tell him about the grant program sooner. I wanted to help him. But I mainly did it for you. I know that store means so much to you.”