The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(104)
God, she loved this man. She kissed him again, and Jeremiah cradled her face in his hands. He placed soft kisses on her cheeks, on her forehead, like he was cherishing her and this moment.
“You look pretty,” he said, finally taking a chance to look at her outfit. “Why are you dressed so fancy?”
“I was at an afternoon tea–themed bridal shower for one of my brides. She gave me a plus-one to her wedding next month, by the way.” She tilted her head. “Will you be my date?”
He grinned. “You don’t even have to ask. Just tell me when and where.”
“Uncle Miah!”
Noelle whipped around and saw Harper and Ashley standing at the foot of the steps. They were wearing matching purple sundresses and purple beads at the ends of their braids. Noelle blinked in surprise.
“Is Noelle coming to Heart Beach with us?” Ashley asked.
“Did she say she loves you back?” Harper asked.
“Sorry we couldn’t wait in the car!” Ashley said. “We got bored! We need to know what happened!”
Noelle laughed and turned to Jeremiah, raising her eyebrow in question.
“So about that,” he said, smirking. “I didn’t come here by myself. Everyone else insisted on coming too.”
“Everyone?”
The next thing she knew, Amara and Robin and Percy walked up behind the twins. They waved at Noelle, and she let out a surprised laugh as she waved back. Then Celeste appeared, carrying several red and pink heart balloons.
“Are those for me?” Noelle asked in shock.
“Yes,” Jeremiah said, sighing. “I told her the balloons were doing way too much, but she insisted.”
“I almost got letters to spell out Noelle’s name, so this is me scaling back!” Celeste shouted, beaming up at them.
Noelle laughed and shook her head in awe. She was overwhelmed but in the absolute best way.
“So, Noelle,” Jeremiah said, taking her hands in his again. “Are you coming back to Heart Beach with us?”
She looked at him, and then she looked down at his family who’d come all the way here to support her and Jeremiah. They were the big, close-knit family she’d always wanted. And they wanted her too.
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “I’ll come back with you.”
Jeremiah grinned and kissed her, and his family cheered. Noelle jerked as she heard a loud popping noise, and she glanced down to see Harper and Ashley holding confetti poppers.
She and Jeremiah jogged down the steps and were embraced by his family. Percy apologized to Noelle for last weekend and said he’d keep apologizing every time he saw her, even though she assured him that wasn’t necessary. Robin and Amara wrapped Noelle in a sister sandwich, Harper and Ashley tugged on her hands, eager to talk about the talent show, and Celeste hugged her and kissed her on the cheek as she struggled to keep hold of the balloons. It was all so chaotic, and Noelle had never been happier.
“I love you,” Jeremiah said, wrapping his arms around her.
She smiled up at him, her heart bursting with joy. “I love you too.”
Then he leaned down and kissed her, right there surrounded by his family.
There was no place else she’d rather be.
Epilogue
Ten months later
In one word, this house was special.
That was how Noelle would describe the Smiths’ Heart Beach home. It was Memorial Day Weekend, the official start of summer. It was also a bit of a celebration. A few weeks ago, she’d graduated from Riley University. Celeste had tried to convince Noelle to let her throw a graduation party in the backyard, but Noelle remembered the extravagance of Amara’s birthday party last summer, and she didn’t want all the fanfare. She was happy to go out to dinner with her mom and Bill, Jeremiah, his family, and Tati and André, which was what they’d done. As a compromise, Noelle promised Celeste that she could throw her a party in two years once she earned her MLS degree. She was starting the Rutgers program in the fall on a merit scholarship.
For now, she wanted to focus on summer.
After the sunset, Noelle gathered with the rest of the Smiths in the backyard. They each held a cream-colored wax candle. Robin used a lighter to light everyone’s candles. Then she stood by Percy, who held their nine-month-old daughter, Minnie, in his arms.
“Where’s Miah?” Celeste asked, glancing around for her missing son.
“He went to grab a hoodie for me a few minutes ago,” Noelle said. “But I’m not sure what’s keeping him.”
Amara smirked. “Miah would be the one to randomly disappear before we start, even though this was his idea.”
Just then, Jeremiah came bounding out the back door and across the patio, holding an old hoodie in his hands for Noelle.
“Sorry, sorry,” he said, winded. “I got caught up giving a snack to Caesar.”
He handed the hoodie to Noelle and used her candle to light his flame. Noelle shrugged the hoodie over her head, and he handed her candle back to her. He smiled that charming smile of his, and it still had a way of setting butterflies loose in her stomach.
He kissed her on the cheek. “Warm?”
She smiled back at him and nodded. “Yeah.”
Tonight marked almost three years since his grandfather had passed away, and it had been twenty-two years since they’d lost their Grandma Minnie. Jeremiah told Noelle he’d been thinking about how funerals were always so sad, and he wished the family could do something to honor their grandparents to serve as a celebration of life. That was what they were doing tonight. They’d tossed around different ideas. Lighting sky lanterns or setting balloons off into the sky, but both ideas were terrible for the environment. Candles were the best alternative, and they created a peaceful aura.