The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(22)
Noelle reemerged from the back of the store with a tote bag slung over her shoulder. She glanced at her oblivious coworker, briefly closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before sporting a strained smile.
“Bye, Kevin,” she said. “Today’s my last day. I’m not sure if your uncle told you.”
“Oh,” Kevin mumbled. “Good luck with everything.”
“Thanks, you too.”
Her boss was this kid’s uncle? That explained how he was still employed. But damn. Jeremiah knew all too well what it was like to be given a job because of nepotism. And he knew what it was like not to care about the job the way it deserved. He’d judged this kid when he’d been just as careless in the past. How many people like Noelle had been looked over at Smith’s Sweets so that Jeremiah could keep his cushy position in the family business? The thought made him sick to his stomach, which was often how he felt when he thought about some of his past actions. He felt even more determined to help Noelle.
She gave a little wave to Kevin and motioned for Jeremiah to follow her outside.
There was a moment of weighted silence between them as they faced each other on the sidewalk. Noelle tilted her chin up and watched Jeremiah. Her expression was unreadable, but at the very least, he inspired her curiosity. He’d better take his chance now and tell her the full story.
“My family has been spending summers at our house in Heart Beach for decades,” he said. “I didn’t go at all last summer because I’ve been too busy with work. But next weekend my mom is throwing a birthday party for my sister, and because I haven’t been to the house in so long, she wouldn’t take no for an answer when I said I wouldn’t be able to make it. Back in May, when she wanted me to visit for Memorial Day Weekend, I made up a stupid lie about having plans with a new…girlfriend. When she asked if my new girlfriend was the reason that I couldn’t come this weekend, I said yeah. But then I felt guilty about not coming, so I changed my mind. Then she told me to bring my new girlfriend too, and I knew that if she found out that I’d lied about the girlfriend, it would cause more problems, so the best thing to do was figure out some kind of situation to save face. Then I met you, and you told me about your fake-bridesmaid side job, and I know being a fake girlfriend is different from being a bridesmaid. We won’t be at a wedding, but like the brides you work with, you’d still have to pretend to know me in front of my family. I need a temporary fake girlfriend, and you need money for college. We’d be helping each other.”
He paused, gauging Noelle’s reaction to everything he’d said. She stared at him silently with a thoughtful expression, teeth tugging her bottom lip.
“Can I buy you dinner so that we can talk about it more?” he asked, desperate.
Noelle glanced back at the bookstore with a slight frown and then averted her eyes to the ground. He wondered what she was thinking. Finally, she returned her gaze to his face.
“This would be a strictly professional arrangement, right?” she said, brows knitted. “You aren’t expecting we’ll do anything sexual, are you?”
“No, of course not!” he hastened to say. “Nothing like that at all.”
She watched him silently again. Then, “How much are you offering to pay me?”
“What’s your usual rate for your bridesmaid work?”
“It depends on the package. It can range anywhere from five hundred to twenty-five hundred, depending on how much time it requires. Then the agency takes a twenty percent commission from whatever I make.”
“I’ll give you thirty-five hundred dollars for the weekend. Friday night to Sunday morning. All yours, straight up.”
Her jaw dropped as she gawked at him.
“For real,” he said. “And no funny business. Just us pretending to be a couple in front of my family.”
She blinked like she was still trying to wrap her mind around how much he’d offered. But the amount wouldn’t hurt his pockets. He had his salary from Good Boy, of course. But in addition to that, he and his siblings each had trust funds set up for them from birth. And once he’d turned eighteen, Pop and Celeste had set him up with a financial advisor to make some smart investments, which had helped him build a healthy nest egg of passive income. Pop and Celeste had done the same with Percy and Amara as well. They’d wanted to make sure that money was something Jeremiah and his siblings never had to worry about.
“Okay…I’ll go to dinner with you to talk about it more,” Noelle said finally. “I have questions.”
“Yeah?” he said. She nodded. His relief was almost palpable. She hadn’t officially agreed to come with him next weekend yet, but at least she was willing to know more. “Wait, I should have asked, are you already in a relationship?”
He didn’t know why it had just occurred to him now to ask that question. Noelle was beautiful and just by talking to her, he was able to see that she was smart and sweet. The odds of someone else recognizing those qualities and snapping her up were pretty high.
“No,” she said. “I’m too focused on going back to college to worry about dating.”
That explained why their flirty vibe had abruptly ended when he’d been about to ask her out inside the bookstore before. But more than anything, he respected her dedication to her goal.
“Good, that makes this easier,” he said. “What are you in the mood to eat? I’m fine with anything. There’s a steakhouse downtown that I’ve been to, or we can go to this Italian spot that’s supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Jersey. I think we might need a reservation, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”