The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(25)

“I think you look beautiful,” Jeremiah said honestly, and her cheeks flushed again as she thanked him and flashed a shy smile. He pulled out his wallet and grabbed one of the credit cards that he rarely used. He held the card across the table toward her. “But if you want to get new clothes, take this. Buy whatever you need.”

Noelle stared at the credit card, then looked up at him, slack-jawed once again. “You’re just gonna give me your credit card? What if I scam you?”

“The fact that you asked that question lets me know that you won’t do it,” he said. “Even if you do, I’ll just report the charges as fraud.”

When she still didn’t take his card, he placed it on the table and slid it toward her. “Please buy yourself whatever you think you’ll need, Noelle. If you agree to this, you’ll be doing me a huge favor. I don’t want you to be worried about what you’re wearing.”

She stared at the credit card in deep contemplation. Then, slowly, she lifted her gaze to his.

“Thirty-five hundred dollars for one weekend of pretending to be your girlfriend?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“We need a contract so that we have our agreement in writing.”

“Sure. Whatever you need.” He pulled his business card out of his wallet too. “Do you have a pen?” He waited as she fished a pen out of her tote bag. He flipped his business card over and wrote down his personal number before sliding the pen and card across to her. “My email, work number, and personal number.”

She studied his business card. “I’d like to have a lawyer look over the agreement first too.”

“That’s a good idea.”

She leaned back in her chair and shook her head, smiling a little, almost in disbelief. Jeremiah leaned back in his chair and observed her as well.

She really was so pretty. And likable. He wasn’t worried that anyone might question if they were really together. The Smiths wouldn’t care if Noelle hadn’t grown up like them. They weren’t the kind of family that cared about status or elitism. Pop and Celeste had made sure of it.

“Okay,” Noelle finally said. “I’ll do it.”

Overwhelming relief washed over Jeremiah. He felt more accomplished about this agreement with Noelle than he had about his successful meeting with the Shop Mart team earlier. “Great. Thank you. You’re doing me a real solid.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “But you’ll have to pay half up front.”

He nodded. “Done.”

“I’ll send you the contract after my lawyer looks at it.”

“Okay.”

She lifted her hand, and Jeremiah held his out too. He felt a spark when their palms met to shake hands. Noelle’s eyes locked with his, and when she smiled, he felt the power of it rearrange something in his chest. He smiled too, and somewhere in the back of his mind, a small voice was trying to warn him that he might be biting off more than he could chew.

But, as with most thoughts he didn’t want to ponder, he ignored it.





Chapter Six




“What I’m doing isn’t crazy or stupid,” Noelle said. “It makes sense because I’m getting paid a good chunk of money.”

It was Friday afternoon, and Noelle was staring at her reflection in her bedroom mirror, giving herself one last once-over before Jeremiah arrived to take her to Heart Beach. She was wearing a red and white gingham tube top with matching capris and red platform sandals. Her braids were arranged in a half-up, half-down style, and she wore matte red lipstick on her lips. She looked fun and flirty, like she was about to enjoy a summer traipsing through Europe. Yesterday, she and Tati had taken the train into the city to shop. She’d bought the gingham set from a boutique in SoHo, along with the other clothes she’d purchased for the weekend. At first, she felt weird about using Jeremiah’s credit card, but then Tati reminded her that unless she wanted to show up to the Smiths’ beach house wearing her Hidden Gems T-shirt and old denim shorts, she’d better get used to swiping. That realization helped Noelle get over her unease real fast.

“Exactly,” Tati said now, appearing behind Noelle. She grinned at Noelle in the mirror. “You’re not crazy. You’re a businesswoman. An entrepreneur, really.”

She spritzed Noelle with a few squirts of perfume. Noelle inhaled the summery, beachy scent as she continued to stare at her reflection. She turned to face Tati.

“I look okay, right?” she asked as her heartbeat picked up pace.

“For the millionth time, yes,” Tati said. “You look better than okay. You look gorgeous. And you have no reason to be nervous! You do this stuff all the time. You play a role and then you get your money and leave. This isn’t any different.”

“But this is different. They’re the Smiths! I’ve been eating their cookies and sweets my whole life. They’re a culturally relevant family, and Jeremiah is so…”

She swallowed hard and trailed off, not wanting to finish her thought.

Tati smiled slyly. “Jeremiah is so what?”

“Nothing. Never mind.” Noelle shook her head and crouched down to zip up her suitcase. Jeremiah would be arriving any minute. “He’s my client. That’s what he is.”