The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(32)

The girls spun around to look at Noelle.

“Noelle,” he said, “these are my nieces, Harper and Ashley.”

“Hi.” Noelle stepped closer, smiling. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

The girls stared at Noelle with big, curious eyes and waved.

“She’s your girlfriend?” Ashley asked, looking up at Jeremiah. “When did you get a girlfriend?”

“Remember Mom told us that he was bringing his girlfriend?” Harper whispered. She was the quieter, shier twin. She looked at Noelle again. “I like your outfit.”

“Me too!” Ashley abandoned Jeremiah and ran to grab Noelle’s hands instead. “What kind of lipstick are you wearing? Our mom doesn’t let us wear lipstick. She says it’s too grown. Can I put on your lipstick to see what it looks like on me? You don’t have to tell our mom, and we’ll take it off right after. Are you coming with us to the boardwalk?”

“Uh.” Noelle smiled and blinked. She seemed unsure of which question to answer first.

“Miah?” Another voice called. Next, Amara entered the hallway. She wore a black denim sleeveless minidress and black Doc Marten sandals. Her short, coily hair framed her face. She jogged over and hugged Jeremiah. Then she flicked him on the forehead.

“Ow.” He winced. “What was that for?”

“You didn’t text me back when I asked what time you’d be here,” Amara said.

He rubbed his forehead. “I was driving. Since you wanna be violent, I’ll withhold your birthday present.”

Amara grinned, shaking her head. “No, you won’t.”

She was right. On his way downstairs, he’d placed the wrapped book and card on Amara’s bed.

Amara smiled warmly at Noelle. “I’m his sister, Amara. It’s so nice to meet you.” She hugged Noelle, then pulled back and bit her lip. “Sorry, I should have asked if you’re a hugger.”

“I’m a hugger,” Noelle confirmed, laughing. She glanced at the dried blue paint marks on Amara’s hands. “Are you working on another painting? I saw some of the art you posted on your Instagram. It’s so good. My favorite is the one you painted of Florence Pugh crying in Midsommar.”

“Thank you! That’s one of my favorites too. Her face is so expressive. I’m in the middle of working on a painting that we’ll auction off at our family gala in a couple weeks. It’s not horror related, though. It’s a dedication to Heart Beach.”

“That’s so dope,” Noelle said. “I wish I knew how to paint.”

Amara squeezed Noelle’s hand. “I can definitely teach you, girl.”

“Really?” Noelle asked, and Amara nodded, beaming.

It was exactly as Jeremiah had feared. Amara was trying to bring Noelle into her fold from the get-go.

“Where’s Mom?” he asked as he smoothly wrapped his arm around Noelle’s waist. She glanced up and leaned into him, resting her head against his arm.

As if she heard him, Celeste breezed into the hallway.

“Hi, hi, hi,” she said. She’d taken off her sunglasses and hat, and her linen outfit flowed as she walked toward them. She looked ethereal and radiant.

“Hey, Ma,” Jeremiah said, smiling.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Celeste kissed him on the cheek and wiped away the stain that her nude brown lipstick left behind. She practically floated over to Noelle, sporting the largest smile. “You must be Noelle. I’m Jeremiah’s mother, Celeste. Welcome to Heart Beach!”

Noelle didn’t have a chance to respond before Celeste hugged her. Celeste pulled away, but kept her hands placed on Noelle’s shoulders as she took her in.

“Thank you so much for having me this weekend,” Noelle said.

“Of course, honey.” Celeste turned to Jeremiah as she dropped her hands from Noelle’s shoulders. “Miah, you didn’t tell us Noelle was so beautiful! I see why you’ve been spending all your time with her.”

“I don’t know how I forgot to mention that,” Jeremiah said, grinning at Noelle. He returned his hand to her waist. “Her beauty takes my breath away sometimes.”

Noelle laughed lightly, but Jeremiah could see the slight flush of her cheeks as his family looked at her.

“My son, the charmer,” Celeste said with a smile. “How was the drive down?”

“Fine,” Jeremiah said. “We sang lots of songs. Where are Percy and Robin?”

“Robin’s napping, and Percy is working at the coffee shop in town. He said he couldn’t focus here. He’ll meet us on the boardwalk later.”

“Oh, I thought he took the day off like everyone else,” Jeremiah said.

“I encouraged him to, but you know your brother.”

Smith’s Sweets was growing. Last year, they’d switched to a larger warehouse, hired new crew members, and changed distribution channels in order to keep up with demand. Celeste had always said that she wanted to retire early at sixty, and she was turning sixty next year. So far, there had been no word on her retirement, but if she did make that decision, Percy’s transition to CEO would be smooth. He was the one who poured oil into the Smith’s Sweets machine and kept things running efficiently. He’d always been devoted to his work, even as a teenager when he’d sold funnel cakes at Marty’s on the boardwalk. Working at Marty’s had been Jeremiah’s first summer job too. Celeste and Pop thought that it was important for Jeremiah and his siblings to learn the value of earning their own money. Summer jobs were part of the deal. Jeremiah had worked at Marty’s because Percy had worked there. Percy was three years older than him, and back then, Jeremiah thought that everything Percy did was worth emulating, even if he wasn’t as good at it.