The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(33)

“We’re ready to go to the boardwalk now,” Ashley said, interrupting them. “Can we leave soon, please, Grandma?”

“Yes, sweetheart. Let me go and wake your mom. She wanted to come too.” To Jeremiah and Noelle, Celeste asked, “Will you be joining us?”

Jeremiah looked at Noelle. He was eager to get out of the house. Everywhere he turned reminded him of his grandfather. It was soothing, yet simultaneously painful. He raised an eyebrow, mentally asking her, Is that okay?

To his relief, Noelle smiled. “Yes, we’d love to.”



* * *





“Noelle, can you tell us the story of how you and Jeremiah met?” Amara asked. She rolled her eyes at Jeremiah. “Miah’s been very tight-lipped about your relationship.”

Jeremiah smiled down at Noelle as she slipped her hand through his, like it was the most natural thing in the world. They were walking down the boardwalk, having just left the ice cream parlor. Ashley and Harper walked ahead of them.

“It’s a simple story,” Noelle said. “We met at the bookstore where I used to work. I helped him look for a book and he asked me to dinner. We’ve been having dinners together ever since.”

She delivered the story perfectly, smiling in the right places and sending affectionate glances his way. He was impressed, although he shouldn’t have been. She was used to doing this at the weddings she worked.

“I didn’t know that you liked to read, Miah,” his sister-in-law, Robin, said. She’d brought a mini electric fan outside with her and was currently fanning her face and neck. She rested her other hand on her round stomach. Thanks to her pregnancy, she felt overheated all the time. She’d recently chopped her hair into a pixie cut. “What kind of books are you into?”

Well, he hadn’t expected anyone to ask him that.

“I saw Noelle in the window and made up an excuse about needing a book,” he said, thinking fast. “She was so beautiful, I just wanted to talk to her.”

He looked at Noelle and made lovesick, puppy-dog eyes. She batted her eyelashes and blew him a kiss. Celeste, Amara, and Robin smiled as they watched the two of them and their PDA.

“So, what do you do for fun up there in Jersey City?” Celeste asked.

He and Noelle blinked at each other. What they did for fun wasn’t something that they’d thought to discuss.

“We like to eat Thai food,” he blurted.

“Oh?” Celeste said.

“Yeah, we do this thing where we go to a new restaurant every week and try out different cuisines,” Noelle said, covering up his blunder. “It’s like traveling the world, but through food. The most recent food we tried was Thai.”

“That sounds cool,” Amara said.

“We like singing together too, right?” Jeremiah said. “We do karaoke. R and B karaoke specifically.”

Noelle fought off a grin. “Have you ever heard Jeremiah sing? He has the voice of an angel.”

He barked out a laugh, and Noelle squeezed his hand, trying to keep a straight face. He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Only he noticed the stutter of her pulse on the inside of her wrist. They locked eyes, and for a second, he simply enjoyed the privilege of looking at her up close. He almost forgot that they were supposed to be pretending.

“Do you like charades, Noelle?” Robin asked. “You can’t escape a summer with the Smiths without playing at least once.”

“I haven’t played in a while, but I’d be up for it,” Noelle said.

Little did they know, after this weekend, they wouldn’t be seeing Noelle again.

“What should we do now?” Celeste asked the group. “Play some games? Ride some rides?” She touched Noelle’s arm. “There’s this one ride that shoots you into the air like a slingshot.”

“Games, then rides?” Harper suggested.

Beside her, Ashley pointed. “Look, there’s Dad!”

Their group turned. Percy was making his way down the crowded boardwalk. He wore a simple white T-shirt and khaki shorts. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses. Jeremiah tensed, wondering which version of his brother he’d get today. Ever since he’d left Smith’s Sweets, Percy’s default setting with Jeremiah was surly. The level of surliness varied depending on Percy’s mood.

Robin waved, and Percy waved back. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed Jeremiah. He’d probably assumed that Jeremiah wasn’t actually going to show up this weekend. When he reached them, he kissed Robin and hugged his daughters. He looked over their heads at Jeremiah. He and Percy were the same height. They had the same complexion and shade of brown eyes. They differed almost everywhere else.

“What’s up, bro?” Jeremiah asked. “Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” Percy said.

They dapped each other up and hugged.

“I’m glad you came,” Percy said as he pulled away. “Thought you might be avoiding us for some reason.”

Jeremiah forced a smile. “Nah.”

He never straight up avoided Percy, but he didn’t make a habit of seeking him out anymore either. Percy thought that Jeremiah left Smith’s Sweets because he was being selfish and shirking his responsibilities. But Jeremiah had left because after his last conversation with Pop, he’d realized that he was only making the family look bad by staying with the company but slacking off. Pop had been right—Jeremiah hadn’t been happy with the job he was doing at the company and knew he could do better, but when he tried to think of ways to contribute, it became clear that Celeste and Percy had everything under control, and they didn’t need Jeremiah. It would be best if he left and stopped ruining the Smith’s Sweets image. In the two years since he’d left, he’d gotten himself together more, but whenever he thought about the idea of returning to Smith’s Sweets, he still feared that he’d somehow mess things up. It was a fear that he didn’t have with Good Boy because at Good Boy he’d started with a clean slate, and it was less personal. However, explaining that to Percy meant he’d also have to explain his last conversation with Pop, and that was the last thing Jeremiah wanted to do.