The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(34)
“Percy, this is my girlfriend, Noelle,” he said.
Noelle smiled cordially at Percy. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” The corners of Percy’s mouth lifted half an inch in a brief smile before he gave his full attention to Celeste. “I just got off a call with Anthony at the warehouse. Almost a dozen sugar cookie shipments are unaccounted for. That’s the second time in two weeks.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” Celeste said. “A few missing boxes won’t make or break us this weekend. There’s not much we can do until Monday.”
“Yeah, babe,” Robin said. “Plus, the girls have been waiting for you.”
“Can we go to the arcade now?” Ashley asked.
Percy frowned, glancing between his daughters, his wife, and his mom. “It might be a few missing boxes today, but it could turn into a larger issue down the line. I’d rather get this situation handled now.”
“I can take you to the arcade,” Jeremiah offered his nieces. “I was planning to take Noelle anyway. I wanna win her a bear.”
Percy looked at Jeremiah and narrowed his eyes. “It’s interesting when you choose to be helpful.”
There it was. The ire that Jeremiah had been waiting for.
“You have a problem with me taking them to the arcade?” Jeremiah asked.
“I have a problem with how you pick and choose when to care,” Percy said.
“Stop this right now.” Celeste stood between her sons. She looked back and forth imploringly. “You’re family. Cut the drama.”
Jeremiah and Percy frowned at each other. Jeremiah hated that this was the nature of their relationship now. Percy would always hold it against him that he’d left the family company. And Jeremiah would always wish that he was worthy enough to stay.
Noelle tightened her grasp on Jeremiah’s hand. “Did you mean what you said about winning me a bear?” she asked.
She looked up at him, patient and calm. Slowly, his pulse rate regulated. He reminded himself that he was here at Heart Beach to keep the peace with Celeste and to attend Amara’s birthday party. Not to argue with Percy.
“Yeah,” he said to Noelle. “Let’s get you that bear.”
“We’ll all go to the arcade,” Celeste said. “Percy, honey, worry about the warehouse issue on Monday.”
Percy grumbled something and pulled out his phone, most likely trying to send off one last email.
“You good?” Noelle whispered to Jeremiah. They began leading the group down the boardwalk.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m good. Thank you.”
She nudged his arm with her shoulder. “You’ve got my hopes up about that bear now.”
Jeremiah laughed, feeling his mood lift steadily. “I did mean it. I’m gonna win it for you.”
“Okay, then,” she said, winking.
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it again, just because. She looked at him through her lashes and smiled. Maybe thanks to Noelle, he’d be able to make it through the weekend.
Chapter Nine
Noelle smoothed her hands down the front of her satin, sleeveless olive green dress. She’d bought it at the same boutique in SoHo with Tati. The hem fell right below her knees, so it seemed appropriate to wear to dinner. Jeremiah’s mom had hired a private chef to cook tonight. He said that Celeste didn’t have a ton of house rules, but she preferred that everyone be dressed for dinner. Nothing fancy, but you weren’t allowed to sit at the table in your bathing suit or your pajamas.
Noelle had gotten a tan from being out in the sun today, and she wore her braids loose down her back. They’d spent the majority of the early evening at the arcade and the games section of the boardwalk. Jeremiah had tried and failed three times to win her a stuffed bear at the balloon darts booth, but he’d won her a stuffed turtle after playing the spray-and-race game. While accepting the prize, Noelle had kissed Jeremiah on the cheek, and she’d carried the turtle proudly like it was a coveted trophy. His mom and sisters had found this adorable. Hopefully, she and Jeremiah looked convincingly in love, and when their big breakup happened tomorrow night, his family would understand his heartbreak and he’d be able to drop the girlfriend narrative for good.
So far, the Smiths had been nothing but kind to Noelle. Amara and Robin went out of their way to include Noelle in conversations, and although she found Celeste intimidating, she could tell that Celeste was making an effort to be welcoming to her son’s new girlfriend. His nieces were rambunctious sweethearts. After the standoff between Jeremiah and Percy on the boardwalk, they’d avoided each other, and as a result, Percy also inadvertently avoided Noelle. He’d walked away from the group more than once to take phone calls.
Noelle didn’t know the source of friction between Jeremiah and Percy, but that also didn’t seem like important information that she needed in order to do her job properly. It wasn’t her place to insert herself and ask Jeremiah about what was going on. Every family had drama, and she wouldn’t be seeing this family after the weekend ended.
She was more concerned about keeping herself in line. Literally. The house was immaculate. Like the kind of house that location scouts picked for movies. Noelle felt like a bull in a china shop here. Every item was placed just so with intention. From the spotless furniture to the wall decor to the sparkling plates and utensils she’d spotted in the dining room. Even the toothbrush holder in the third-floor bathroom was made of white glass. If she broke something, it would cost her a pretty penny to replace it. That was for sure.