The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(38)

“All that fake blood,” Celeste said. She closed her eyes and shivered.

“That summer, Mom took yoga classes at eight p.m.,” Jeremiah continued. “So, one night while she was gone, Pop and I bought Ghostface masks from the costume store. And when she came home, we turned off the lights and jumped out and scared her.”

“I almost leapt out of my skin!” Celeste said, even though she was laughing.

Noelle smiled and rested her chin in her hand as she listened. “How old you were you then?”

“I think I was fourteen,” Jeremiah said.

“No, you were thirteen,” Amara said. “Because I was eleven, and that was the same summer that Pop taught me how to water ski.”

“He sounds like he was a lot of fun,” Noelle said.

“He was,” Jeremiah agreed. He fell quiet and stared at his empty plate.

“Celeste, I forgot to tell you that I saw Mercy Webster at the grocery store this morning,” Robin said. “She asked if she could bring a plus-one to Amara’s party tomorrow. I think she has a new boyfriend.”

“Really?” Celeste asked. “What happened to the last guy?”

As the family moved on to another subject, Noelle noticed that Jeremiah didn’t join in. He kept his eyes averted, focused on the table. His brows pulled together as he rubbed his forehead. Then he stood abruptly. Everyone looked at him.

“Is anybody else hot?” he asked. “I’m kinda hot. I’m gonna get some air.”

“Oh.” Noelle began to slide her chair back.

“It’s okay,” he told her quickly, his expression strained. “I’ll be back in a couple minutes.”

He left the dining room. Unsure of what to do, Noelle looked around the table at his family. The adults exchanged quiet glances.

“Sometimes talking about my father can be difficult for Jeremiah,” Celeste explained quietly to Noelle. Her smile was soft. “Grief manifests itself differently for everyone. Don’t worry. He just needs a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Noelle said, folding her hands in her lap.

She decided that she’d wait ten minutes, exactly. Then she’d go and check on her fake boyfriend.





Chapter Ten




Jeremiah sat in a chair by the pool, his head in his hands. Inside the dining room, he’d started to feel suffocated. There were so many conversations with Pop that he wished he could have. Things he wished he could do over. He wished he could deal with Pop’s death normally like the rest of his family. He wished that he didn’t carry so much guilt about how his last conversation with Pop had been so fraught.

He didn’t know how long he sat outside alone before he heard the sound of someone else’s footsteps. He glanced up, and Noelle was walking across the backyard, maneuvering between the party tables and chairs. Wordlessly, she sat down in the pool chair beside him.

“I’m really sorry,” he said quickly. “I shouldn’t have left you in there alone. I just needed a minute.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I understand that you’re sad about your grandfather.” She paused. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He inhaled a deep breath and let it go. He wanted to open up to someone. Maybe Noelle would be the perfect someone because he most likely wouldn’t see her again after this weekend, and he could speak without fearing her judgment. But he didn’t want to burden her with his problems. That wasn’t why she was here.

“Nah, I’m good. Thank you, though.”

She nodded. Silently, they stared at the glowing pool water.

“I’m not sure if you could tell how much it pained me to turn down that pie,” she said eventually, “but I really do want to sneak a slice upstairs tonight to eat before bed, FYI.”

Jeremiah chuckled softly. “I’ll get you a slice. And some salted caramel chocolate chip cookies too. I know we have a box around here somewhere. They’re your favorite, right?”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”

They sat by the pool for another few minutes before they went back inside. Amara, Robin, and the twins were settled on the living room couch. It was L-shaped and big enough to fit the entire family.

“Noelle, come sit with us,” Amara said, patting the empty seat beside her. “We’re about to find a movie to watch.”

“Oh,” Noelle said. She hesitated and glanced at Jeremiah. Then she bit her lip before turning back to his sister. “I’d better go to bed. I’m pretty tired.”

He figured she said this for the sake of keeping her distance.

Amara nodded and smiled. “No worries.”

They exchanged good-nights. As Noelle started up the steps, Jeremiah told her he’d meet her in his room after he grabbed the sweets he’d promised her. He was surprised when he walked into the kitchen and saw Celeste and Percy hovering over Percy’s laptop at the island. They were speaking in low tones, most likely discussing the missing shipments that Percy had been worried about earlier. They glanced up when they noticed Jeremiah.

“Sorry, just grabbing some pie,” he said. “Decided to eat some tonight after all.”

“Help yourself, honey,” Celeste said.

He grabbed a half-full box of salted caramel chocolate chip cookies from the cabinet and made quick work of slicing the pie.