The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(48)

“Thank you so much for having me this weekend,” she said. “And I’m really sorry about last night. I know it was a bit dramatic.”

“That’s all right. We were happy to have you.” Celeste tilted her head and looked like she was about to say something else, but Jeremiah appeared behind her. He kissed Celeste on the cheek as he slid past her out the door with his suitcase.

“Bye, Ma,” he said. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” Celeste smiled fondly, but there was a hint of sadness in her expression too. “Call me when you get home so that I know you got there safe.”

Jeremiah saluted her. “I will.”

“You’ll forget.” Celeste shook her head with a smirk.

“I promise I won’t,” he said, laughing.

He grabbed Noelle’s suitcase and carried both bags to his car. Then he hugged his nieces goodbye. As Noelle got in the car, she caught Celeste watching her with that same unreadable expression. She wondered what Celeste might have said to her if Jeremiah hadn’t interrupted them.

Before they left Heart Beach, Jeremiah stopped at a bagel shop and bought them breakfast sandwiches. Once they were on the highway, he asked Noelle to connect her phone to the car’s Bluetooth, and she played another R & B playlist. They were mostly quiet as they listened to the music and snuck glances at each other. Noelle stared at his large hands as they rested on the steering wheel. The same hands that had touched her so reverentially. The silence wasn’t awkward. It was more like they were giving space to the awareness between them. An understanding. Last night, they’d acknowledged their attraction to each other, but there was no way forward.

All too soon, Jeremiah turned off the parkway exit for Brickton. Then he was pulling into her apartment complex. He parked his car and the engine hummed as they idled.

It was silly. She’d earned her thirty-five hundred dollars. She should be happy! And she was happy. But she didn’t want to get out of the car. She wanted to spend more time with Jeremiah, even though that definitely would not be a good idea. She’d had a Cinderella-type weekend, and now her temporary Prince Charming was dropping her off after the ball. Such was life.

“Oh, I almost forgot to give you this,” she said, reaching into her purse to grab his credit card. Their fingers brushed as she handed the card to him. She swallowed thickly as goose bumps spread up her arm.

“Ah, yeah. Thanks.” He shifted in his seat to face her. It didn’t seem like he was in any real hurry for her to get out of his car either.

“I had a nice time with you this weekend,” she said quietly. “Thanks again for hiring me.”

“Thank you for agreeing to come, Noelle. I…” He trailed off and stared pointedly at the floor, frowning. Then he shook his head and laughed miserably to himself.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “Just—I really hope that everything works out for you. Good luck with finishing your degree and becoming a librarian. You deserve all the good things. If you ever need anything—anything at all—I hope you know that you can reach out to me.”

The earnestness in his voice almost made her tear up. It was validating to hear someone tell her that she deserved good things, especially when life tried so hard to push her down.

“Thank you,” she said. “And good luck with your move and everything you have going on with your job.” She paused and bit her lip. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but your family seems really great. You should talk to them about how much you miss your grandfather. They’ll understand. They’re your soft place to land. I’ve always wanted a big family like yours. You’re really lucky to have them.”

Something flashed across his face, like the thought of talking about his grandfather with his family pained him. But his expression cleared just as quickly.

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “Thanks.”

They stared at each other, exchanging small smiles.

“I should go,” she said reluctantly.

She opened her car door, and Jeremiah hurried to grab her suitcase from the trunk. When he hugged her, she carved everything about him into her memory. The way he smelled, the even rise and fall of his chest when he breathed, how he securely encircled her in his arms. If she didn’t mentally document these things, tomorrow she might wake up and think that Jeremiah and this entire weekend had been an elaborate dream.

“Bye, Noelle,” he said. His smile was sad as he slowly pulled away.

She was sure that her smile looked the same.

“Bye, Jeremiah.”

With a heavy heart, she watched as her temporary Prince Charming returned to his car and waved before he drove away.

Well. Back to reality.





Chapter Fifteen




The inside of Jeremiah’s car smelled like Noelle’s perfume. It had always been part of their plan that her commitment to him would last for only the duration of the weekend. So then why did he feel so off without her here? In a short period of time, he’d gotten used to her warm presence. He’d become accustomed to the sound of her laugh and the boost of serotonin that shot to his brain whenever he’d made her smile. His hands had become familiar with the feel of hers as they’d threaded their fingers and pressed their palms together countless times. He hadn’t been prepared for how amazing it felt to kiss and touch her intimately. Now he’d never be able to forget the feeling of her smooth, soft skin, or how she’d moaned in his ear last night.