The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(52)

“Here it comes!” Amara shouted.

Oh, fuck.

Noelle squeezed her eyes closed and waited for the wave to knock her over. But then Jeremiah appeared by her side. He scooped her up in his strong arms like she weighed nothing. He carried her as he ran toward the shore, laughing the entire time. If she weren’t so shocked, she would have swooned. He was almost to shore when the wave knocked into him, and they both fell over into the shallow water, with Noelle landing right on top of Jeremiah. Her heart pounded as he grinned up at her, trying to catch his breath.

“I guess you don’t like Stone Man,” he said.

“Not my favorite game.” Laughter bubbled up inside of Noelle. Her skin was buzzing from Jeremiah’s touch. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her again, even though she definitely shouldn’t want something like that. Plus, there were children present. She disentangled herself from him and stood up, offering her hand to pull him to his feet. She couldn’t help grinning back at him. “Thank you. You’re my hero.”

He shrugged and winked as he stood. “All in a day’s work.”

After she’d agreed to extend their agreement last Sunday, Jeremiah had wired the first half of her payment. She’d never see that much money in her bank account at once. (He also told her he’d give her his credit card again so that she could go shopping for new clothes whenever she needed over the next few weeks.) In total, he was paying her fifteen thousand dollars. She still couldn’t believe it. That amount was significant to her, but clearly not for Jeremiah, since he’d proposed it to her so easily.

Right away, she’d set aside bill money for August, and she’d put the rest of the money in her savings account. By the end of the summer, when Jeremiah sent the second half, she’d have enough money to cover the rest of her tuition for her final year of college, as well as fees and books for her classes, with a couple thousand left over. Receiving this money also meant that she could take her time looking for a new job instead of rushing into the next available opening.

To imagine, none of this would have happened if Harold hadn’t fired her.

Yesterday evening, Jeremiah had picked her up and driven her back to Heart Beach. She’d prepared herself for an awkward welcoming, but the Smiths had acted as if her and Jeremiah’s breakup had never happened. They’d exchanged hugs and smiles, and they’d ordered pizza for dinner. Afterward, they’d sat outside on the back patio and played charades. Celeste was the only one who seemed to be treating Noelle a bit differently. Noelle couldn’t necessarily put her finger on how. Celeste certainly wasn’t being mean or rude. But Noelle caught Celeste looking at her sometimes, like she was trying to figure her out. She just hoped that Celeste didn’t look too closely. Because then her and Jeremiah’s lie could go up in smoke. And she also hoped that after summer ended, Jeremiah would try his best to be honest with his family.

“I won!” Amara declared now, as she ran toward them. She was wearing a black strapless one-piece bathing suit. If she owned clothes that weren’t black, Noelle hadn’t seen them yet. The chic goth look suited her, though. The wave had flattened her curls against her head and the back of her neck. “Now I’m hungry.”

The three of them trekked through the sand back to their spot on the beach. Robin lowered her sunglasses and smiled, still listening to her podcast, and the twins were laser focused on building their sandcastle. Amara opened a bag of chips, lay flat on her towel, and reopened her copy of Rosemary’s Baby. Noelle sat on her towel too and flipped open to her place in her fantastical thriller novel, The Apothecary’s Secret. Jeremiah plopped down in front of Noelle. He reached past her and grabbed her old copy of the first book in the Pirates of the Deep series. He’d asked her to bring it so that he had something to read on the beach. He’d started reading last night in bed, and from the current placement of his bookmark, he was getting through it pretty quickly.

Instead of reading her book, Noelle was busy admiring Jeremiah’s back muscles, when he glanced over his shoulder at her and caught her staring. She flashed an innocent smile, and he smirked like he knew exactly what she’d been doing.

“Do you think you can put some more sunblock on my back?” he asked.

“Sure.” Noelle’s pulse hammered as she grabbed the sunblock from her bag. She squirted dots along Jeremiah’s back and began rubbing in the lotion. His skin was hot and smooth. She felt his deep inhale and exhale as she moved her hands across the top of his back. She continued down his spine, and his lower back muscles contracted beneath her palms. The longer she touched him, the harder her heart pounded. She was enjoying this way too much. She remembered their contract and her bank account, and she snatched her hands back.

“All done,” she said.

“Thank you.” His voice sounded deeper, gruff. Had he been just as affected as her?

“Look, they’re out parasailing today,” Amara said.

Noelle leaned to the side to see past Jeremiah and looked where Amara was pointing. Out in the ocean, a boat was pulling two people who soared up in the air. Their feet dangled freely.

“What did you say that was called?” Noelle asked.

“Parasailing.” Jeremiah looked at her. “You ever done it?”

She shook her head, still staring at the people being pulled by the boat. It looked fun. “I’d like to, though.”