The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(55)
Family, he’d said. That’s what life is all about. What really matters.
The sound of Noelle’s laughter lifted Jeremiah out of his bittersweet memory. She was walking ahead of him between Amara and Robin. She was wearing a light purple sundress that showed off the tan line from her bikini. Amara said something that made Noelle laugh again, and she threw her head back as her shoulders shook. Robin nudged Noelle in her side, giggling too. Noelle seemed so much more carefree tonight than she’d seemed when he’d first met her at the bookstore weeks ago. She’d looked beautiful, obviously, but her stress had been etched into her features.
He liked to think that, in addition to the money, being here at Heart Beach this summer might provide Noelle some much-needed relaxation. There had been a childlike wonder in her eyes when they’d gone parasailing earlier. He wanted her to feel that same joy for the next few weeks. Her happiness was important to him, and he knew what that meant. He knew that having a crush on Noelle could end only in disaster for him. She was focused on going back to college, and he was moving. She was here with him and his family because he was paying her. His budding feelings were only complicating things. But it was just too hard not to like her.
“Where’s Dad?” Harper asked, tugging on Jeremiah’s arm again. “And Grandma?”
Jeremiah glanced around, searching for his mom and brother. He realized that even though they’d all arrived on the boardwalk together, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Percy or Celeste. Most of the day, they’d been huddled inside Celeste’s office. From what Jeremiah had gleaned, they were experiencing more issues with the new warehouse in Pennsylvania. The gift and curse of company growth was that the margin of error grew as well.
He spotted Celeste and Percy in the crowd, walking slowly, heads bent toward each other as they spoke, sporting serious expressions.
So far this weekend, he and Percy had remained civil toward each other. Granted, that was probably because Percy had been busy working most of today. But their current peace emboldened Jeremiah to approach Percy and Celeste.
“Hey, can you catch up with your mom?” he asked the twins. “I want to talk to your dad and grandma really quick.”
Ashley and Harper skipped ahead to Robin, and Jeremiah waited for Celeste and Percy to catch up to him. They were so deep in conversation, they didn’t notice Jeremiah until he was standing right in front of their faces.
“Hey, everything cool?” he asked. “Y’all look kind of serious.”
He’d said this jokingly, but Celeste and Percy exchanged strained expressions.
“Seriously, though,” he said, earnest. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“There’s just some miscommunication with the new warehouse management,” Celeste said, smiling tiredly. She craned her neck, trying to spot the rest of the family. “Nothing to worry about, really. Where’s everyone else?”
Jeremiah glanced at Percy, whose features were drawn.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jeremiah asked.
Percy frowned. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. I can just be here to listen and offer ideas if you need them.”
“You have some experience with Good Boy, but Good Boy isn’t on the same level as Smith’s Sweets yet. I don’t think there’s much you can do to help.” Percy crossed his arms over his chest. “But I appreciate the offer, especially since you willingly gave up your chance to be a helpful Smith’s Sweets employee.”
Jeremiah bristled and immediately regretted saying anything to his brother. It didn’t surprise him that Percy didn’t think he knew enough to be helpful, but hearing him say it still stung. Jeremiah had been naive to think the peace between him and Percy could last forever. It reminded him why he wouldn’t tell his family about his last conversation with Pop. Percy would only judge him about it forever.
“Why do you have to be like that?” he asked.
Percy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Like what?”
“Percy, Miah,” Celeste interrupted, giving them stern looks. “Can we please have a peaceful evening?”
For Celeste’s sake, Jeremiah decided to drop it. He didn’t say anything else to his brother as they caught up with the rest of their family, who were waiting in front of the water ice stand.
“Everything okay?” Amara asked, glancing between her brothers, reading their tense body language.
“Everything’s fine,” Jeremiah said. Percy gave her a reassuring smile. Until recently, the three of them had gotten along well. This new hostility between Jeremiah and Percy made Amara anxious. The brothers didn’t agree on much lately, but they remained protective of their little sister.
Noelle stood next to Jeremiah and wordlessly linked her fingers through his. It might have been for show, but the way she looked at him with her brows pulled together in concern felt real. Feeling their interlocked hands helped ground him.
“What should we do now?” Celeste asked. “Should we see a movie?”
Harper and Ashley jumped up and down, grasping their water ice cups. Everyone began discussing movie options.
“I’m sorry, but Noelle and I are gonna have to miss out on movie night unfortunately,” Jeremiah said. “We have date-night plans.”
Noelle blinked. This was obviously news to her because they hadn’t discussed any date-night plans, but she covered her surprise with an easy smile and nodded.