The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(68)
The world fell away as Jeremiah’s eyes fixed on hers. He lifted one hand to softly cradle her face and he rested his other hand against her lower back. He applied slight pressure and brought her closer. She lifted her chin and leaned in toward him. It felt so natural, like they’d done it countless times before. Their lips met, and her body curved instinctively into his. She looped her arms around his neck. Fireworks erupted in her brain, and the butterflies spread in a frenzy from her stomach to each of her limbs. Kissing Jeremiah felt so right, like all the time they’d spent not kissing had been a total waste. Her skin burned hot as his tongue slid across hers, and she was completely lost in him. Until someone whistled, snapping her back to reality.
Blinking, Noelle pulled away. People were cheering around them. Amara clapped and whistled again. Noelle’s face was on fire. They’d planned to kiss, not completely make out in front of everyone. Whoops.
She glanced at up Jeremiah, and his eyes were glazed over as he stared down at her, like he was still caught up in their kiss too. He smiled, just a slight lift to the corners of his lips. But Noelle felt the force of it hit her right in the solar plexus.
Jeremiah was her client. She shouldn’t want more from him. But her feelings for him had progressed far beyond a simple crush.
Her defenses were evaporating. And it was scaring the life out of her.
Chapter Twenty-One
In the morning, Jeremiah opened his eyes to Noelle’s sleeping form. During the night, the satin scarf that she’d tied around her braids had come loose. She looked peaceful and angelic, illuminated by the early-morning light.
They hadn’t left the gala until almost three a.m. last night. Noelle had been so tired, she hadn’t bothered to read before bed. Her book of the week, a memoir about a child actor, sat untouched on the bedside table.
Jeremiah rested his head against his pillow as he looked at Noelle. Yesterday, he’d told her about his last conversation with Pop, and she hadn’t judged him. She’d told him that he was just as worthy of good things as the rest of his family. He wanted to believe that was true. But mostly, it meant a lot to him that Noelle felt that way. She’d encouraged him to forgive himself and stay at the gala with his family. She’d told him not to run away. He was glad that he’d taken her advice. At first, it had been hard to host the gala without Pop. He’d felt Pop’s absence everywhere. But as the night went on, the gala began to feel more like a celebration of Pop’s continuing legacy. And for the first time all summer, Jeremiah woke up this morning feeling lighter, less weighed down by his memories. A lot of that was thanks to Noelle.
He knew that he was moving to California. He knew that she wanted to focus on getting back into college. He knew that a real relationship between them might not go anywhere.
But the plain truth was that he was falling for Noelle.
And their kiss last night on the dance floor…he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
He wondered if she felt the same way. Sometimes he caught her looking at him like he was the coveted buried treasure that she’d been searching for (he was now on book two of the Pirates of the Deep series). But it would be inappropriate for him to ask her about her feelings. He was paying her to be here, which inevitably created a power imbalance. Whatever was growing between them felt real, but in the event that he’d misread her and she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, he didn’t want her to feel obligated to pretend that she liked him back out of fear that he wouldn’t hold up his end of the bargain. Ultimately, he’d have to wait and let Noelle take the lead.
He slipped quietly from the bed. Noelle rolled over but didn’t wake up. He shrugged off his pajamas and threw on his running gear. Then brushed his teeth and grabbed his phone before jogging downstairs. It was a little after ten a.m. Because they’d been out so late, most of his family was still asleep. But Ashley and Harper were sitting on the living room couch, holding bowls of cereal as they watched TV. They were so engrossed in their show, they hardly acknowledged Jeremiah when he said good morning on his way out the door.
He ran through downtown Heart Beach, and the morning breeze helped keep him cool. As a teenager, he used to go on morning runs every day here. It was a special thing to see Heart Beach as it was waking up. He stopped at Timeless Blooms, the florist that they’d used for last night’s gala. The head florist, Gabrielle, didn’t blink when Jeremiah asked if she could put together a bouquet with the same hydrangeas they’d used for last night’s arrangements.
Fresh bouquet in hand, Jeremiah stopped to pick up donuts from Heart Beach Doughnut Shoppe. There were plenty of sweets at home, of course, but there was only one Heart Beach Doughnut Shoppe. It used to be one of their favorite places to visit on Sunday mornings. Jeremiah, Amara, and Percy used to fight over who got to ride shotgun in Pop’s car as they drove into town.
Last night, Noelle had once again encouraged Jeremiah to talk to his family about Pop. He knew that she was right, and although he felt better now after sharing the story with her, he wasn’t ready to tell his family just yet. He didn’t want it to hurt them, and he didn’t want to face Percy’s judgment in particular. When the time felt right, he’d tell them. He just didn’t know when that time would be.
When Jeremiah returned to the house, Percy was alone in the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee. He nodded at Jeremiah, and Jeremiah nodded back. There’d been an unspoken truce between them last night for the sake of the gala, but today was a new day. Jeremiah was unsure of how to approach a conversation with Percy that wouldn’t somehow end in a disagreement.