The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(87)
Her heart melted as she listened to him. She was so touched, she suddenly felt like she might cry. She ducked her head to hide her face, and Jeremiah used his index finger to lift her chin so that she’d look at him again.
“So to answer your question, no, I don’t plan on seeing other people when I move,” he said. “And I ask that you don’t see other people either.”
Hope spread from her heart to every corner of her body. It was scary, a little like free-falling, but she wanted to believe that she and Jeremiah could have a future that worked for both of them. A future where they were somehow still together and happy.
“We’ll have to figure out how to tell your family the truth about me not being a librarian yet,” she said, biting her lip. “We should tell them sooner rather than later.”
“True,” he said. “Don’t worry. We’ll think of the right way.”
She was hopeful. And she wanted to be happy. That was why she said, “You’ve got yourself another deal, Jeremiah Smith.”
She launched herself into his arms and he laughed as he held her close and kissed her.
“I can’t believe you were nervous to tell me that,” he said as his lips brushed against hers. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for you for years. There’s no way I’m letting you go that easy.”
Her heart pounded. “I feel the same way,” she whispered.
Slowly and reverentially, he undressed her. He worshipped her body with his hands and tongue. And later, when he was deep inside of her, she felt the strength of their connection and just how much he cared. She tightly wrapped her arms around him, grateful that she didn’t have to let him go, and that he didn’t want to let her go either.
* * *
In the middle of the night, Noelle woke with a start. She’d forgotten to schedule her advisor meeting with Professor Mathis.
She’d been so caught up in spending time with everyone on the boat and later in the pool, scheduling her meeting had completely slipped her mind. Shit.
She glanced at the time on her phone. It was a little after three a.m. Heart in her throat, she opened her email and clicked on the scheduling link. Just as she’d feared, there weren’t any slots left. She’d have to wait until the middle of the semester, but she didn’t want to wait that long. She wanted to be one of the students who discussed their goals and set themselves up for success. She needed to do everything right this time around.
She hopped out of bed and began pacing back and forth as she drafted an email to Professor Mathis, asking if there was a way that she could be added to a wait list on the off chance that someone canceled. She was so busy staring at her phone, she walked right into the bed and stubbed her toe against the bed frame.
“Ouch,” she hissed, bending down to rub her big toe.
In bed, Jeremiah rolled over, mumbling something to himself in his sleep. Noelle was in the middle of an academic crisis, and she didn’t want to wake him. Better yet, she needed her favorite comfort food to deal with this. And there were some salted caramel chocolate chip cookies right downstairs in the kitchen.
She threw on Jeremiah’s T-shirt and her pajama shorts. She paused outside of the bedroom door and listened for Caesar in case he’d decided to make his way up to the third floor again. She tiptoed downstairs, checking her phone every few seconds, praying that Professor Mathis had insomnia and would speedily reply to her email.
As Noelle entered the kitchen and reached for the light switch, she paused when she heard voices coming from the back porch. She squinted in the dark and made out Percy and Celeste sitting in the rocking chairs.
“I don’t know. It’s a good offer, Mom,” Percy said. “You want to retire. I want to be able to spend more time with my family. I want to be there for Robin with the new baby. I’ve felt guilty all year. At the very least, we should consider it.”
Celeste sighed. “I just keep wondering what my father would do. He had other plans for the company. He didn’t want us to sell.”
“I know,” Percy said solemnly. “But Pop isn’t here now, and times have changed.”
Noelle froze in place, realizing that she’d stumbled into a conversation between Percy and Celeste, and that they were discussing selling Smith’s Sweets.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Noelle was afraid to move. She didn’t want Celeste or Percy to notice her hovering in the kitchen. Theirs was a conversation that she definitely should not be overhearing. This was probably a conversation that they didn’t want anyone to overhear. It would explain why they were talking outside at three a.m. while everyone else was asleep. Jeremiah had mentioned before that his grandfather’s desire had been for Smith’s Sweets to stay a family-operated-and-owned business. He’d thought that Celeste and Percy were running things fine, to the point that he didn’t think they’d needed him. But maybe that was no longer the case.
Hesitantly, Noelle stepped into the hallway, eager to return upstairs. But Percy and Celeste rose from their chairs. Celeste pulled back the sliding glass door as they stepped into the living room. Noelle scurried into the kitchen again and flattened herself against the side of the fridge. She wished that she were invisible. She wished that she hadn’t forgotten to schedule a meeting with Professor Mathis, because then she wouldn’t be down here, searching for cookies to stress-eat while she waited for Professor Mathis to email her back. She should have just stayed in bed!