The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(95)

“Tell me what happened,” Tati said softly.

Noelle poured out her heart and told Tati about everything that had happened in Heart Beach this weekend. When she was done speaking, she felt raw and empty.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Tati said, hugging Noelle close.

Sometimes there was nothing better than a hug from your best friend exactly when you needed it.

Noelle realized that she’d forgotten to let Jeremiah know that she was home. She sent him a text.


I made it home safe. Thank you again for my ride.

He responded immediately. Good. And you don’t need to thank me.

I hope everything goes okay when you talk to your family, she texted.


Thank you.

She bit her lip as she read his message, unsure of what to say next, or if she should say anything more at all. Then a follow-up text came through.


I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.





Chapter Thirty




After Noelle left, a block of ice lodged itself inside Jeremiah’s chest. Numbly, he went upstairs to his room and sat on his bed. He understood why she’d left. But her no longer being here still fucked him up. He felt her absence everywhere.

Usually on Sunday night, the Smiths were packing and leaving Heart Beach to go back to their separate homes and prepare for the upcoming week. But for some reason, everyone had stayed. It was as if there was an unspoken agreement that no one could leave Heart Beach until some kind of resolution took place.

Jeremiah thought of how Noelle had encouraged him to tell his family about what happened the last time he spoke to Pop. His fear over telling them about that conversation had caused so many problems. It had led to a strained relationship with Percy, who thought he’d left the company for selfish reasons. It had led to him avoiding Heart Beach for an entire summer because he hadn’t wanted to be confronted with his painful memories. It had led to his lie about having a girlfriend. If it weren’t for that lie, he wouldn’t have brought Noelle to Heart Beach, and he wouldn’t have fallen in love with her. Because he did love her. He knew that with every ounce of his being. That particular lie had brought him and Noelle together. But it was time to come clean to his family now.

He left his room and went downstairs. His mom and sisters were sitting on the living room couch, each holding bowls of pie and ice cream, watching The Best Man. His nieces must have gone upstairs to their room.

“Hey,” Celeste said softly. “Did Noelle get home okay?”

He nodded, chest tightening at the thought of Noelle. “I want to talk to everyone about something,” he said. “Where’s Percy?”

“Upstairs.” Robin grabbed her phone. “I’ll text him and tell him to come down.”

“Okay, thanks,” Jeremiah said.

Minutes later, Percy walked into the living room. He looked at Jeremiah, uneasy. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Jeremiah was still angry with Percy, but he didn’t want to lose track of what he needed to tell everyone now.

“There’s something that I should have told you years ago,” he started. He inhaled a deep breath, then let it go. “The real reason that I left Smith’s Sweets is because I felt like I was a failure to our family. It’s not a secret that while I was there, I wasn’t the best employee because I wasn’t my best self at that time in my life. I didn’t take my job seriously enough. Compared to the rest of you, I didn’t see how I could add anything of value, so I didn’t bother trying. I didn’t want to stay with the company and ruin the family image, but I wanted to do better with myself and my life. That’s why I left. I started working at Good Boy with Aaron because I saw it as a chance to start over and really make something of myself.” He looked at Percy. “I let you believe whatever you wanted to believe about me leaving, because I wasn’t ready to tell you the catalyst behind why I realized that I needed to do better.”

He paused, pulse thudding in his ears. His family stared at him, waiting. He was afraid for them to look at him differently once he told them about his last night with Pop. But he remembered Noelle’s words. They’ll understand. They’re your soft place to land. He pushed forward and told his family about what he and Pop had discussed the night before he died. He told them about how Pop had called him out on his lifestyle, and the shame he felt for lashing out at Pop and storming out when Pop was just trying to help him. He told them how he’d worked hard to get himself together since Pop’s death and how that was also why he had a hard time coming back to Heart Beach. Sharing this while standing in the living room, the same place where his worst memory took place, was difficult as hell. But the final weight that had been sitting on his chest for the past two years slowly began to lift. He’d always regret not handling that conversation with Pop better. But he was trying his best to be the kind of person who would make Pop proud, and that wasn’t nothing. He was a work in progress, and he would keep working on himself. And he was lucky enough to have one of the best men in the world as an example to follow.

When he finished speaking, his muscles tensed as he waited for his family’s reaction. Percy watched him, brows knit together. Amara pressed her hand over her heart, and Robin bit her lip, giving Jeremiah a sympathetic look. It was Celeste who spoke first.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us, honey?” she asked. She didn’t sound judgmental. Instead, she sounded like she was sad that Jeremiah hadn’t said anything sooner.