The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(98)

Harold slowly took Jeremiah’s card. “Thank you,” he said. He eagerly shook Jeremiah’s hand. “I’ll definitely give you a call.”

Jeremiah smiled. “Great, looking forward to speaking.”

“Oh, and tell Noelle that I said hi. And that I’m proud of her.”

Jeremiah swallowed thickly. He didn’t want to admit that he was unsure of how soon he’d be able to deliver his message to Noelle. But he nodded and said, “I’ll tell her.”



* * *





His Thai food had gone cold by the time he returned to his apartment. He placed the food on his kitchen table and plopped down on his couch. The truth struck him then: He didn’t want to move. Now that he was being honest with himself, he’d never really wanted to. A lot of that had to do with a reluctance to be so far from his family. But he also realized that he’d been chasing the idea of the kind of life that he thought he’d wanted and he thought maybe he’d find that fulfillment in California. Meanwhile, he’d been slowly carving out that life right here in this apartment, where he’d found peace and growth.

His gaze landed on the framed photograph of him and his family at Disney World all those years ago. He looked at Pop’s overjoyed expression. He’d been so proud of his family, even with Amara moving out of frame and Percy complaining about the heat. And Jeremiah surely hadn’t been a saint that trip. He’d begged Celeste to buy him almost every toy in sight. Pop had loved them each unconditionally, like always.

Over the past couple days, Jeremiah had been frustrated, thinking about how crushed Pop would feel to know that Celeste and Percy were considering an offer to sell. But what Jeremiah hadn’t thought about was how Pop had never put the company before family. Jeremiah and Percy had apologized to each other in Heart Beach, but they hadn’t talked since. They differed in many ways, but they were brothers, and nothing could change that. They had to make things right.

He stood and grabbed his car keys.



* * *





Percy and his family lived about a forty-minute drive west of Jersey City in Montclair. Jeremiah pulled up in front of their Victorian-style house. Percy and Robin’s cars were in the driveway, and the lights were on inside their home. Jeremiah rang the doorbell and heard Harper’s and Ashley’s voices on the other side of the door.

“It’s Uncle Miah!” one of them shouted.

The door yanked open. His nieces looked at him with big, curious eyes as Harper grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.

“Whoa, hi,” he said, laughing.

It smelled like something savory was cooking, and Jeremiah belatedly realized that he’d most likely interrupted their dinner. They were a shoes-off household, so he untied his sneakers and left them by the door.

“Are you here to argue with Dad again?” Ashley asked.

Jeremiah winced. “No. And I’m sorry you had to hear that argument last weekend.”

“You and Dad would have filled up Mom’s swear jar,” Harper said.

Robin came into the hallway then. She hugged Jeremiah.

“This is a surprise,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m not bringing drama. I promise,” he said. “I just want to talk to Percy. He busy?”

“He’s always busy.” Robin smiled softly. “He’s upstairs in the office.”

Jeremiah made his way upstairs and paused outside of the office. It was quiet on the other side of the door. He knocked gently.

“Come in,” Percy said.

As Jeremiah opened the door, Percy, who was seated at his desk, turned around. His eyes widened, clearly surprised to see his brother.

“Yo,” Jeremiah said.

Percy blinked at him. “Yo.”

Jeremiah stood there for a second, and Percy continued to stare at him. Then he gestured to the empty leather couch by the bookshelf. Jeremiah sat down, and the brothers observed each other.

“I think I’ve been jealous of you,” Jeremiah said quietly.

Percy frowned, eyebrows lifting in surprise. “You’ve been jealous of me?”

“Yeah,” Jeremiah said. “You always knew what you wanted. You were driven. People respected you, and you didn’t have to try hard to earn their respect. I felt like I had to overcompensate with friendliness in order for people to overlook the ways that I fell short. You never had to worry about that. I’ve spent a lot of my life wishing I could be more like you.”

Percy shook his head. “Little do you know, I wished that I could be more like you. Do you know how much easier my life would be if I was more personable? If I could talk to people as easily as you do? People are instantly comfortable in your presence. That’s honestly one of the reasons that I don’t think I’ll be able to fill Mom’s shoes once she retires. You see how she owns every room that she walks into. I’m not like that. I’m not like y’all. Or like Pop.” Percy glanced down. “You’re more like him than I am.”

“That’s in your head,” Jeremiah said. “We’re all like him in different ways. I might resemble him the most, but you’re a natural leader like him. You’re smart and dedicated. Amara and I couldn’t have had a better older brother growing up.”