Chapter Five #2
Her boss was this kid’s uncle? That explained how he was still employed.
But damn. Jeremiah knew all too well what it was like to be given a job because of nepotism.
And he knew what it was like not to care about the job the way it deserved.
He’d judged this kid when he’d been just as careless in the past. How many people like Noelle had been looked over at Smith’s Sweets so that Jeremiah could keep his cushy position in the family business?
The thought made him sick to his stomach, which was often how he felt when he thought about some of his past actions.
He felt even more determined to help Noelle.
She gave a little wave to Kevin and motioned for Jeremiah to follow her outside.
There was a moment of weighted silence between them as they faced each other on the sidewalk. Noelle tilted her chin up and watched Jeremiah. Her expression was unreadable, but at the very least, he inspired her curiosity. He’d better take his chance now and tell her the full story.
“My family has been spending summers at our house in Heart Beach for decades,” he said.
“I didn’t go at all last summer because I’ve been too busy with work.
But next weekend my mom is throwing a birthday party for my sister, and because I haven’t been to the house in so long, she wouldn’t take no for an answer when I said I wouldn’t be able to make it.
Back in May, when she wanted me to visit for Memorial Day Weekend, I made up a stupid lie about having plans with a new…
girlfriend. When she asked if my new girlfriend was the reason that I couldn’t come this weekend, I said yeah.
But then I felt guilty about not coming, so I changed my mind.
Then she told me to bring my new girlfriend too, and I knew that if she found out that I’d lied about the girlfriend, it would cause more problems, so the best thing to do was figure out some kind of situation to save face.
Then I met you, and you told me about your fake-bridesmaid side job, and I know being a fake girlfriend is different from being a bridesmaid.
We won’t be at a wedding, but like the brides you work with, you’d still have to pretend to know me in front of my family.
I need a temporary fake girlfriend, and you need money for college. We’d be helping each other.”
He paused, gauging Noelle’s reaction to everything he’d said. She stared at him silently with a thoughtful expression, teeth tugging her bottom lip.
“Can I buy you dinner so that we can talk about it more?” he asked, desperate.
Noelle glanced back at the bookstore with a slight frown and then averted her eyes to the ground. He wondered what she was thinking. Finally, she returned her gaze to his face.
“This would be a strictly professional arrangement, right?” she said, brows knitted. “You aren’t expecting we’ll do anything sexual, are you?”
“No, of course not!” he hastened to say. “Nothing like that at all.”
She watched him silently again. Then, “How much are you offering to pay me?”
“What’s your usual rate for your bridesmaid work?”
“It depends on the package. It can range anywhere from five hundred to twenty-five hundred, depending on how much time it requires. Then the agency takes a twenty percent commission from whatever I make.”
“I’ll give you thirty-five hundred dollars for the weekend. Friday night to Sunday morning. All yours, straight up.”
Her jaw dropped as she gawked at him.
“For real,” he said. “And no funny business. Just us pretending to be a couple in front of my family.”
She blinked like she was still trying to wrap her mind around how much he’d offered.
But the amount wouldn’t hurt his pockets.
He had his salary from Good Boy, of course.
But in addition to that, he and his siblings each had trust funds set up for them from birth.
And once he’d turned eighteen, Pop and Celeste had set him up with a financial advisor to make some smart investments, which had helped him build a healthy nest egg of passive income.
Pop and Celeste had done the same with Percy and Amara as well.
They’d wanted to make sure that money was something Jeremiah and his siblings never had to worry about.
“Okay…I’ll go to dinner with you to talk about it more,” Noelle said finally. “I have questions.”
“Yeah?” he said. She nodded. His relief was almost palpable. She hadn’t officially agreed to come with him next weekend yet, but at least she was willing to know more. “Wait, I should have asked, are you already in a relationship?”
He didn’t know why it had just occurred to him now to ask that question. Noelle was beautiful and just by talking to her, he was able to see that she was smart and sweet. The odds of someone else recognizing those qualities and snapping her up were pretty high.
“No,” she said. “I’m too focused on going back to college to worry about dating.”
That explained why their flirty vibe had abruptly ended when he’d been about to ask her out inside the bookstore before. But more than anything, he respected her dedication to her goal.
“Good, that makes this easier,” he said.
“What are you in the mood to eat? I’m fine with anything.
There’s a steakhouse downtown that I’ve been to, or we can go to this Italian spot that’s supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Jersey.
I think we might need a reservation, but I’m sure we can figure something out. ”
“There’s a mom-and-pop Thai place up the street from here,” she said, pointing in the restaurant’s general direction. “We can walk if you’re cool with that.”
“Yeah, for sure. Let me just put this bag in my car.”
He unlocked his car and jogged to the passenger side, quickly dropping Amara’s gift in the seat.
When he turned around, he saw a woman standing in the window of the hair salon across the street.
She eagerly waved at Noelle and held up her hands and moved her thumbs like she was texting.
Text me! she mouthed. Noelle nodded and gave a thumbs-up.
When the woman caught eyes with Jeremiah as he reapproached Noelle, she quickly dropped her hands and smiled innocently.
Noelle herself looked like she was fighting a smile as she turned to him.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah.” They started to walk, and he nodded his head toward the woman who was still watching them from the hair salon window. “Is she your friend? You can tell her I’m just taking you to dinner and I don’t plan to abduct you.”
“She’s my best friend and roommate,” Noelle said. Her mouth curved into a wry, if not slightly exasperated, smile, like she was thinking of an inside joke. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure abduction isn’t what she has in mind.”
Curious, Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. “What does she—”
“So what made you feel guilty enough to change your mind and tell your mom that you’d come to Heart Beach after all?” Noelle asked.
Jeremiah glanced at her, surprised that this was her first question. Farther ahead, a group of people ascended the steps of the PATH train station, and on either side of the street, people were gathering outside of restaurants for early dinners and happy hours.
“She…brought up my grandfather and how we all miss him,” he said. “He passed away the summer before last. She wants me to spend time with everyone in Heart Beach before I move.”
“I’m really sorry about your grandfather,” Noelle said. She lightly touched his elbow, and his skin hummed beneath her fingertips. Before he could analyze his response to the contact, she pulled her hand away.
He cleared his throat and smiled. “Thank you.”
They arrived at the Thai restaurant and the host ushered them to an open table by the window.
Twinkle lights lined the window frame, and when Jeremiah looked across the table at Noelle, she almost appeared as though she were glowing.
She stared back at him intently, and he was so struck by her beauty, he almost forgot what they were doing there together.
Then he realized that she was staring at him because their server had arrived and asked for their drink orders.
“Their Thai iced tea is good,” Noelle offered. “You should try it.”
“Okay.” To their server, he said, “I’ll have the iced tea, thank you.”
When the server walked away, Noelle folded her hands on the table. “You don’t have friends you can ask to pretend to be your girlfriend?”
He shook his head and laughed quietly, more so to himself. “Nah. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of friends these days.”
It may have sounded a little pathetic, but it was the truth.
“Other than my best friend, I don’t have a lot of friends anymore either,” she said. “It’s hard to make friends as an adult, especially if you don’t have time because of work.” She quirked an eyebrow. “Is that the same reason for you?”
“Kind of. I used to live a, um, very different life, and it wasn’t all that healthy.
To really move forward and change, I had to let go of a lot, including the people I used to hang around.
” Belatedly, he added, “I do have a best friend, though. His name’s Danny.
He lives in Philly, and he works even more than me, so we catch up maybe once a month at best. He grew up in Heart Beach. ”
Noelle nodded, absorbing this information. “Okay, next question. Why not just tell your mom the truth about not having a girlfriend?”
He thought of Celeste and the specific look she got on her face whenever she wanted to know something that you were reluctant to tell her.
How she’d stare with her piercing eyes straight into your soul.
And then he thought of how she’d look at him once he revealed the true reason that he’d been avoiding Heart Beach, and how she’d look at him with such deep disappointment when he told her about his last conversation with Pop.