Chapter Six #2
They’d also agreed on levels of PDA. Hand-holding, hugging, and kisses on the mouth with prior warning were approved.
She’d gone to bed that night wondering what it might feel like to kiss Jeremiah, which meant she was already starting off on the wrong foot.
She couldn’t let those pesky butterflies invade her brain again.
She needed to remain professional. She shifted in her seat and straightened her posture, journal perched on her lap.
“For sure,” he said as he merged onto the parkway. “Shoot.”
“Okay, so Celeste is your mom. She’s the current CEO of Smith’s Sweets, and she likes fancy things and cats, and she’ll to want to know everything about me and my life.”
Jeremiah laughed and glanced at the open notebook in her lap. “Yeah, that’s an easy way to sum her up.”
Noelle continued. “Percy is your older brother. He works with your mom and he can come across as standoffish, but I shouldn’t take it personally because he’s like that with everyone.
His wife, Robin, is a child therapist, and she’s seven months pregnant with a baby girl.
Their twin daughters, Harper and Ashley, are ten years old.
Amara is your younger sister and we’re celebrating her twenty-seventh birthday this weekend.
She’s a graphic designer at Smith’s Sweets, loves horror novels and films, and she’s also a talented painter on the side, even though she sees it more as a hobby.
And oh my goodness, I’m just realizing that I didn’t get her a birthday gift! I can’t show up empty-handed!”
“You won’t,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road as he switched lanes. “I signed her birthday card from both of us. You helped me pick out her gift.”
“I did,” she said, relieved. And touched that he’d already thought to include her in that way. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you.” He flashed her a smile that immediately made her heart flutter.
She forced herself to refocus on her notes.
On their call, Jeremiah had also shared that his parents had divorced when he was in elementary school, and his dad lived in Seattle with his longtime partner, Vicky.
Noelle could relate. She’d told him how her dad lived in Dallas with his second wife, Monica.
When Noelle was younger, she used to spend every summer with her dad, Monica, and Monica’s sons, Will and Greg, who were older than her.
Back then, she’d often felt like the puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit anywhere.
Jeremiah was lucky to have grown up in a big family where he knew he belonged, without the shadow of a doubt.
He nodded at her notebook and smirked. “I appreciate your analog way of documenting this information.”
“Thank you.” She closed her notebook and held it to her chest. “I use this for all my jobs.”
“How many weddings have you worked?”
She did a bit of mental math, then flipped through her notebook to confirm. “Sixteen.”
“Damn.” Jeremiah whistled. “You’re a real pro.”
She smiled and shrugged. “I’d like to think so.”
“You’ll have no problem with my family,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
She appreciated his confidence in her. If this were any other family, she’d rely on her usual bag of tricks to dazzle everyone and get through the weekend.
But the fact that she was spending the weekend with the Smith’s Sweets family, and that she was supposed to act aloof around them, was throwing her off her game.
It didn’t have anything to do with her attraction to Jeremiah, when she’d never had to worry about being attracted to any of her brides before.
They ran into traffic, which was unsurprising. It was the weekend, and a good portion of people in New Jersey were probably headed for the beach.
“You can hook up to the Bluetooth if you want to play some music,” Jeremiah said.
“R and B okay?” she asked, and he nodded.
She connected her phone, and “Jaguar” by Victoria Monét started to play.
“Ooh yes, I love H.E.R.,” Jeremiah said, snapping his fingers to the beat.
Noelle’s eyeballs almost popped out of her head. “H.E.R.? What—”
“I’m joking,” he said, laughing. He laughed even harder when he glanced over and saw the incredulous look on Noelle’s face. “I know this is Victoria Monét. Amara listens to her.”
He started to sing along, and Noelle discovered Jeremiah’s first flaw. Well, his second flaw. His first flaw was that he didn’t mind telling his family a lie about being in a relationship. His second flaw was that he couldn’t sing. For some reason, she found this incredibly endearing.
“Don’t sit over there judging my singing,” he said, grinning at her. “Can you sing any better?”
Noelle cleared her throat and started to sing the song’s hook. Jeremiah used his free hand to cover his ear that faced her.
“Damn, girl.” He pretended to wince. “You might hurt somebody with that voice.”
Noelle snort-laughed, and Jeremiah smiled at her as he turned up the volume.
They spent the rest of the drive singing poorly to each other.
By the time they turned off the exit for Heart Beach an hour later, Noelle’s nerves had mostly evaporated.
They drove over a bridge, and the water sparkled in the sun beneath them. Seagulls soared overhead.
“Do you care if I roll down my window?” she asked.
“Nah,” Jeremiah said. “Go ahead.”
She rolled down her window and inhaled the salty air. Something about the smell of the ocean instantly relaxed her. “I haven’t been to the beach in forever.”
“Welcome back,” Jeremiah said. He smiled at her, but something about his smile was a bit stilted, less carefree than when they’d sung together during the drive down. She wondered what that was about.
As they drove through Heart Beach, Noelle absorbed her surroundings like a sponge.
The houses in Heart Beach were definitely nicer and larger than the ones in the beach towns she’d visited before.
The front lawns were groomed and pristine.
They drove by a country club where people played tennis or lounged by the pool.
Kids biked down the sidewalk on beach cruisers, balancing ice cream cones in their hands.
Other people were walking down side streets, dressed in bathing suits and cover-ups, clearly having just come from the beach.
Jeremiah made a left onto Hawthorne Street, and he slowed to a crawl as he pulled up in front of a gray house with white shutters.
The house was three stories high, and a veranda wrapped around the perimeter.
Rocking chairs were stationed on either side of the front door, and perfectly pruned bushes lined the front lawn.
It was definitely a big house, but somehow remained picturesque and quaint.
It looked like a beach house from a Hallmark movie.
People in black uniforms were carrying tables and umbrellas from a van parked across the street to the backyard. The driveway was packed with other cars. New cars, like Jeremiah’s. Noelle guessed they belonged to his family members.
“They’re setting up for Amara’s party tomorrow,” he explained as he cut the engine and stared up at the house.
“Home sweet home,” Noelle said. She inhaled deeply and placed her hand on the door handle, but Jeremiah didn’t move.
He stared up at the house with furrowed brows, his mouth set in a tight line.
He rubbed his hands up and down his thighs.
He didn’t crack a smile at her home sweet home joke. He probably hadn’t even heard her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Slowly, he blinked and looked at her, almost like he just was remembering that she was there.
“Yeah,” he said, unlocking the doors. “Ready?”
She squared her shoulders and took one more deep breath.
“Ready,” she confirmed.
She was officially on the clock.