Chapter Eleven
“That has got to be the final boss of balloon arches,” Noelle said.
Amara’s birthday barbecue was officially in full swing. A DJ was spinning. A painter was in the process of creating a live oil painting of the party. Servers maneuvered through the throng of guests, carrying trays of hors d’oeuvres. Other servers carried assorted baggies of Smith’s Sweets cookies.
From what Noelle could tell, Amara didn’t seem like the type to make a big deal out of her birthday.
The dress code was all white, but Amara wore a sleeveless black minidress paired with her Doc Martens platform sandals.
She was laughing with a few friends by the pool.
Celeste was the one making the rounds, flashing her dazzling smile as she sauntered through the backyard, wearing a delicate-looking white midi dress and tie-up espadrille sandals.
Her bob bounced effortlessly as she walked, stopping to talk to many of the guests who were business owners and/or neighbors in Heart Beach.
Through the sea of white, Noelle spotted Ashley and Harper playing with two girls around their age.
Noelle figured they must be their friends Zoe and Ciara from next door.
Percy and Robin were nearby, talking with another couple.
Jeremiah was the only Smith who didn’t have friends of his own in attendance.
He’d told Noelle that he didn’t really have friends other than his childhood best friend, Danny, who wouldn’t be in Heart Beach this weekend.
He’d said he’d had to cut off his other friends in order to change his lifestyle.
She wondered if that made him feel lonely now.
“Believe it or not, that’s average-sized compared to some of the displays my mom has had for past parties,” Jeremiah said, looking up at the balloon arch too. “Caesar is gonna hate when the balloons have to get popped later, though. It’ll scare him.”
Jeremiah was wearing a short-sleeve open-collar white shirt and straight-legged white jeans with white Veja sneakers, while Noelle wore an eyelet white minidress and white open-toe slingback kitten-heel sandals.
They might not have been a real couple, but they matched each other’s fly.
At least Noelle hoped they did. Blending in wasn’t an issue for her at weddings because she usually wore a dress that was approved by the bride, and her hair and makeup were done by professionals.
But here, standing with Jeremiah in his family’s backyard, among people who probably had no idea what it was like to miss a bill or go into credit card debt for buying essentials, she hoped she looked like she fit in.
“Who’s Caesar?” she asked Jeremiah.
“My mom’s cat,” he said, turning to her. “He doesn’t like the beach house, so he hides under her bed most of the time. You’ll probably never see him, which is for the best, because he only likes my mom, and he might scratch you if he sees you.”
“Yikes.” Noelle tilted her head and quirked an eyebrow. “So you’re telling me he’s even able to resist your charms?”
“He likes to resist me the most.” The edge of his mouth curled into a slow smirk. “Are you trying to say that you think I’m charming, Noelle Lewis?”
She laughed. “I think we both know that you’re charming.”
“You said it, not me.” His grin made her stomach muscles tighten involuntarily.
This morning, she’d turned over to find him lying beside her on top of the covers.
Sometime overnight, he must have moved from the foot of the bed to lie vertically.
He was far enough away that they weren’t touching.
She rested her head against the pillow and observed his sleeping form.
He’d been frowning. She’d never seen someone frown in their sleep before.
She wondered what he was dreaming about.
By the time he woke up, she’d been reading for almost an hour. He rubbed his eyes and immediately apologized for falling asleep on the bed when he’d meant to sleep in the nook. She told him it was fine, he probably would have hurt his back anyway.
“I don’t want to sleep in the bed with you again if it makes you uncomfortable,” he’d said, his gaze direct and earnest.
“I wasn’t uncomfortable,” she’d replied.
In fact, she liked waking up next to him more than she should have.
It felt nice to read quietly in bed while he slept not too far away.
If this were a longer commitment, their sleeping arrangement might have presented a bigger problem.
But they had only one more night here together.
It would be fine if they shared the bed again.
Jeremiah had gotten up and gone down to the kitchen. He’d brought Noelle a cup of coffee, and then he’d left to go on a run.
It was clear to Noelle that all of the Smiths missed their patriarch, but Jeremiah seemed to take his grandfather’s death harder than the rest of his family.
When she’d found him by the pool last night, he’d been staring despondently at the ground.
With her brides, she always made herself available as a sounding board.
Someone to listen to their problems and help ease their emotional load.
She’d wanted to offer the same opportunity to Jeremiah.
She didn’t like seeing him so upset. It was why she’d asked if he wanted to talk about his grandfather.
But unlike her brides who were usually bursting at the seams to unload their stress, Jeremiah wanted to keep whatever was bothering him close to his chest.
Maybe that was for the best, though. Historically, whenever Noelle asked a man to open up to her, things didn’t end well.
CJ had been her first and last lesson with a serious boyfriend.
She was too focused to let a relationship get in the way of her goals.
But there had been others after CJ here and there whom she’d dated casually when feelings of loneliness wore on her.
And even with those less serious situationships where her heart wasn’t on the line and there wasn’t much at stake, men couldn’t or wouldn’t meet her halfway in simple ways, and it was still disappointing.
It had been years since she’d casually dated, though.
It was a waste of her time and attention.
Jeremiah was different, of course, because on paper he was nothing like CJ or any of the men she’d dated before.
And he wasn’t her real boyfriend. He was her client, and they hadn’t agreed to exchange emotional truths; they’d agreed to exchange a fee.
There was no point in trying to get Jeremiah to open up to her if she wasn’t going to see him again after tomorrow.
She needed to keep reminding herself of that.
Because every time he touched her, an electric current zipped through her veins, and when they’d kissed last night, her skin cells had rearranged themselves. It was confusing, to say the least.
Jeremiah leaned closer and whispered now, “Two o’clock. A lady wearing big-ass sunglasses is making her way over here. Her name’s Mercy Webster. She owns a few clothing boutiques in the tri-state area, including one here in Heart Beach.”
Noelle waited a second before she discreetly turned her head in the direction that Jeremiah had indicated.
A woman with large white sunglasses was walking toward them.
Her sunglasses were decorated with white feathers and colorful gemstones.
She had medium brown skin and short, dark hair.
Her bracelets jangled as she waved at them.
Jeremiah waved back, his smile instantly widening.
Guests had been venturing over to Noelle and Jeremiah since the party began, and Jeremiah hadn’t said as much, but Noelle suspected he’d chosen their current spot at the back of the party because he didn’t want to be found or sought out.
But once he was approached, he was amiable as he engaged in conversation.
Noelle was beginning to tell the difference between his real smile and the smile that he gave when he was putting on a performance.
For example, the smile that he gave to Mercy Webster lit up the bottom half of his face, but it didn’t completely reach his eyes.
“Jeremiah, I thought that was you,” Mercy Webster said, beaming as she neared them. She pushed her sunglasses up onto her head. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
“Hi, Ms. Webster,” Jeremiah said, hugging the woman. “How are you?”
“Perfect as a peach.” She glanced curiously at Noelle as she pulled away from Jeremiah. “Who is this lovely date of yours?”
“This is my girlfriend, Noelle. Noelle, this is Ms. Webster. She’s a friend of my mom’s.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Noelle said. Mercy shook Noelle’s hand in firm, quick pumps. Noelle was realizing that a lot of people here shook hands this way.
“Lovely to meet you as well.” Mercy turned to Jeremiah and winked. “We missed seeing you over Memorial Day Weekend. But now I see why you’ve been so preoccupied.”
“Ah, you know how it is,” he said. “We’re in the honeymoon stage.”
He smiled lovingly at Noelle, and for a second, his smile disarmed her. But she quickly remembered her role and leaned into him as he leisurely wrapped his arm around her waist.
“ ‘Summer lovin’ happened so fast,’ ” she sang.
“What’s that from?” Jeremiah asked. “No, don’t tell me. It’s a musical. Um…um…damn, is it that movie with Meryl Streep and she’s on an island with her daughter, and she has three baby dads?”
Noelle snorted. “Mamma Mia!? No, the song is from Grease.”
“Oh yeah, the musical with the surprise sci-fi twist at the end.”
“Wait, what?” Noelle’s brows furrowed. “I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing.”
“Yes, we are. Danny and Sandy are riding in their convertible and all of a sudden it starts to fly.”
Noelle burst out laughing, and Jeremiah grinned in satisfaction as he looked at her, like he was pleased with himself for having made her laugh.
“You two are adorable,” Mercy said. “How long have you been together?”
“Two months,” Noelle said. At the same time, Jeremiah said, “Three months.”
Mercy’s brows furrowed as she glanced between them.
“Honey,” Noelle said, forcing a laugh. Jeremiah’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake. “I know it feels like we’ve known each other longer, but it’s only been two months. We started dating in May, remember?”
“Of course I remember,” Jeremiah said, easily smoothing over his error. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Noelle. “The day you said you’d be my girlfriend is a day I’ll never forget.”
He said it so convincingly. Her heart stuttered as their eyes held. And for a sweet second, she forgot that they were supposed to be pretending.
“Noelle, do you live in Jersey City like Jeremiah?” Mercy asked, snapping Noelle out of her trance.
“No,” Noelle said, clearing her throat. She turned to Mercy again. “But I live close by.”
“Lovely. And what field of work are you in?”
This wasn’t the first time today that someone had asked Noelle about what she did for a living. It seemed to be a conversation starter with this crowd. Or like a way to determine a person’s value.
“I’m a librarian,” she said. She had no choice but to continue the lie that she’d told the rest of the Smiths last night.
“A noble profession,” Mercy said, nodding approvingly. “And how are things at Good Dog, Jeremiah?”
“Good Boy,” Jeremiah corrected, smile unfaltering. “Things are going well. Thank you for asking.”
“Is it true that you’re moving to the West Coast?” Ms. Webster asked. “Your mom mentioned it a few weeks ago. She hasn’t said so, but I know she’s sad that you’re moving.” She looked at Noelle. “Are you planning to move with him?”
“No,” Noelle said. “We’re going to do long distance.”
Mercy frowned, like she thought that was a terrible idea.
“How interesting,” she said. “Jeremiah, you know, I still don’t understand why you left the family business. But these days I guess everyone wants to make their own way in life instead of following in the footsteps of those who came before.”
Mercy’s comment annoyed Noelle, but Jeremiah took it in stride, still sporting his easy, if manufactured, smile.
Noelle didn’t know why Jeremiah didn’t work for Smith’s Sweets.
Like his beef with Percy, it didn’t seem like information that she’d need in order to do her job.
She was curious, of course, but she wasn’t about to pass judgment on his choice, like Mercy.
She rethreaded her fingers through his and gave his hand a light squeeze.
“You’ll be attending the gala in a few weeks, won’t you?” Mercy asked. “I remember how much your grandfather loved the gala. You look more and more like him each year. It’s uncanny.”
Jeremiah’s hand tensed in Noelle’s. His first sign of true discomfort.