Chapter Thirteen
The party continued late into the night and ended with a fireworks display that was more elaborate than the Fourth of July fireworks show that Noelle watched every year in Brickton’s memorial park. It was after one a.m. when the last remaining guests said their goodbyes.
Noelle and Jeremiah chose to wait to have their breakup after the party ended, because it was mainly for the benefit of his family, and they didn’t want to cause a public spectacle.
They stood on the back veranda and observed Celeste, Amara, Robin, and Percy, who were outside, talking by the pool.
Ashley and Harper had gone to bed hours ago.
“Okay,” Jeremiah said, turning to her. “Ready?”
Noelle inhaled a breath. This was her first time ever enacting a fake breakup, and she was a little nervous, but it was too late for nerves. It was time to deliver. She nodded. “Ready.”
He counted down. “Three…two…one…”
“Action,” she said.
She stormed down the steps, feet pounding as she crossed the backyard. “Okay, fine, Jeremiah,” she called over her shoulder. “If you don’t want me to move with you to California, I won’t. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
The Smiths turned their heads and stared at Noelle as she charged past them to stand by the now-empty bar setup. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at Jeremiah, who hurried across the lawn after her. She turned away, showing him her back.
“You told me that you didn’t care about the long distance,” he said, shaking his head in irritation. “Why do you suddenly care now?”
She whirled around to face him. Mirth flashed in his eyes, but he quickly schooled his features.
She fought the urge to laugh. They’d rehearsed this scene while everyone else had been enjoying the party, and they’d struggled to get through it without laughing.
But now it was time to be serious. Well, fake serious.
“That is such a lie to say I don’t care about being long distance,” she said. “Why would I be okay with a three-hour time difference and being separated by a six-hour flight?”
“Lots of people do long distance and they’re fine,” Jeremiah said. “You just started your job at the library. Your life is here, Noelle.”
“So you aren’t an important enough part of my life? Am I not important enough to you?”
Noelle heard the Smiths mumbling to one another as they watched her and Jeremiah from afar.
“Of course you are,” he said. “You know that. I care about you so much.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” she said. “It doesn’t feel that way at all, Jeremiah. If you can’t even figure out when you’d be able to see me, it doesn’t sound like our relationship is much of a priority to you.”
Jeremiah began pacing back and forth. Noelle spared a brief glance at his family. They were gawking at the two of them.
“I don’t know, Noelle,” he said. “I just don’t know. This whole thing is stressing me out.”
“Maybe we can’t survive the long distance,” Noelle said. “You need to focus on your job without any distractions, and so do I.”
Jeremiah ceased his pacing and paused in front of her.
“So this is it?” he asked, voice shaky. “It’s over just like that? You’re breaking my heart.”
“You broke my heart first, Jeremiah,” she said sorrowfully. “I guess it’s over.”
They stared at each other in their storm cloud of made-up heartbreak. For a split second, Jeremiah’s despondent expression cracked, and the corner of his mouth tugged into a smile. Noelle bit the inside of her cheek to maintain her straight face.
“Okay, let’s all just take a moment here,” Celeste said, walking over. “It’s been a long day and it’s hot. Emotions are running high.” She placed her hand on Jeremiah’s shoulder. “Miah, why don’t you go for a walk and cool off.”
“Yeah, okay,” Jeremiah said. He glanced at Noelle and winked discreetly before he strode through the backyard and out onto the street. They watched in silence as he walked in the direction of the beach.
“Percy, can you go after him, please?” Celeste asked.
Percy sighed and nodded before he dutifully trudged off to follow Jeremiah.
“Are you okay, Noelle?” Amara asked as she approached her. She put her arm around Noelle’s shoulders and led her back up to the house. Celeste and Robin followed behind.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Noelle said. “It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
Inside the kitchen, Robin retrieved a cold water bottle from the fridge and handed it to Noelle.
Noelle appreciated that they were being so kind to her, and she felt a little guilty that they believed that she and Jeremiah were in need of such care.
But after this weekend, they’d move on and eventually forget all about her.
She was doing what Jeremiah had paid her to do, and she needed that money.
“I haven’t seen Miah upset like that in a long time,” Amara said. “He must really like you.”
“I agree,” Robin mused. “Long distance can be tough, but I’m sure you’ll work it out.”
Noelle looked up sharply. This was not the reaction that they were supposed to be having. She glanced over at Celeste, who was watching Noelle with furrowed brows.
“You sure you’re all right?” Celeste asked.
Noelle nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
“I’m going to call Percy and see where they went,” she said. “Excuse me.”
Celeste left the kitchen, and Amara and Robin got the idea to heat up some slices of blueberry crumble pie and eat it with ice cream. Noelle’s mouth started to water. That was her cue to leave. She bid Amara and Robin good night.
In Jeremiah’s bedroom, she sat at the edge of the bed and let out a deep sigh.
Well, she’d done her job. She got to spend the weekend in a nice big house, eat tasty food, and attend a fancy party, all while wearing cute new clothes that she got to keep.
And now she was going to have thirty-five hundred more dollars to put toward her college savings.
Her only regret about this weekend was that she hadn’t had a chance to sit on the actual beach or swim in the ocean.
Reality would set in tomorrow once she was back home. She’d need to start looking for another job. But she’d milk these last vacation-esque moments while she could.
About an hour later, she heard Jeremiah’s footsteps climbing the stairs.
“Hey,” he whispered as he eased inside the room. He closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes before he walked toward the bed.
“Where’d you go?” she asked.
“The beach. I talked with Percy for a while. I thought he was coming to lecture me about arguing with you in front of our mom, but he ended up trying to give me relationship advice. Then that somehow turned into him going on a tangent about how he’s learned to anticipate Robin’s pregnancy cravings.
Irrelevant to me, but interesting overall, I guess. ”
He produced one of the assorted Smith’s Sweets cookie party bags from his pants pocket.
“Nabbed this for you,” he said as he sat beside her.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Noelle grinned and did a little dance, immediately opening the bag.
She bit into a sugar cookie, and her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head.
Jeremiah laughed as he watched her. After finishing the cookie, she tied the bag closed and placed it on the bedside table.
She pivoted to face Jeremiah again, and when she moved, the bottom of her dress rode up her thighs.
He glanced down at her exposed skin, and it made her think of the way he’d looked at her last night in her dress.
Her pulse quickened, and she suddenly felt hot all over.
“Thank you for being a good fake girlfriend this weekend,” he said, bringing his gaze back up to her face.
“Thank you for hiring me to be your good fake girlfriend.”
They fell quiet and stared at each other, smiling softly.
For a moment, Noelle let herself wonder again what it might be like to date Jeremiah in real life.
After a long day of socializing at his sister’s party, they’d shower and curl up together in bed.
She’d rest her head against his chest and fall asleep listening to the sound of his heartbeat as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
Her attraction to Jeremiah made sense. She tended to gravitate toward men who were emotionally unavailable or emotionally resistant.
Jeremiah was dealing with some emotional issues that he didn’t want to discuss.
That didn’t bode well for a real relationship.
Not to mention, their lives were quite literally going in different directions with him moving to California.
However, there was no harm in simply imagining what it would be like to have him as her funny, sweet, sexy, generous boyfriend, was there?
“Can I say something?” he asked. His voice had gone husky. It made the hairs on her arms rise in awareness.
She swallowed thickly. “Go ahead.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t say this because I’m not sure if it’s against our rules. But I liked kissing you yesterday. I wish we would have kissed more.”
Noelle’s heart pounded violently in her chest. She looked at his full lips, entranced.
“Me too,” she admitted.
Her words caused the air to change between them. Jeremiah inched closer to Noelle, and she inched closer too. What am I doing? He was her client, and they had clear boundaries in place.
But this was new territory. She’d never wanted to kiss a client before, never craved their touch.
She reached out and tentatively grazed Jeremiah’s bicep with her fingertips.
His muscle flexed beneath her hand. His fingers brushed against her knee as his hand traveled higher to rest against her thigh.
They drew to each other until they were chest to chest, breathing heavily.
They weren’t kissing, but their mouths were so close, they may as well have been.
She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
He lifted his other hand to cradle her cheek.
His movements were slow, hesitant. She had all the time in the world to move away, but she didn’t.
She realized that he was waiting for her to make the first move.
She was composed of hunger and desire as she pressed her lips against his.
Jeremiah made a small sound in his throat, an exhalation.
He kissed her back and this time it was unlike the chaste kiss they’d shared in front of his family.
This kiss was open-mouthed and scorching, tongues knocking against each other.
It was a kiss filled with the pent-up tension that had been building between them all weekend.
Or more accurately since he’d first visited the bookstore.
He sucked on her bottom lip and heat pooled between her thighs.
His beard prickled against her face, but she liked it.
She brought her hands beneath his shirt and skimmed her fingers across the expanse of his stomach.
He kissed his way down her throat to her breasts, cupping them in his hands.
She eased back onto the bed, and he leaned over her, covering her body with his.
She felt the hardness of his erection settle against her thigh.
She rubbed her hips against him, and he groaned.
Mayday! Mayday! Earth to Noelle! Abort mission! Abort!
Her brain was flashing a million warning signs.
She wanted her brain to shut the hell up and let her body run the show.
Where were those destructive butterflies when she needed them?
! But she knew that her brain was right.
As much as she wanted Jeremiah, they’d already blurred the lines enough.
She didn’t want them to take things too far.
“Wait,” she breathed.
Jeremiah stopped immediately. His face was buried in the crook of her neck. She felt his breath fan against her skin.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“No, you don’t have to be sorry.”
They were still embraced, hearts pounding, breathing heavily.
Jeremiah pulled away and rolled onto his back.
“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he repeated. He looked over at her. “Are you upset?”
“No,” she said, touched by his obvious concern. He didn’t look like he believed her. “I swear that I’m not upset.”
He closed his eyes. “I’m paying you to be here. I promised no funny business.”
“Yeah, but I kissed you first. And…I wanted you to kiss me back.”
His mouth curved into a grin, clearly pleased by her admission. But he schooled his features into seriousness again. It made Noelle laugh.
“Either way,” he said. “It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”
“Like I said, you don’t have to be sorry. But okay. I appreciate that.”
He let out a weighty sigh. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
She blinked at him, but before she had a chance to respond, he rolled across the bed until he reached the edge and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.
“Jeremiah,” Noelle hissed. “What in the world?”
She crawled to the edge of the bed. He lay on his back with his arm slung across his face, covering his eyes. From this vantage point, she could see that his erection was still alive and well. Unable to help herself, she stared.
“Eyes up here, ma’am,” Jeremiah said, peeking an eye open at her.
“Sorry.” She laughed quietly as she looked at him. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor. That’s ridiculous.”
“It might help with our breakup story.”
“Or your family might think I’ve physically harmed you because of that loud-ass thud. And that’s the last thing I want them to think.”
He didn’t say anything. She watched his chest rise and fall as he breathed.
“Come back up here,” she said. “I swear that it’s fine.”
“You’re sure?” he asked, and she nodded.
He hesitated, but then he climbed back up onto the bed.
“I promise I won’t touch you,” he said. “Even if you hog the blankets and leave me to freeze and develop hypothermia.”
Noelle laughed again and shook her head. “You’re crazy.”
“Maybe,” he said, running a hand over his face as he smiled at her. “Maybe just a little.”
Then he hopped off the bed and went to brush his teeth.
In his wake, Noelle felt a persistent fluttering in her stomach. She lifted her fingers to her swollen lips.
Okay, fine.
Maybe she did have a bit of a crush on Jeremiah. It was hard not to. But her feelings would fade soon. Years from now, Jeremiah and this whole weekend would be just a funny story.