Chapter Twenty-Two
Noelle’s mind was officially all over the place.
When Jeremiah had left her apartment on Monday morning, he’d kissed her on the forehead and told her he’d text her later.
She’d been worried that he might act weird toward her now since they’d agreed to be friends—on her suggestion because she thought that would be for the best!
—but then he’d stayed over—also on her suggestion because apparently, she was a masochist!
—and cuddled with her all night. However, on his lunch break, he’d texted her like he said he would and asked how her day was going.
And they’d continued to text throughout the rest of the week.
She liked him more and more as each day passed.
Usually, she was so overwhelmed with her various jobs, she didn’t have much time to ponder her thoughts and feelings, but for the time in several years, she actually had the chance to hear herself think.
She had time to update her résumé, and she had the gift of discernment when applying for jobs.
She was hoping to find some kind of office work that didn’t require a bachelor’s degree.
When she wasn’t applying to jobs, she went to the park with a blanket and a book and she read on the grass in the sun.
She FaceTimed her mom. When Tati came back from vacation, she and Noelle spent hours lying on the couch, watching old episodes of Insecure.
She finally had the opportunity to take a breath.
All because she was pretending to be Jeremiah’s girlfriend.
But that didn’t feel like much of a job. The pretending part wasn’t very hard at all.
She thought about Jeremiah constantly. She thought about him while cooking dinner, recalling how he’d moved so easily around her kitchen like he’d been there several times before.
She thought about him while reading a spy novel, thinking of how he looked like James Bond at the gala.
She thought about him at the most random times too, like while on a call with Sheree, as she reconfirmed the location and time of her bridal shower in a couple weeks.
As Sheree described the tea party theme, Noelle was busy daydreaming about every time that she and Jeremiah had kissed.
They didn’t talk about their kisses, though.
They texted consistently and talked about any- and everything but their kiss.
Instead, they asked each other questions.
What were their favorite colors? Favorite movies?
Favorite memories? She answered: yellow; Brown Sugar; she had lots of favorite memories, but one that she thought of often was that time in high school when she and Tati had gotten lost in Central Park and ended up watching the sea lion feeding at the zoo.
Jeremiah’s favorite color was blue. His favorite movie was Coming to America.
His favorite memory was when his grandfather taught him how to drive a boat the summer after he turned sixteen.
They shared their weird, irrational fears.
Like Noelle’s fear that one day she might bite into an apple and see a worm.
Or Jeremiah’s fear that he might get bit by a spider and eggs would hatch on his skin.
On Thursday evening after work, Jeremiah went to the basketball courts to meet up with the teens he volunteered with during the school year.
He told Noelle how he talked to them about their goals for the upcoming semester and asked what school supplies they needed.
He told her about how the boys laughed at him every time he discreetly checked his phone to see if she’d texted him back.
He told her that he wanted to lie out on the beach and listen to her explain the plot of whatever book she was reading.
He wanted to teach her how to make the famous Smith’s blueberry crumble pie.
He asked what she was most looking forward to about going back to college.
He told her that her resilience inspired him.
He wanted to know things about her that her brides had never bothered to ask.
And their lack of curiosity had been fine with Noelle.
She’d preferred the distance before. But the lines were blurred with Jeremiah.
She craved closeness with him in a way she’d never cared about with previous clients.
By the time he picked her up on Friday evening, she was so eager to see him, she practically flew out of her apartment to meet him outside.
During the drive to Heart Beach, she damn near had to sit on her hands in order to fight the urge to touch him.
He didn’t try to kiss her. He was kind and flirty and funny, like usual, but he was also a perfect gentleman, keeping his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel.
She knew that he was respecting the boundaries of their situation.
He was right to keep his hands to himself and not kiss or touch her.
The only time they needed to kiss was if it was for the benefit of people witnessing their fake relationship in action.
But at the same time, she wished that he’d pull over so that they could make out right then and there.
Once they arrived at Heart Beach, they had dinner with his family, and afterward they watched a movie outside on the projector.
At night, she and Jeremiah slept in his bed together, and even though they stayed up late, laughing quietly as they took turns coming up with the most ridiculous names for Robin and Percy’s baby, they didn’t cuddle again like they had in her bed last Sunday.
It was excruciating. She wished there was a world in which the two of them being together made sense.
A world where he wasn’t moving across the country soon, and she could trust herself to focus on her own life and goals without getting caught up with the man she was dating.
A world where their relationship hadn’t started with him paying her.
That was another reason she’d suggested they stay friends, even though she hadn’t shared it with him out of fear that it would make things awkward.
Her feelings for Jeremiah were very real, but she didn’t know how they could transition from their arrangement to a real relationship.
“Noelle, are you listening?” Amara asked now.
Noelle blinked and looked over at Amara.
They were walking through town toward Heart Beach Books.
Amara was picking up a couple preorders, and Noelle was picking up some books that Jeremiah had ordered for her ahead of time.
The books were a surprise. He said he wanted to see how well he could nail her taste.
Another reason that it was hard to stop liking him!
“Shoot, sorry,” Noelle said. “Can you repeat that?”
Amara pushed her black oval-shaped sunglasses up onto her head. “I was saying that I know you have plans with Miah today, so we’ll be in and out.”
Later that afternoon, Jeremiah was taking Noelle out on his boat.
“You’re fine. I don’t think he’s in a rush.”
A couple hours ago, he’d taken Harper, Ashley, Ciara, and Zoe to the rides section of the boardwalk.
Noelle had practiced the girls’ talent show routine with them earlier that morning, and they were having a hard time getting through the dance without any mistakes.
The talent show was in two weeks. Jeremiah had offered to take them to the boardwalk to cheer them up.
“Okay, good,” Amara said, smiling. “That’ll give us more time to browse.”
The sky was overcast, and a few storm clouds hovered in the distance.
The forecast hadn’t called for rain, but as Celeste had warned everyone before they’d left, beach weather was unpredictable.
Amara had invited Celeste to join them on their walk to the bookstore, but she’d stayed behind with Percy to talk about Smith’s Sweets.
It sounded like they were having another issue at the warehouse.
As Noelle and Amara came upon the bookstore, Noelle noticed an ocean wave painted on the window in front of a display of books about the beach, ranging from picture books to photography books.
“Did you paint that?” Noelle asked.
Amara nodded. “I always paint the windows for them at the beginning of summer.”
Inside, the store was bright and cheery.
Noelle was hit with a brief wave of longing.
She realized how much she missed working at Hidden Gems Books.
She hadn’t let herself think about it before because she’d switched to survival mode, worrying about where she’d find work next.
But now that she had a chance to breathe, it really broke her heart that she’d been let go from her favorite job.
They approached the register, and they both startled when a man suddenly stood upright behind the counter, holding a roll of receipt paper. He was tall with brown skin and tattoo sleeves on his arms. He wore a white T-shirt and black, square-framed glasses. And he was staring directly at Amara.
“Amara,” he said, blinking. “Hey.”
Noelle glanced at Amara, who’d transformed into a deer in headlights. Pink spots bloomed on her brown cheeks as she stood there motionless.
“H-hey, Danny,” she said, flustered. “I didn’t know you were in Heart Beach this weekend.”
Wait…Danny. Jeremiah’s best friend? It had to be him. Jeremiah mentioned that Danny’s parents owned the bookstore.
“I got here late last night,” he said. “My mom ran out to get lunch, so I said I’d help while she was gone.” His throat muscles worked as he swallowed. His eyes softened. “It’s really good to see you.”
Amara smiled and nodded quickly. “You too.”
Then neither of them said anything. Amara stared down at her shoes, and Danny gazed at the top of her head like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. Noelle glanced back and forth between them.
“Hi,” she finally said, giving a little wave. “I’m Noelle.”
“Oh, sorry, this is Jeremiah’s girlfriend, Noelle,” Amara said. “This is, um, Danny. Jeremiah’s best friend.”