The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(21)

‘And this thing with Noah is...’

‘Casual.’

‘Casual?’

‘Yep. Fun and casual.’

Annie snorted.

‘What?’

‘Haze, we’ve known each other for a long time, right? And you’ve never done casual in your life.’

Hazel opened her mouth to speak but then shut it again. Annie wasn’t wrong. Hazel was a serial monogamist. She’d had exactly three boyfriends in her life, each one lasting a year or two and then petering out somewhat unspectacularly. Her break-ups weren’t even dramatic or interesting. Each time, they’d parted amicably and agreed to be friends. In fact, she still wrote semi-regular emails to her college boyfriend who’d moved back to Japan. It was all very ... boring.

‘Well, now I am doing casual.’

Annie considered her, tipping her head to the side as though she was looking at Hazel from a different angle.

‘I support this.’

‘So happy to get your okay on the matter,’ Hazel said dryly.

Annie smirked. ‘I think this could be good for you. I mean, Noah clearly wants to get in your pants.’

‘Don’t get carried away. All we did was kiss.’

‘You kissed!’ Annie nearly shot up off the couch. ‘Way to bury the lead, Haze.’

She shook her head at her friend. ‘It’s not that big of a deal.’

‘It definitely is.’ Annie leaned forward. ‘How was it?’

Hazel’s cheeks heated. ‘It was...’ The best kiss ever. ‘It was really nice.’

Annie frowned. ‘Nice? Hazel, this man is known for his sexual prowess. You need to get more than nice.’

‘God, Annie. Don’t talk about him like that.’

Annie lifted an eyebrow. ‘Wait a minute. You can’t get feelings for him. I mean, Noah is fun to hang out with, but he doesn’t have serious relationships. Like, at all. You know he only sleeps with tourists.’

‘I’m aware. And I don’t want serious this time. I’m tired of serious.’

Annie was still looking at her skeptically, but she nodded. ‘Okay. As long as you’re going into this with your eyes open.’

Hazel widened her eyes behind her glasses. ‘They are wide. Very wide. I know what I’m doing.’

‘All right, babe. I believe you. I gotta get back. I left George up to his elbows in cookie dough and we open in like half an hour. Love you.’

‘Love you, too. Lunch?’

‘Definitely.’ Annie nearly collided with Noah on her way out of the office. ‘Oh hello, Noah. And how are you today?’ Her voice was loud and strange and Noah glanced over her shoulder at Hazel with a look on his face that clearly said what is with her today?

Hazel shrugged and couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. She hadn’t expected to see Noah today, but now that he was here her stomach started its usual flipping and dipping.

‘I’m good. How about you?’ he said, answering Annie’s high-pitched question.

‘Good. Very good. Gotta run!’

He shook his head as Annie scampered out of the office.

‘How’d you get in?’ Hazel asked.

‘Back door. Sorry, was I not supposed to?’

‘Well, you brought me a drink, so I’ll allow it.’

The smile that lit up his face took her breath away. He put the iced tea on her desk and sat across from her, swirling the ice cubes in his drink. He was watching her in that way he did, with dark eyes and a playful smirk.

Even in this dim back office, he was bright. His copper hair and tangle of tattoos, the sunburn that had turned slowly to tan, the colorful braids on his wrist. It was like he’d brought the sea air directly into her office.

She breathed it in before she spoke. ‘So ... what are you doing here?’ she asked, thankful when her words broke his stare.

‘Just bringing you a drink. And I wanted to see you.’

‘You wanted to see me?’

‘Of course.’

‘Right.’ She swirled her drink too, and took a long sip, avoiding his eye. She’d kissed him last night. On purpose, fully sober, but now she didn’t know what to do about that. Or about any of this. Annie’s warnings echoed in her head.

‘Look, Noah. About last night...’

‘I had fun. Did you?’

‘I did, but...’

‘No buts.’

‘What?’

‘You recruited me to help with your summer, right?’

‘Yes, but...’

He shook his head. ‘No buts. We had fun. Mission accomplished.’

‘But the kiss...’

‘Was fun.’

‘Very. I just don’t want things to get weird between us or I don’t know ... confusing.’

He leaned forward, forearms on his knees. Hazel counted five stars and two large dahlias on his right arm. Her gaze flicked back to his and worry had crept into his playful stare.

‘I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do, Hazel. But if you’re having a good time then let’s just see what happens. Okay?’

Hazel swallowed her protests. This was what she wanted. This was why she’d asked Noah to help her. She wanted to see where the summer took her. She wanted more kisses. It didn’t have to be confusing. It could be painfully simple.