The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(3)

‘I ... uh ... well...’

His gaze landed on the highlighted line. ‘Come with me, lass, if you want an adventure.’

Oh, no, that line read in Noah’s deep voice was doing things to her ... hot things. What was going on today?! Hazel shook her head.

‘I was just reshelving it,’ she repeated as she snatched it back and stood before Noah could read any more and make everything worse.

‘But someone marked it up,’ he said, standing and dwarfing her in the process. Why did he have to be so big and smell so good? He was confusing her and she didn’t like it.

‘I know.’

‘So someone just marked it up and then put it back on the shelf?’

‘Yes.’

‘Weird.’

‘I know, and they didn’t even put it back in the right spot.’ She shuffled past him, avoiding contact with his large, good-smelling body and made her way back to the relative safety of the front of the store.

Noah followed. ‘Almost like they wanted you to find it.’

Hazel stopped and spun to face him. They nearly crashed again, but Noah skidded to a stop, too. ‘Why would you say that?’

He shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Just seems like a clue or something.’

‘A clue?’ Hazel narrowed her eyes. ‘Noah, are you screwing with me?’

‘Screwing with you?’ He looked genuinely confused but Hazel wasn’t buying it.

‘Did you mess up my books as some kind of joke? You’ll have to pay for this if you did.’ She waved the book in front of him as his brows lifted higher on his head.

‘Of course I didn’t. I wouldn’t ... mess with you. And I certainly wouldn’t mess with your books.’ He made a little ‘x’ over his chest. ‘Cross my heart. Fisherman’s honor.’

It was Hazel’s turn to raise an eyebrow. ‘Fisherman’s honor? I don’t think that’s a thing.’

‘Well it is now.’

‘Hmm.’

‘I still think it might be a clue, though.’

‘Why would someone leave me a clue?’

He shrugged again but excitement lit up the light brown of his eyes. ‘For an adventure, I guess.’

An adventure.

Noah grinned and Hazel’s heart picked up speed and the book in her hands called to her and maybe it was a clue.

At the very least maybe it would make a good story.





Chapter Two





Noah had the hots for Hazel Kelly. It surprised him almost as much as it seemed to surprise her, but he did. She wasn’t like any of the other women he’d been with. Take today, for example. With her loose button-down shirt tucked into her high waisted pants, a string of delicate gold chains around her neck, and a pair of cute little flat shoes on her feet, she looked ... well, she looked way too good for him. She looked smart and sophisticated. And don’t even get him started on that cloud of soft curls around her face, or the adorable way she pushed her glasses up her nose, like she was doing now as she stared at him like he was some kind of alien species.

He had it bad.

Like real bad.

Which hadn’t happened to him, well, ever. Noah liked women. A lot. And at least so far in his life, he’d been pretty good at attracting them. But he’d never felt like this before. Which was unfortunate because he was fairly certain Hazel didn’t feel the same.

She usually looked at him like she was right now. Like she couldn’t quite figure him out. At least that feeling was mutual. He didn’t know how much more obvious he could be. He was in here every other week doing his best to charm and flirt his way into her good graces but it didn’t seem to be working.

Although, he had read more books in the past few months than in his entire life, so that was a bonus.

He should probably just be honest and ask her out or something. It had worked for Logan, eventually anyway, and now he had Jeanie and they were sickeningly happy together and all that.

But they were different. Hazel was different. And Noah was completely out of his element.

‘An adventure?’ she asked, startling him out of his swirling thoughts about her cuteness and his ineptitude.

‘Yeah. I don’t know. Maybe someone is leaving you clues, like a scavenger hunt or something.’

‘Hmm.’ Hazel frowned, a little crease forming between her brows. ‘Seems unlikely.’

‘Maybe. But unlikely things happen all the time.’

Like you agreeing to go on a date with me sometime...

He almost said it, almost asked her but then she was moving briskly back behind the counter and ringing up his new book.

‘Is this all?’

‘Uh ... yep. That’s all.’

‘Twenty-one ninety-five, please.’

That definitely wasn’t all but Noah handed over his card. There was no way this smart, adorable woman would want to date him. There was a reason Noah went for girls that were only here for the summer, tourists and one-night stands. Noah was good for fun, for a fling. Not for serious girls like Hazel Kelly.

She handed him his book and his fingers brushed against hers. She held his gaze for a breath and in that moment Noah could almost believe that she felt it too, the spark. But then she looked away and was saying goodbye and his feet were moving him toward the door.