The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(30)

‘We definitely won’t,’ Kaori said with a laugh. ‘But we’ll lower our voices.’

‘Thank you,’ Hazel said with a nod, intending to turn and go back to the safety behind the counter when she stopped herself. ‘I’d been meaning to ask you all something, actually.’

‘Was it about hammocks?’ Jacob asked with a laugh.

‘Definitely not.’ Hazel cleared her throat, ready to get some answers about her little mystery. Her prime suspects for who was messing with the romance section were all sitting right in front of her. Despite the suspects Noah had suggested, Hazel still thought the book club was the likeliest culprit.

As much as Hazel had been having fun following her little clues, she was starting to wonder if it was all a joke. Or worse, some kind of Dream Harbor plot to help poor Hazel and her boring life. Hazel’s face burned with a different type of embarrassment. The type that came from wondering what people thought of you and being sure it wasn’t good.

Not that she thought her friends and neighbors didn’t like her, but what if they saw her as pitifully as she saw herself? Or worse, what if they didn’t think about her at all and these clues were meant for someone else and she’d just inserted herself into the story where she didn’t belong. What if she was stealing someone else’s adventure?

Horribly embarrassing.

‘Have you noticed anything strange in the Romance section lately?’

Isabel tapped her chin with her pen. ‘Stranger than moth men with vibrating tongues or giant blue aliens or minotaurs donating their––’

Hazel held up a hand to stop her. What did these people read? Although that vibrating tongue sounded interesting... No. She shook her head. Not the time for that.

‘I mean, I’ve found some defaced books.’

Heads shot up at that, all eyes on her.

‘Someone has been defacing romance novels?’ Kaori asked like she was preparing for battle, like she would defend the romance section with her life. Hazel had to admire their dedication to the genre.

‘No, no. Not like that. I just noticed a few books were ... marked up.’

‘That’s weird,’ Jeanie said. ‘Why would someone do that?’

‘I don’t know. But I didn’t know if you guys were doing some kind of ... I don’t know, a secret romance thing...’

‘A secret romance thing?’ Isabel asked, handing Mateo another crayon. The little boy sat at her feet scribbling on a coloring sheet. ‘Not sure what that means, Hazel, but now I kinda want to do a secret romance thing!’

‘Ooo we could do like a blind date with a book sort of thing!’ Jacob piped in.

‘Now, how would that work exactly?’ Kaori asked, leaning forward, the book defacing crimes already forgotten.

‘Yeah, would it be sort of like a Secret Santa where we gift each other a secret book?’ Jeanie was all in, already writing notes in the notebook she’d brought along. And just like that the Dream Harbor Book Club was off and running on their next secret-romance book idea and Hazel had no more answers than she had this morning. Although, Nancy and Linda were suspiciously quiet when Hazel asked about the defaced books and even now the two women were studiously avoiding her eye.

Were the two oldest members of the book club messing with her books? Were they messing with her? Nancy looked up and flashed her a smile before jumping into the conversation.

Maybe she’d been imagining it.

Maybe that beach orgasm had scrambled her brain.

Maybe she should just be happy that the clues were taking her down some very enjoyable roads so far.

Jeanie grabbed her hand before she could walk away and tugged her down onto the arm of her chair. ‘We’ll let you know if we notice anything,’ she whispered as the rest of the group continued their chatter. ‘We can’t have people ruining your books.’

Hazel smiled at her friend. ‘Thanks, Jeanie.’

‘Maybe it’s a ghost,’ she said with a smile.

Hazel laughed. ‘I don’t think Casper can hold a highlighter.’

Jeanie’s response was cut off by her phone vibrating on the table. ‘Sorry, sorry!’ She reached for the phone but not before Jacob spotted who was calling.

‘It’s Bennett!’ he said, clapping his hands. ‘Answer it.’

Jeanie rolled her eyes but answered the call. Her brother’s face filled the screen. He looked remarkably like Jeanie, same dark hair, same expressive eyebrows, but where Jeanie’s eyes were a dark brown, Bennett’s were light blue, almost gray, and a dark stubble covered his jawline. If Hazel wasn’t in over her head with a certain ginger fisherman, she would probably find Jeanie’s brother to be quite cute. But she had enough on her plate.

‘Hey, Ben, I’m at book club.’

‘Hi, Bennett!’ Jacob called and Jeanie rolled her eyes with a laugh.

‘Hey, book club.’

‘Hi Bennett!’ The other members echoed. Ben’s smile grew.

‘When are you coming for a visit?’ Jacob continued, scooting closer to Jeanie so their faces shared the screen. Hazel had to laugh at the bemused expression on Bennett’s face. Apparently, Jeanie’s brother had become an honorary, long-distance member of the book club, although Hazel had no idea if he read the books.

‘Actually,’ Jeanie cut in before her brother could answer. ‘I’ve been trying to convince Bennett to come stay for the holidays.’