The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(33)

Cliff and Marty sidled up to the bar. The two old fishermen had bailed him out of a crisis or two since he’d moved here, like the time he had a full bachelor party on board and an empty gas tank. Not a great way to start a new business. But they had happily filled him up and laughed their asses off about how stupid he was. It was a ... layered relationship.

‘What can I get you gentlemen?’ Noah asked.

‘A beer for me,’ Cliff said, and Noah didn’t have to ask which one. Cliff would only say ‘the usual’ anyway.

‘Coke, please.’ Marty hadn’t had a drink in nearly a decade but he came to the bar every Wednesday with his friend to get out of his wife’s hair, as he said, and to make fun of Noah.

Noah poured the drinks and served them under the watchful eye of the older men.

‘How’s business?’ Marty asked.

‘Not bad. Been a pretty good summer despite all the rain.’

Cliff harrumphed at the mention of rain as though it didn’t rain back in his day or they didn’t let it stop them anyway.

‘And how are the girls?’ Marty asked with a wink.

‘I wouldn’t know.’

Both men burst out laughing and Noah just chuckled along with them. There was no way he was about to divulge his currently way-too-desperate feelings for Hazel to these two. Not if he didn’t want to get laughed out of town anyway.

He’d almost managed to stop thinking about her for more than five minutes when the door opened and the air in the room shifted.

Just like that, she was here, and Noah would swear the room slowed down, blurred, frozen in place. Everything but her. She caught his eye and gave him a little wave before making her way to the bar.

‘Hey,’ she said.

‘Hey.’ He tried for cool but knew it didn’t land. His smile was too big, his ‘hey’ was far too enthusiastic. But Hazel’s smile grew so maybe it was okay.

‘Oh, now I see,’ said Cliff from down the bar.

‘I did always like a girl with glasses. I like ’em smart,’ Marty added.

Hazel glanced at the men with a confused smile but Noah waved them away, hoping they would kindly shut up.

‘I just came in for some dinner.’

Noah blinked. ‘Yeah, sure, of course. Do you need a menu?’

‘No, I’ll just get the fish tacos.’

Mac had added to the tacos last summer when Noah offered to supply him with whatever whitefish he managed to catch in his spare time. Tonight they were made with deep-fried cod and Noah felt an absurd flair of pride that Hazel had ordered them. Like he had personally invented fish tacos.

‘Sure. I’ll get that right in for you.’

‘Thanks.’ She settled in on the bar stool and Noah rushed off to put her order in with Mac. And then the fates conspired against him. A bachelorette party arrived for night one of their five planned days of events. A group showed up for a twenty-first birthday. And at least four families arrived with kids in tow for dinner. Suddenly, Noah was overwhelmed with orders, pouring drinks as fast as Amber could put the orders in. Mac was slammed in the kitchen with his two line cooks and poor Danny was drowning in dirty dishes.

It was two hours before Noah glanced down the bar and found Hazel still perched on her stool. She was curled over the bar top, her intense gaze focused on the book in front of her. Hazel had brought a book to the pub. Of course she had.

Noah couldn’t help but smile as he headed toward her.

She glanced up just as he landed in front of her.

‘You’re still here.’

Her cheeks pinkened. ‘I was just going to read one more chapter.’ She shrugged, gesturing toward the book. ‘Guess I read a bit more than that.’

‘You brought a book.’

‘Of course I did.’

His mouth tipped up in the corner, unable to resist the little smirk on her face. ‘Of course you did.’

‘I always bring a book, just in case.’

‘Just in case of what?’

‘Just in case the person I wanted to see gets very busy doing his job and I have to wait to talk to him.’

Noah leaned toward her, his elbows on the counter. She wanted to see him. ‘Oh, really?’

‘Yeah. Is that okay?’ Her expression was suddenly worried behind her glasses and Noah wanted to kiss the frown from her lips but since they were in public and he still didn’t understand the rules, he settled for running his finger down her nose and smoothing out the crinkles.

‘Definitely okay.’

‘Good.’ Her smile grew again. ‘The tacos were delicious by the way.’

‘I’ll let Mac know.’

‘So,’ she said, leaning in, her head tipped toward his. ‘I questioned the book club today.’

‘Oh, really. About what?’

‘The clues!’

‘Right. Of course. And...’

Hazel gave her head a slight shake, her curls sliding across her shoulders. He wanted to touch them but kept his hands planted on the bar instead.

‘And,’ she frowned, ‘they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about.’

‘So they didn’t do it?’

‘I don’t know. I guess not. But now I really can’t imagine who would have. I guess you could be right about Annie, although I still don’t think she’s sneaky enough.’