The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(34)

‘Does it matter who’s doing it?’

Hazel shrugged, but her gaze slid from his. ‘I would just feel kinda ... silly ... if they’re not meant for me. Or if it’s all some kind of . . . joke.’

‘Haze.’

‘Yeah?’ She turned back to look at him and she was close enough that he could see the silver ring around her pupils.

‘So what if it is a joke?’ He kept his voice soft, not wanting to make it sound like her worries weren’t valid but just wanting to understand why she was so concerned about the origin of the clues.

She shrugged again, the crease forming between her brows. ‘It’s just embarrassing if everyone gets it and you don’t.’

‘I feel like we’re not talking about the clues anymore.’ He straightened and wiped his hands on the towel he kept behind the bar. The dining room had emptied out now and other than a few stragglers it was just him and Hazel at the bar. Marty and Cliff were long gone, thank God. He didn’t need them chiming in with ill-timed comments about him and Hazel.

He poured her a fresh glass of wine.

‘Is this like a bartender thing where you’re going to get me to spill all my issues to you?’

‘Oh, come on,’ he said with a teasing grin. ‘I told you mine.’

Hazel huffed a quiet laugh.

‘It’s not some long-simmering trauma or anything, it’s just we moved here at the start of high school and everyone had already known each other forever and I don’t know ... I just felt left out or something. Or like I didn’t really belong here.’ She sighed. ‘Sometimes I still just feel like ... I don’t know. Like I’m missing something. Or I’m going to commit some kind of Dream Harbor faux pas. I nearly got run out of high school for not dressing up for school spirit week. Anything less than a face painted with the school colors was considered a crime against the town. If Annie hadn’t adopted me, I probably wouldn’t be the well-rounded woman you know today.’ She gave him a self-deprecating smile.

‘So, worst case scenario...’ Noah leaned against the counter behind him, arms over his chest. ‘We’ve inserted ourselves into someone else’s prank and are now having the best summer ever. Even if the Dream Harborians––’

‘Dreamers.’

‘Right, Dreamers. Even if the Dreamers think you’re some kind of ... clue stealer ... that doesn’t sound so bad to me.’

‘That doesn’t sound embarrassing to you?’

‘Nope.’

‘Do you ever worry about what other people think of you?’

‘Pretty rarely.’

Hazel raised her eyebrows like she didn’t believe him, but she lifted her glass and took a sip instead of calling him out on it. Maybe he did care about what some people thought of him, but certainly not the general opinion of the Dream Harbor residents.

‘You didn’t care that everyone saw us at the carnival together,’ he pointed out, for reasons he couldn’t fathom. Was he trying to make her doubt being seen with him? Real smart move.

‘That wasn’t embarrassing.’

Being ‘not embarrassing’ was something, anyway.

‘But,’ she went on, ‘being the neighborhood crazy, book lady who thinks the books are talking to her so she plans the last two months of her twenties around them . . . is definitely embarrassing.’

‘You gotta let that shit go, Haze.’

She narrowed her eyes at him but there was no heat behind it.

‘There is no room for self-consciousness in HANSOF.’

Her lips tipped into a smile despite her efforts to tamp it down.

‘We are having fun . . . remember?’ he said with a wink and watched in delight as a blush crept up Hazel’s cheeks. She remembered. ‘Speaking of which, did you find any more clues today?’

‘No.’ Hazel’s voice was tight and she cleared it before going on. ‘No clues today.’ He felt the disappointment in her face reflected on his own. ‘Maybe it’s over?’

It couldn’t be over.

He shook his head. ‘Nah, not until your birthday.’ He forced a smile on his face. ‘I’m game to keep going, if you are. I’m sure we can find ways to be adventurous on our own...’

Hazel nodded, the smile blooming wider on her face. ‘Yeah, I’m still in, too.’ She glanced around the nearly empty room ‘I should get going, though.’

‘Hang on, let me just say goodnight to Mac and I’ll walk you home.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah, definitely.’ He had no set hours at Mac’s and the other man was usually just grateful for the extra hand. Now that the dinner rush was over, Amber and Isaac, Mac’s other regular server, could handle things fine on their own.

He said goodbye to Mac and settled his tips before meeting Hazel outside. She stood under the streetlight, the soft light gilding her curls. She was wearing her typical work outfit, tan chinos with a tucked-in button-down shirt. The shirt looked soft and loose and he had more than one perverse fantasy of slowly undoing each and every button...

‘Ready?’

Noah cleared his throat. ‘Uh ... yeah. Ready.’ He followed her down Main Street, past The Pumpkin Spice Café, the bookstore, and Annie’s bakery, all closed for the night. They paused briefly in front of the pet shop so Hazel could peek inside at the kitten she wanted but couldn’t have because of her allergies and continued on past the other various restaurants and shops on Main Street.