The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(52)

‘You have?’

He reached out and brushed a curl behind her ear. ‘Yeah, definitely.’

Her smile grew.

‘And I’m just ... sorry. I’m insecure about this plan of mine and I took it out on you which is a totally shit thing to do.’

‘True,’ she said.

He stepped closer, her face in his hands again. ‘I’ll talk to your ... the mayor.’

‘Good. But don’t do it on my account. Do this for you, Noah.’

Her ability to cut right to the heart of him, still caught him off guard. ‘You’re very wise, Hazel Kelly.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s because I’m so much older than you.’

He laughed. ‘Luckily, I find older women to be very attractive.’

She reached up to press a kiss to his mouth, but didn’t linger. ‘I have to go.’

‘You sure?’

He watched her weigh the pros and cons in her head, her thoughts playing across her face. He’d screwed up tonight for sure and maybe she’d forgiven him, but apparently not enough to stay and roll around in his pillows.

‘Yeah, I’m sure.’

‘Okay, I’ll drive you.’

‘Thanks.’

‘And ... um...’ He cleared his throat. ‘The clues?’

Hazel gave him a small smile. ‘I’ll let you know if there are any more.’

It was embarrassing how much relief flooded through him at her words. He wasn’t ready for things to be over with Hazel yet. He was going to hang onto this crazy summer with both hands for as long as he could.

For as long as she would let him.





Chapter Twenty-One





The bookstore smelled like cinnamon, butter, and vanilla icing. It was Sunday. Cinnamon-bun day and the place was bustling. The weather had turned gray and rainy, forcing an abrupt end to the short-lived summer heat, and now suddenly the town was more than happy to be inside sipping their coffee from Jeanie’s and pulling apart cinnamon buns while they searched for their next read.

Hazel tried not to worry about sticky fingers on her books. She’d warned Melinda that having a gooey, frosting-covered treat in here every week might have unintended consequences like ruined merchandise, but her boss was having none of it.

Melinda wanted cinnamon buns. So Melinda got cinnamon buns. Hazel had worked out a deal with Annie for a weekly limited order of fresh cinnamon buns and the town flocked to the bookstore to get their hands on one.

She had to admit, it had been good for business. Most people left with a sugar high and a book. Plus, the store smelled amazing. And Annie had already slipped her a warm bun under the counter to snack on between customers.

‘Hey, Hazel.’ Logan had a to-go bag of cinnamon-y goodness in one hand and the latest book in the romance series Jeanie was working her way through in the other.

‘Hey. Is Jeanie swamped this morning?’

‘Oh, yeah, but she needs her cinnamon-bun fix.’ He held up the bag with a small smile. He looked happy, her friend. It was like he was the same old Logan but with a new shine. It was nice. She was glad he found Jeanie. Or she found him, as the case may be.

‘So, Annie mentioned something about book clues...’

Hazel rolled her eyes. No secrets in this town. But she didn’t really care if Logan knew. Of all people she knew he wouldn’t say anything to anyone. He glanced behind him, but there was no line at the register. Everyone was gathered around the table they’d set up in the back for the cinnamon buns. Alex and Lyndsay were manning it this morning. Hazel glanced over to her fellow employees and found the last tray of buns was nearly empty.

‘Yeah, it was strange, but I haven’t seen one in over a week, so ... I guess it’s over. Whatever it was.’ She tried to keep the disappointment from her voice but the way Logan’s brows rose, she knew she wasn’t pulling it off.

‘And ... Noah?’

‘What about him?’

Logan cleared his throat, shifting on his feet. ‘I just wanted to make sure ... I mean ... did he...?’

‘Ruin me for the marriage mart? I think you’re reading too many Regency-romance novels, Logan.’

Logan scowled and she couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t know what was going on with Noah. She hadn’t seen him since their sort of fight at his house. After maybe she’d called him out on his bullshit one too many times.

If Noah had been the one leaving the clues, he’d stopped. And if he hadn’t been the one leaving them, no one else was, either, and she couldn’t seem to fabricate another way to see him. So she hadn’t. For a week. And she was perfectly happy to pretend that was fine with her.

‘That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to make sure you’re ... okay.’

She smiled at him, her sweet old friend who just wanted to look out for her. ‘I’m fine, thank you.’

He nodded, relief evident in his posture. ‘Okay, good.’

‘Nine ninety-five.’

‘What?’

‘For the book.’

‘Right, sorry.’

He tapped his card and Hazel emailed his receipt. ‘Happy reading,’ she said with a grin only to be met by Logan’s scowl.

‘It’s not for me.’