The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(72)

‘Oh.’

Hazel didn’t know what to do with that information, but she was glad she had it. She’d file it away for later when she had time to process it. She already knew Noah was so much more than she’d initially thought he was, was it so surprising that he could have real feelings for her?

‘Oh, and Jeanie is really sorry for convincing you that Noah was behind the clues. Obviously, your dad didn’t fill us in on this little plan.’

‘I’m not mad at Jeanie.’

‘Okay, good. And don’t be mad at Noah, either.’

‘Yeah, okay.’

‘Or your dads.’

‘Fine.’

‘Or this whole crazy town.’

‘Ugh, I really feel like you of all people should be with me on this one, but fine. I’m not mad at anyone and I’ll try to get past my overdeveloped feelings of embarrassment.’

‘Very good.’

She leaned against him, her oldest friend. ‘Sit with me for another minute?’

‘Of course.’

‘Thanks, Logan.’

‘Happy Birthday, Rainbow.’

‘I will kill you.’

He leaned over and planted a kiss on the top of her head. ‘Love you, too.’





Chapter Twenty-Eight





It was Hazel’s first full day as a thirty-year-old and she was running late. Alex had opened the shop this morning and Hazel wasn’t supposed to be in until noon, which was good considering she’d slept until ten this morning after her big surprise party last night, but she was still behind schedule. Mainly because she’d spent a lot of her morning, in between showering and drinking tea, picking up her phone and then putting it right back down.

No texts from Noah. No calls. And she hadn’t even summoned enough courage to talk to him at her party. If Noah planned on ending things between them, she didn’t want to have that conversation at her party. No one wanted to be dumped on their birthday.

Instead, she’d surrounded herself with her guests and made sure she was never alone with him.

Even when she caught Noah staring at her.

Even when he tried to offer her a ride home.

She didn’t want to hear Noah apologize on her birthday. She didn’t want to spend her party, which did, in the end, turn out to be lots of fun, hearing about how he’d never meant to hurt her and how things had been great while they lasted.

Because, apparently, even though Hazel was a full-grown, thirty-year-old who had finally accepted that she was sexy and fun, she was also a coward. And even though her friends all seemed to think Noah was in it for real, their opinions were not a substitute for hearing it from him. She’d been wrong once with this whole clue thing, she didn’t relish the idea of being wrong again. Not about this, not about Noah’s feelings for her.

No, she’d saved all that for today.

But she’d spent so much time thinking about it, and worrying about it, and deciding to just call him and then abruptly deciding never to speak to him again, she was now late for work.

‘Sorry, Alex! I’m here.’ She hurried through the door and found her second in command behind the counter.

‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered.’

‘I said I would be in at twelve and it’s nearly half past.’

‘Hazel, it’s fine. I told you, you didn’t even have to come in today.’

She knew that. Her employees were great. But if she had stayed home she only would have had longer to stew in her current discomfort over the Noah situation and she really didn’t need any more of that.

She paused at the counter, leaning against it with her hip, letting the familiarity of the bookstore seep into her. It was quiet this afternoon, but several customers contentedly browsed the shelves. The front table was decked out in the latest fall reads and Lyndsay had hung the cute fall banners with colorful leaves and sparkly cinnamon buns that Hazel found on Etsy around the shop. The smell of cinnamon sugar lingered in the air. It never quite left, even when they weren’t selling the baked goodies, like the scent had seeped into the walls themselves. The low, fall sun streaked in through the front window and Casper, here for a visit, was napping in a sunbeam.

Alex smiled at her from their place at the register.

And Hazel remembered that she loved it here.

This was her place and she loved it.

And it was fine that she had never sowed any wild oats or ever had any wild oats to begin with. She was thirty years old and she knew who she was. Hazel Kelly, bookstore manager, tea drinker, book reader, blanket snuggler, indoor cat. And she was also fun and flirty and sexy if she wanted to be. And sometimes she might get bored or antsy and that was fine, too, but Hazel liked her place here. She was allowed to be content. She was allowed to not want anything more than this.

Because what more did one need besides good friends, good books, and the occasional cinnamon bun?

A certain auburn-haired fisherman came to mind but Hazel gently pushed that thought aside. She’d deal with it later. Or never. She still hadn’t decided.

‘Did you have a fun night?’ Alex asked.

‘I did actually.’

‘You sound surprised.’

‘I was.’ Hazel smiled.

‘Well, I had fun, too.’ Alex lifted their eyebrows mischievously. ‘Me and Joe...’