The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(80)

Hazel loved the little row of tidy beach houses, but mostly she loved that Noah was proud of them.

She took a sip of her fruity drink, eyeing the iguana that had crept up next to her beach chair.

‘I don’t like it when they get so close.’ She tucked her legs up closer to her body while Noah tried to shoo the lizard from their cabana.

The little green monster just blinked at him, wildly unimpressed with his hand flapping.

Noah leaned back in his chair. ‘I don’t think he’s going to come any closer.’

Hazel huffed. ‘So, you only fight seagulls?’ she teased.

‘If that thing takes flight, I’ll be sure to spring into action.’

He was sprawled out in his beach chair, his tan chest on display. Hazel couldn’t help but reach out and trace his new tattoo, the little book over his heart with the letters HK+NB written inside.

Noah grabbed her hand and brought her fingers to his lips.

Hazel smiled. ‘This is my favorite vacation.’

Noah hummed a happy little sound. Hazel could feel it vibrate through his chest where her hand still lingered.

‘You know what would make a good story to tell when we get home?’ he asked, eyes still closed.

‘What?’ They had already complied quite a list: snorkeling over the top of the shipwreck that Hazel was sure housed a fleet of sharks and probably a few ghost pirates, eating their weight in shrimp, the fight Noah got in with that pelican, drinking more ‘happy punch’ than was advisable on their sailing trip. Not to mention all the stories they wouldn’t be telling anyone like the day they hadn’t left the room at all...

‘If we got married while we’re here.’

Wait. What?

‘Married?’ Hazel squeaked.

Even the iguana looked surprised.

Noah turned his head toward her, a mischievous grin on his face. ‘Yeah, married.’

‘Noah...’

‘Say you’ll be my wife, Haze.’

He squinted a little in the sun, creases forming next to his eyes. His hair glinted copper and gold, his smile competing for brightness. He was so beautiful her heart ached.

His wife.

‘It’ll be fun. I promise.’

‘Noah, I...’

He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the chair and took her hands in his. ‘And sometimes it won’t be fun. Sometimes it will be boring and sometimes you’ll be mad at me and sometimes I’ll be mad at you. But, Haze, it will be me and you. Forever. Do you want that?’

The mischievousness was gone now, the grin, the smirk, the casual playfulness Noah did so well. Now he was earnest and sweet and serious. He was good at those, too.

Did she want that?

Did she want him forever?

An adventure partner and a reading buddy.

‘Yes. Of course I do. Yes.’

Noah whooped loud enough to scare the iguana and several nearby sunbathers before he grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her hard and strong and real.

She was laughing and crying by the time he pulled away.

‘We’ll get a ring. Whatever you want,’ he was saying. ‘And I did all the paperwork, Haze. I got things apostilled, and I learned what that word meant, and we can get married right here on the beach, if you want.’

He still had her face in his hands and he brushed the tears from her cheeks. His eyes sparked with excitement and love and happiness.

And she knew her life with Noah would be filled with good stories. This one would be one of her favorites, for sure. The time she married her best friend on a tropical island and promised to love him forever.

It would be hard to beat, but they had a lifetime to try.





Acknowledgments





I dedicated this book to you, the readers, because without you Dream Harbor is just a place I go to in my head, and Hazel and Noah are just my imaginary friends. So thank you, thank you, thank you for reading! The response to The Pumpkin Spice Café so exceeded my expectations that two books in, and I am still pinching myself. Thank you to everyone who read it, talked about, and posted beautiful pictures of it sitting on your gorgeous autumnal shelves or next to your favorite pumpkin mug. I am so happy you decided to come back to Dream Harbor with me and I hope you love Hazel and Noah as much as I do.

Another huge thank you to Charlotte Ledger and the amazing team at One More Chapter for letting me continue on this crazy journey (again, still pinching myself). A big shoutout to Jennie Rothwell for making sure Hazel wasn’t too frumpy and that Noah actually had a backstory (and all her other advice, support, edits, and brainstorming chats along the way!). Thank you to everyone at One More Chapter and HarperCollins for all the work you do on these books and for getting them out into the world!

Thank you to Kelley McMorris for the stunning cover art! These covers are so cozy and wonderful and I couldn’t dream of a better fit for the series.

Sometimes as an author you have the perfect scene in your head and then it comes time to write the scene and you realize you know essentially nothing about the thing you wanted to write about in said scene. And that is what happened to me when I pictured Noah and Hazel stranded on a boat, but I know nothing about boats, or boat words, or tides, or coastal geography, or apparently, weather patterns. So a big thank you to my brother-in-law, Aaron, for lending me his nautical knowledge for this book. He saved the scene I had in my head and saved me from having to watch too many YouTube videos about boating (although I did still watch some). Aaron is very knowledgeable and any mistakes in boating lingo are definitely mine.