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

by Laurie Gilmore

Not that Hazel understood that line of reasoning. She always wanted to be browsing the shelves of a bookstore.

Hazel was literally surrounded by amazing stories, books filled with love and adventure and life, but Hazel herself was stuck.

Hazel had a different problem with thirty. She’d forgotten to have wild and storied days. Her twenties had been ... calm?

‘Come with me, lass, if you want an adventure.’

Her heart was racing, and only partially because she’d been caught reading smut during work hours.

The blueberries popped tart and bright in her mouth. They tasted like summer and new beginnings.

‘Hazel hates sunshine. She’s like a vampire.’ ‘I am not! I just prefer to be inside. I’m an inside cat.’

‘Was this place always called The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore?’ he asked, following along behind her.

Noah’s smile grew. ‘A clue?’ Hazel sighed. ‘Vanilla milkshakes are objectively better. Colder and Sweeter. Evie smiled around her straw and took another sip.’

‘Do you want to have a milkshake with me?’ she asked. ‘There is literally nothing else I’d rather do.’

The descent of the Ferris wheel made her stomach swoop with nerves.

Her lips brushed against his. Noah made a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh so Hazel deepened the kiss, her tongue swept into his mouth and he was cotton candy and lemonade and summer and Hazel liked it.

‘Okay. As long as you’re going into this with your eyes open.’ Hazel widened her eyes behind her glasses. ‘They are wide. Very wide. I know what I’m doing.’ ‘All right, babe. I believe you. I gotta get back. I left George up to his elbows in cookie dough and we open in like half an hour. Love you.’

‘She dug her toes into the cool sand and dipped her head back, letting the warm sun caress her face.’ Noah read the highlighted line out loud in that low rumble of a voice and Hazel repressed a shiver.

‘Very good point. HANSOF is a law-abiding endeavor.’

‘Someone has been defacing romance novels?’ Kaori asked like she was preparing for battle, like she would defend the romance section with her life. Hazel had to admire their dedication to the genre.

‘Not sure what that means, Hazel, but now I kinda want to do a secret romance thing!’

Melinda Church was the current owner of The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore but she only made an appearance here once every quarter or so. Her rich father had swept into town about ten years ago and bought it for her when she was only eighteen. The entire town had gone into a panic that he would change everything about their quaint bookstore, or worse, tear it down completely. But the store was a gift and he let his daughter do what she wanted with it.

Hazel had brought a book to the pub. Of course she had.

‘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.’

There was no way Annie was right about Noah and the clues, which was fine. It was good, actually, because Hazel didn’t want anything serious with Noah. So really it worked out perfectly.

He was summer and she was fall. He was adventure and she was comfort. But right now, on the cusp between the two seasons, in this liminal space they’d carved out for themselves, they fit just right.

‘Then maybe we should stop.’ Hazel’s words were loud and final in the small space. Panic surged through him. Panic at losing her. Panic at this thing ending before he’d had the chance to convince her to stay. He needed to back up, to rewind, to fix it before she walked out.

The ship cut through the waves, tossing Arabella’s curls around her face. Salt spray misted her face, and the wind whipped around her skirts. She felt like she was flying.

September 28th. Hazel’s birthday. In the margins was a note. Mac’s. 7:00, bring friends.