The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: TikTok Made Me Buy It (Dream Harbor, Book 2)
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: Chapter 24

Wind, whipping her wet curls against her face.

Rain, soaking her jeans and these stupid, canvas sneakers.

Endless gray waves with white peaks.

Dark clouds racing across the sky, like the storm was in a hurry to arrive, eager to rage.

Noah’s handsome face set in grim determination as he steered the boat.

That’s what Hazel focused on. Noah’s face. Not her cold feet or her wet hair or the violent rocking of the boat or the thoughts of how horribly cold the sea must be right now, how terrifying it would be to plunge into that dark water.

Hazel was wearing the giant raincoat Noah had tossed her when the rain started and she pulled the hood further over her hair. They were under the small roof that covered the cockpit but the wind was driving the rain sideways and into the open sides of the boat. The life jacket she had fastened around her middle, squeezed around her ribs with each deep breath she tried to suck into her panicked lungs.

Noah’s face. Calm, determined, competent. She watched him, stared as though if she kept her eyes pinned to him, everything would work out. They would be safe. He glanced at her and winked. Winked. With water dripping down his face and his hands clutched tight to the steering wheel, he winked at her.

‘Nearly there,’ he shouted over the wind and the motors.

That was when Hazel saw it. The island coming up fast ahead of them, just a gray smudge against the gray sky. But the closer they got the more it resembled actual land, safety. Hazel nearly cried at the sight of it.

Relief was written on Noah’s face too, as they pulled up closer to the rocky coast of the small island. Waves crashed brutally against the big boulders.

‘There’s a dock around the other side of the island,’ he told her, keeping the boat close to the shore but not close enough to come up against the rocks. There were more hidden beneath the waves, she was sure. The area around Dream Harbor wasn’t known for its soft sand beaches. The sand they did have was coarse and rough and the rest of the shoreline was covered in rocks.

They made their way around the coastline and miraculously the wind lessened as they approached the other side of the island.

‘Less windy on the lee side,’ he said, flashing her a confident grin.

An old dock stuck out into the water and Hazel was immediately skeptical. It didn’t look sturdy enough to hold onto a canoe much less this boat. Would it even keep them here or would they just be tossed back out to sea?

‘It’s stronger than it looks,’ he said, reading her mind. ‘Been here for years.’

‘That doesn’t comfort me.’

A new layer of relief struck Noah’s features at Hazel’s words and she realized she hadn’t spoken in a while. He flashed her a smile.

‘Hang on tight.’

Noah turned the wheel, angling the boat to come up even with the dock, but with the storm, Hazel didn’t know if they’d make it. He dropped the boat into reverse to slow it down, like he’d explained to her earlier in the day, but with the wind and the waves, they were still approaching the dock fast.

‘Might be a bit of a rough landing,’ he said, eyes focused on the dock.

Hazel held tight to the railing, bracing for impact.

They were coming in at an angle and Noah started straightening out the boat to come parallel with the dock, even as the wind kept knocking them out of alignment again. Hazel’s insides churned as much as the water beneath them.

What if this didn’t work?

What if they broke this ancient dock?

What if she died a cold and watery death?

The boat thumped against the dock, jarring Hazel out of her doom spiral and nearly knocked her off her seat.

‘Sorry!’ Noah yelled over the wind. He was keeping the boat steady next to the dock with the hull banging ominously against the old wood.

‘Hold this.’

‘Hold the wheel?!’

‘Just hold it steady.’

Hazel got up on shaky legs and took the wheel because literally what else could she do? Noah hurried out of the cockpit and grabbed the rope to tie the boat to the dock. The boat, tipped and bobbed, pulling away from the dock and for one terrifying second, Hazel thought he would fall in.

But Noah managed to reach one of the dock pillars and grab on. He tugged and the boat came up flush with the dock and he wrapped the rope around an old metal cleat on the dock and did the same with the back of the boat.

If watching a man parallel park was sexy, watching him dock a boat in a storm was next level. He hurried back to where Hazel stood paralyzed with her hands on the wheel.

‘Good job, skipper.’ He kissed the tip of her nose and Hazel blinked.

She threw her arms around his neck and he let out a surprised laugh.

‘You saved us,’ she gasped.

‘It’s not actually that bad of a storm. I mean, I’ve sailed in worse.’

‘Noah!’ She pulled away, filled with righteous indignation. ‘You. Saved. Us.’

He shrugged, his smile growing. ‘I mean, if you want to tell people that I saved you, I won’t be mad.’

‘I’ll be telling everyone this story.’

He huffed a quiet laugh. ‘Okay, Haze.’

‘Okay.’ She glanced around. ‘Now what?’ The wind was less on this side of the island but it was still lashing rain against the sides of the boat and soaking its occupants. The boat still rocked beneath her feet.

‘Now we ride it out.’

Hazel’s brows rose. ‘Here? On the boat?’

Noah grinned. ‘Yep.’

‘But … isn’t anyone here? To help us?’

‘Nope. This island’s been abandoned for at least a decade. Island living is rough out here. Most people can’t hack it.’

‘Oh. Shit.’

‘The worst of the storm is past us. Look.’ He held up his phone, showing her the weather satellite he’d been checking all day. ‘That’s the storm. And we’re here-ish. This thing is moving fast. We’ll be all right.’

‘Hmm.’

He chuckled and grabbed her hand and she realized it was freezing cold and had been for some time but she’d been too preoccupied with not dying to pay attention. Now that they were relatively, sorta safe, she was cold and stiff.

‘Come on, let’s warm you up.’

Noah opened the sneaky trap door he’d shown her earlier and gestured down the few steps into the living space below deck.

‘After you.’

Hazel didn’t love the idea of going further into the boat while the waves tossed them about but she also didn’t love the idea of staying above deck and freezing her butt off, so she went down the steps.

There was about two square feet of standing room in the cabin. The rest of the space was taken up by a bed that was the shape of the front of the boat, sort of like a triangle with rounded sides, two small benches at the foot of the bed, and a small cabinet with the one burner stove on top.

‘Just strip that wet stuff off and toss it under the bench. Open the other bench up and there’s some dry clothing in there you can put on,’ Noah instructed, his head poked in the doorway and then he closed it to keep the rain and wind out.

Hazel quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants that she had to roll five times just to be able to stick her feet out of the bottom, an equally large T-shirt and a sweatshirt. She kicked her wet clothes under the other bench and then crawled onto the bed to make space for Noah to come down.

He peeked his head in a moment later. ‘All good?’

‘Yeah, get in here. You’ll catch your death.’

He stepped down, laughing as he closed the hatch. ‘Okay, that sounded like an old lady.’

Hazel managed a small laugh even as the boat swayed in the water. ‘That’s what I was shooting for.’ There was a skylight above her on the bed, but she couldn’t see anything besides the rain pelting the outside of it. A few small lights glowed around the tiny cabin.

Noah shucked his wet shirt, he’d already left the wet coat he’d been wearing above deck, and Hazel barely had time to catch her breath before his jeans were gone, too. He stood at the end of the bed in nothing but his boxer briefs and the braided bracelets around his wrist. His hair was wet and looked dark brown in the low light. He grabbed a towel from the storage bench and ran it over his hair, leaving it standing up in places.

She watched the muscles in his arms and back bunch and flex as he moved, remembering how he’d moved to get them here, to keep her safe.

She swallowed hard. ‘I’m wearing all your clothes.’

He sent her a lopsided grin. ‘Guess you’ll have to keep me warm.’ He crawled up onto the bed next to her and she quickly lifted the blanket to let him underneath. His skin was cool to the touch when he wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back, nestling her face in the crook of his neck.

‘I think this might have been a little bit too much adventure for me.’

‘Nah,’ he spoke to the top of her head, his breath rustling her curls. ‘You did great.’ His arms tightened around her. ‘Haven’t you learned to stop underestimating yourself yet, Haze?’

She pulled back far enough to see his face. Even in the low light, he was bright; the way he looked at her warmed her completely.

‘You’re Hazel freaking Kelly. Smart.’ He brushed a kiss across her cheek. ‘Funny.’ A kiss to her other cheek. ‘Sweet.’ The tip of her nose. ‘And sexy as hell.’ Her lips, soft and warm. She sighed, letting her body relax against his. Even the storm seemed to quiet.

‘You didn’t need me to help you discover any of that,’ he said.

‘Maybe. But I’m glad you were here for all of it.’

‘Yeah?’

‘I really like you, Noah.’

‘Yeah?’

She smiled, pulling him closer, feeling him respond to her touch even through the baggy clothes she was wearing.

‘Mmm. A lot.’ So much that she wondered if ‘like’ was even the right word anymore, that maybe at some point between the drunken blueberry-patch night and this crazy storm Hazel’s feelings for Noah had catapulted straight from like to something much stronger.

Something that Noah certainly hadn’t signed on for.

Something she sure as hell would be keeping to herself for the moment, until she was on dry land and had properly sorted out this alarming escalation. It probably had something to do with her recent near-death experience.

‘I really like you too, Hazel Kelly.’

‘Yeah?’ She didn’t hate hearing that, though. If she had leapfrogged from like to … something else … then maybe Noah could, too?

Noah grinned. ‘Yeah.’ He rolled on top of her. ‘A lot.’ He pressed the word into her skin with his lips. ‘But if I’m going to properly show you, these things have got to go.’

He was tugging on the giant pants she was wearing and she laughed. ‘You told me to put them on!’

‘I was feeling chivalrous at the time.’

‘And now?’

‘And now I’m feeling like I want you out of these damn pants.’

Hazel giggled, his words tickling her neck. She helped him, wriggling out of them and yanking the sweatshirt over her head. Her glasses came with it and Noah rescued them from her hair, placing them on the little shelf built into the side of the boat.

‘This is a clever space,’ she said when he’d pulled her close again.

‘Yeah it’s not bad.’

‘So you stayed down here during all your adventures?’

‘For a lot of them, yeah.’

‘What’s the craziest thing you ever saw?’

She had a leg draped over his hip, his hands on her ass tugged her closer. ‘Um…’

He thought about it but his eyes were dark, his cheeks flushed like he wanted to think about other things. Do things other than chat.

‘I was up in Maine once, camping out and I swear I saw a werewolf.’

Hazel laughed. ‘No you didn’t.’

‘You calling me a liar, Hazel Kelly?’ He nuzzled against her neck, teeth scraping skin.

She sucked in a breath. ‘Werewolves aren’t real.’

‘Maybe not. But I saw one.’

‘How do you know it wasn’t a regular wolf?’

‘He was huge.’ Noah’s hands roamed freely over her body, his mouth, too. ‘With glowing eyes.’

Hazel huffed but she couldn’t concentrate well enough to argue, not with Noah’s fingers tracing paths across her stomach, grazing the underside of her breasts. He groaned against her lips.

‘Well, I’m glad you lived to tell the tale.’

‘Mmm … me too,’ he rumbled, low and deep as he cupped her breast with one hand and squeezed her ass with the other. His erection was pressed hard against her center where she already ached for him. If the storm still raged outside, she was no longer aware of it.

‘This body, Haze.’ He groaned. ‘It does things to me.’

Her laugh was breathy, stuttering out of her as his thumb brushed across her nipple. Back and forth until all sensation was distilled down to that one point. She still could barely believe it, that her body did things to this man, but she did believe it. She believed him.

‘Does this boat come equipped with condoms?’ she asked and Noah stilled.

‘Haze,’ his voice was gruff, thick with want. ‘We don’t have to … I mean, I know you don’t usually…’

‘I don’t usually what?’

He pulled back far enough so that they were face to face, his hand slipping from her breast to safer territory on her stomach.

‘From what you’ve told me, I know you don’t usually do casual sex and I know you’re trying to do new things here, but this is more than a little fun and I know we’re not actually … I mean, we’re not…’

Hazel’s heart sank as Noah fumbled with his words. It was too painful, too embarrassing. She wouldn’t make him say it, wouldn’t make him admit out loud that they weren’t anything serious, that this thing between them wasn’t anything real.

She silenced him with a kiss. ‘It’s okay,’ she said, even though it wasn’t. ‘I know what this is. Casual, fun. But I want this with you, for now.’

Noah was watching her, studying her face. And if they weren’t so close, if she hadn’t gotten to know him so well over the past month she might not have noticed the trace of disappointment on his face. But she did. It was there and then gone before she could catch it, quickly replaced with a sexy smirk.

‘Great, yeah, me too. For now.’

‘Right. Good.’

He held her gaze a moment longer before he kissed her. He kissed her until she forgot why she was disappointed, until she didn’t care why he was kissing her only that he was.

It was the last week of her twenties, damn it, and she was going to enjoy it.

She could deal with her broken heart the day after her birthday.

Today, she’d survived a storm at sea and was currently tucked into bed with the sexiest man she’d ever had the privilege of touching.

Recklessness won the day.

Hazel’s warm body was wrapped around his, plush and beautiful, but all Noah could think about was the look on her face when he’d said they didn’t have to have sex … that they weren’t anything.

It was a lie.

Hazel was everything.

Hazel was getting lost-in-your-favorite-book good, sun-on-your-face good, the-perfect-cup-of–coffee good. If Noah thought helping her these past two months, spending time with her, tasting her, touching her, was going to get her out of his system, he was a bigger idiot than even he realized.

His crush on the sexy bookseller had only blossomed into his favorite friendship and his sexual obsession all rolled into one.

He didn’t just have the hots for Hazel Kelly anymore, he was completely and inconveniently in love with her.

And for a minute he thought she felt it, too. That maybe that little look of disappointment on her face meant she wanted more, too.

But then she’d said casual fun and she might as well have tossed him overboard.

‘You okay?’ she murmured, her lips coasting down his neck.

‘Yeah. More than okay.’ Get your head in the game, Noah. This is what you’re good at. He would not let his over-the-top feelings for this woman ruin this moment with her. He’d had more than one fantasy that starred Hazel right here in this bed and he wasn’t about to let that go.

If this was the way he got to be with her then he’d take it every time she offered it.

And maybe that made him an idiot, but it made him an idiot with a nearly naked Hazel in his arms. Which was perfectly fine with him.

She was still wearing his T-shirt and he ran his hands over the soft material, feeling the warm weight of her breasts through the fabric. Her nipples strained against the front of the shirt and he took in the sight of her, in nothing but her panties and his white T-shirt, nearly see through after years of wear.

‘Perfect,’ he sighed and she smiled up at him, her cheeks flushed.

He dipped his head and took a nipple in his mouth, soaking the fabric with his tongue. Hazel moaned and squirmed. He ran his hand over her other breast, teasing her through the shirt. The thin layer between their skin somehow made the whole experience hotter, driving his desire higher.

‘Noah,’ she groaned and he would remember the sound of his name in her pleading whimper for the rest of his life.

‘What do you need, Haze?’

‘More.’

He chuckled even as inside his heart lurched. He wanted to give her everything. He wanted to be everything. But he still didn’t even know if that was what she wanted and he was going home right after her birthday. How could he be everything to her if he was leaving?

He shoved the thought from his mind as he lifted her shirt and ran his tongue over her peaked nipples. She gasped, fingers going to his hair, tugging him, keeping him close. He loved it.

He sucked and licked until Hazel was writhing, her little pleading moans getting louder and louder, but now there was no one to hear them, just the open sea and a deserted island.

Make her scream.

The thought shot through him, hot and urgent.

He swirled his tongue around her nipple and then pulled away. Hazel’s head came up off the bed.

‘Where are you going?’ she asked, sweet and indignant.

Noah let his laugh brush along her stomach. ‘I have a lot of plans.’

Hazel’s head dropped when he got to her plain cotton panties. He could not explain why these things drove him crazy but they really did.

He tugged them over her hips and down her ample thighs. Hazel kicked them off her feet and tossed them aside.

He dug his fingers into her flesh and spread her legs open in front of him, like a feast, his own personal treasure. The first taste ripped a broken groan from his chest. He pushed every thought about time running out, and that he would some day have to live without this, from his mind and settled in between Hazel’s thighs.

‘Noah,’ she gasped as his tongue found her.

‘Okay?’

‘Yes,’ she squeaked. ‘Yes, yes, yes…’ The yeses tumbled out as he licked, broad, flat strokes.

He held tight to her thighs, pinning her in place.

He’d always loved this. Sex. Bringing his partners’ pleasure. But never like this. It was never like this, not like it was with Hazel. He wanted to stay here forever, listening to her moans and whimpers.

‘Noah, please. More.’

More. Everything.

He slid a finger inside her slick heat, thrusting while he sucked on her. Her heels dug into the mattress, her hips rocking against him.

He replaced his mouth with his thumb, circling the spot he knew would make her come. He knew how to do it now; he held this little secret knowledge about Hazel Kelly.

‘Come for me, Haze. Don’t be quiet. Let me hear you.’

She lifted her head and looked at him, eyes wide, cheeks pink. He got to see her like this. Undone.

‘I’m close. Please, Noah.’

He added another finger, a slow, slick slide. Hazel groaned. She held his gaze for a thick, heated breath, until Noah dipped his head to her center again, licking and sucking until Hazel was moaning loud enough to drown out the remaining wind.

‘Noah!’ His name broke through, screamed to the ceiling of the cramped space. ‘Noah, oh, God, Noah…’

Her body shook, legs trembling with aftershocks. He licked her gently, teasing more pleasure from her until she finally pushed him away, begging him to stop, saying she couldn’t take anymore. Only then did he stop. Only when he’d given her everything did he crawl back up her body, trailing kisses along her flushed skin.

‘More,’ she said when he reached her.

He couldn’t help his grin. He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose before tracking down the condoms he kept tucked away on one of the little shelves. A sailor always had to be prepared.

‘You sure?’ he asked as he rolled the condom on.

‘Mmm hmm.’

‘Words, Haze.’

She gave a little exasperated sigh. ‘Yes. I’m sure.’ She tugged him toward her, fingers in his biceps. ‘Come here.’

She wrapped her legs around him and he was at her entrance before he could fully take in the moment, before he could prepare himself for what it would feel like to sink into Hazel. It didn’t matter anyway. He wouldn’t have been able to prepare.

He slid in slowly and he was positive it had never been like this before. What was it? Was it Hazel’s little breathy sigh, sounding an awful lot like relief when he was as deep as he could go? Surely women had sighed before. But not like this. Never like this.

Was it Hazel’s thighs clenching around him, or her full breasts or her wild curls? Was it how she trusted him, how she gave herself over fully to the moment? He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything as he thrust into her, each slow slide obliterating all rational thought.

‘Noah,’ Hazel gasped.

‘Okay?’

‘Yeah,’ she paused, her gaze on his. ‘It’s just … I don’t usually come this way. I mean during this … part. I didn’t want you to be … offended.’

Noah paused his movements, his forehead dropping to Hazel’s. ‘Offended?’

‘It … it feels really good. I just don’t usually … reach…’

‘Yep. I got it.’

‘Sorry. Does that make it less fun for you?’

Less fun for him? Jesus, this woman was going to kill him. He literally could not think of a single place he’d rather be right now.

‘Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry for something like that.’ His voice came out harsher than he intended but he was buried deep in the woman of his dreams and so irrationally angry at everyone she’d ever had sex with at the same time. It was a confusing moment, to say the least.

‘Let’s try something else, okay?’ he asked, softening his tone.

‘Okay.’

He pulled out and turned so he was sitting on the bed. His head brushed the low ceiling but they would fit.

‘Come here.’

Hazel repositioned herself so she was straddling his lap. ‘I don’t usually do it this way. I mean, in the past.’

Noah bit down on the sharp response he wanted to give to Hazel’s past boyfriends. ‘It might be a better angle for you.’

Hazel lowered herself onto his erection and Noah nearly came from the sight of Hazel’s hand wrapped around him, guiding him in.

‘Oh.’ Her eyes widened.

‘See,’ he said with a grin. He put his hands on her hips and rocked her forward.

Her eyes went wider. ‘Oh!’

‘Yeah, exactly.’

She rocked on her own this time, a low groan echoing from her chest to his. ‘Holy crap, Noah.’

‘Better, sweet girl?’ he rumbled and she stilled, holding his gaze, a beautiful blush crossing her cheeks at the nickname.

‘Much,’ she breathed, moving again.

‘That’s right. Find how you like it,’ he murmured in her ear and she picked up her pace. She rocked again and every thrust sent pleasure skittering down his spine. He was surrounded by her, her scent, her smooth skin, her plush body. Hazel, Hazel, Hazel.

He took a nipple into his mouth and Hazel’s back bowed. She held his head to her and he sucked while she rode him.

‘Oh God, oh God, oh God,’ she crooned.

‘That’s it,’ he said, breaking away only long enough to say it before taking her other nipple in his mouth.

Her fingers tightened in his hair, her thighs squeezing his hips.

Hazel screamed.

Hazel babbled a string of filthy words Noah had never heard come out of her mouth.

Hazel murmured his name.

And Noah came harder than he ever had in his entire life.

Rain still pattered gently against the skylight but the wind had stopped. Noah had said they could sail back whenever she was ready.

But then he’d pulled out his book and stretched out on the rumpled bed, giving Hazel a little smirk as he’d done it. So she pulled out her book, too, cozy again in one of Noah’s sweatshirts, and laid down beside him.

They were still reading an hour later, Hazel’s head now resting on Noah’s stomach, his fingers trailing through her hair. The cabin was dim, lit by a few small lamps and the gray light from outside. Her skin was sticky from the salt air and … other things, and her hair was a tangled mess, but Hazel was having a hard time remembering the last time she felt this content.

‘No way,’ Noah murmured above her and she bit down on a smile. He’d been doing that all afternoon, too. Little exclamations of surprise and excitement as he read. It was almost as sexy as all the stuff he’d done to her before they started reading.

‘What?! No way.’

Hazel giggled.

‘Sorry. Am I disrupting you?’ he asked.

Hazel rolled over so she could look at him. His coarse hair stuck up on one side and he was in nothing but a white undershirt and boxers. His tattoos flexed and danced as he moved his arms to put his book aside.

‘Not disrupting me. I like it. I mean, I like this.’

He grinned and the room was suddenly bright.

‘Me too.’

‘I think this was my favorite day.’

Noah rolled so he was on his side too, his face close to hers. ‘Of all our HANSOF adventures, this was your favorite?’ he asked with a smile. ‘The one where we almost died?’

‘Died?! You said you had it under control!’

Noah laughed. ‘I’m kidding! I totally had it under control.’

Hazel frowned and he kissed her nose. And in that moment, she could picture it. She could picture so many days just like this one. Well, maybe with less near-death experiences. But ones where they went on little adventures together and ended the day reading in bed and it was so freaking perfect, it hurt.

‘No, I meant, my favorite day. Of all the days.’ She held his gaze and watched as his smile turned serious. Her stomach rolled dangerously, much worse than it had in the storm.

He brushed a curl from her face. ‘Me too.’ His voice was low and rough like those two words meant so much more than he spoke out loud. Like maybe he meant, me too, you’re my favorite person, too. Me too, I have all my favorite days with you.

‘Me too,’ she repeated and she meant, me too, I want to keep doing this with you. I want more than casual fun with you. I want everything.

Noah leaned forward and brushed a kiss to her lips.

And she hoped that meant he wanted everything, too.

‘I have something to tell you,’ he said and Hazel’s heart tripped over itself with excitement. This was it. This was the moment.

‘Okay,’ she breathed. Finally they would say everything out loud; she would tell Noah how she really felt about him and he would tell her. No more guessing. No more wondering. They could do this for real. Casual fun had become exhausting. Hazel was ready for serious contentment.

‘I’m going away for a while.’

‘Away?’ What? No, that couldn’t be right. Going away? That was not what Noah had to tell her. It couldn’t be. She misunderstood.

‘Well, home, actually. To … uh … help out.’

‘Oh.’ Home. Noah was going home. He was leaving just as abruptly as he’d arrived. And just like that, Hazel’s hopes of forever blew out to sea. Everything she’d planned to say rearranged itself, the declaration of love quickly retreating to the safe confines of her heart. She’d clearly misunderstood everything.

‘After your birthday.’ He was watching her as he spoke, waiting for her reaction.

Hazel swallowed hard. She absolutely would not make a fool out herself about this. Their tryst had always had an expiration date. She knew that.

‘That’s … uh … good, right?’

Noah frowned, a crease between his brows. ‘I mean … I guess so. My sister needs some help with things and my tours are wrapping up, it seemed like a good time to go.’

‘Right. Sure. That makes sense.’ Hazel was attempting a smile but her face wouldn’t move. This was good for Noah. He should go home. His family needed him. This thing between them was temporary. It all made perfect sense but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

‘Look, Haze, I…’

‘I’m happy for you Noah. This will be really good for you.’ She inched away from him, suddenly their closeness was unbearable. ‘We should head back soon, right?’ she asked, her voice too loud, too cheerful for the moment. But she wouldn’t make Noah feel guilty about this. He’d try to hide how much the issues with his family hurt him, but Hazel saw it. He missed them and if he was finally willing to go home and fix things, she wouldn’t dare tell him he shouldn’t. She couldn’t keep him here.

Maybe this was how things were meant to end, anyway.

Noah blinked. ‘Yeah, I guess we should.’

‘Thanks for making this day so memorable,’ she whispered.

‘Happy to help,’ he said, but his smile was anything but happy.