The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: TikTok Made Me Buy It (Dream Harbor, Book 2)
The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: Chapter 7

‘Alex?’

‘Yeah?’ Hazel’s best employee looked up from where they were picking crayons up off the carpet. Alex had purple hair, an amazing read-aloud voice, and an encyclopedic knowledge of Dream Harbor history. They were beloved by the youngest and oldest customers alike.

‘Did you happen to see anyone messing around by these shelves during story time?’

Alex came to stand next to where Hazel was staring at the Romance section. ‘Did I see any preschoolers messing up the romance books? Uh, no.’

Hazel huffed. ‘What about their grown-ups?’

‘A few people bought some books while they were here. I don’t really remember if they were romance or not. Want me to check?’ Alex pointed to the computer, but Hazel waved them off.

‘No, no it’s fine.’ She’d already grabbed the upside down, dog-eared book off the shelf before Alex could ask questions, but she was still curious if Alex had seen anything … suspicious. She couldn’t very well say that without explaining the whole thing which she was not at all prepared to do.

Preschool story hour tended to be crowded and today was no different. Hazel booked a different local author every month to share their latest book and read an old favorite. Annie’s bakery sent over treats and the parents and kids loved it. Hazel did, too. But she’d been so busy, she had completely forgotten about the clues until the last tiny customers filed out and she’d spotted an upside-down book.

Her mind raced over who had been here today. Isabel and her kids, George had come by with his little nephew, Annie of course to drop off the cookies, Tammy with her granddaughter, and that was just the beginning. It had been a zoo. There was no way Hazel could narrow down the suspects.

She wasn’t sure it really mattered, but she wanted to know who was leaving these messages. And even if she had her own reasons for following them, she still wanted to know why they were doing it. Was it all a big joke?

She didn’t like to think she was the butt of a joke.

Alex had gone back to their clean-up efforts, scraping stepped-on crayons from the carpet, so Hazel ducked behind the counter and peeked inside the book.

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

Hazel hated Ferris wheels. Or heights in general.

But that obstacle would have to wait.

There were crayons to scrape and surfaces to disinfect. Preschoolers were savages.

Noah was just getting off his boat when a text pinged on his phone. It was a picture of a page in a book. A page with a single highlighted line.

He grinned.

A ferris wheel, huh?

He leaned against a post on the dock, waiting for her response. It didn’t take long for another text to appear.

I hate heights.

Sounds like this mystery person wants you to face your fears

That’s crap

He laughed out loud, startling a nearby seagull.

I thought you wanted a reckless summer?

Reckless like fun, not like terrifying

Sometimes the two go together

All she sent after that was a grumpy-face emoji so Noah continued his trek back to his car parked in the marina parking lot. It was a small marina; the harbor Dream Harbor was named after wasn’t much more than an inlet with a rocky coast. Besides Noah’s boat, there were a handful of other fishing boats and a few pleasure boats docked alongside.

Dream Harbor wasn’t a big tourist destination, at least not compared to other towns up and down the coast. Other than the old inn up on the hill and the new, swanky spa and resort they’d put in a few years ago, there weren’t many places for people to stay, but still the population grew every summer with guests looking for a relaxing vacation. Noah was convinced his little beach-cottage idea would draw people to town looking for a quiet seaside getaway without the jam-packed beaches and overcrowded restaurants in other destinations. And due to the fact that there were only a handful of houses, even a steady turnover of guests wouldn’t actually add to the town’s population much at all. He hoped this would alleviate some of the townsfolk’s concerns.

It was a good idea. He knew it was, even when he didn’t really believe it. He just had to wrap his mind around how to sell it to the town council. They were incredibly protective of the town’s ascetics. According to Logan, it had taken years and many heated arguments and multiple Mayor Kelly dreams to convince the good people of Dream Harbor that putting in one spa would not in fact destroy the entire town.

And if it wasn’t for the inn, Noah wouldn’t have a business at all. Can’t take out-of-towners on fishing tours if they have no place to stay afterwards. But Noah grew up in a tourist town. He understood why Dream Harbor didn’t want to turn itself over completely to impermanent residents.

He was sure there was a way to balance the two, though. Someday he’d get around to presenting his idea. Maybe.

Noah climbed into his car, leaving the windows down. Despite what Annie said, he did in fact smell pretty fishy when he got off the boat and he was looking forward to a shower. He shot Hazel one more text before pulling out.

Sounds like we’re heading to the carnival this weekend.

Her response was immediate and he couldn’t help his smile.

I’ll go to the carnival but no ferris wheel

We’ll see . . .

NO FERRIS WHEEL

He laughed and tossed his phone aside. He didn’t care if they went on every ride or did nothing but stand around. He had a date with Hazel Kelly. And all he’d needed to get it was for some cryptic messages to appear in the pages of a book. Not his usual style, but he’d take it.

By the time he was out of the shower and sprawled on his bed, he had three more messages from Hazel.

I think we should meet at the carnival.

Around 8.

And maybe don’t mention this whole clue thing to anyone.

He frowned.

Why?

I don’t know, I still feel kinda ridiculous about it. Also we need to figure out some suspects.

Suspects?

Yeah, like who is leaving them and why.

He rolled over onto his back, a smile on his face. He liked talking to Hazel. He liked that he got to.

I didn’t realize there would be a mystery-solving component to this arrangement.

Don’t call it an arrangement. That sounds weird.

Okay. What should I call it? Hazel and Noah’s Summer of Fun!

No.

HANSOF for short

Definitely not.

HANSOF!!

Summer is nearly over anyway

Yeah but ‘Hazel and Noah’s two months before her thirtieth birthday of fun’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into?

The best summer you’ve ever had.

He was making big promises here, but he had to. Go big or go home, right? And if this was his one shot with Hazel he sure as hell was going to take it. Whatever the bizarre circumstances that got them here.

Oh yeah?

Guaranteed.

Wow.

I’m very good at fun, Hazel.

He thought of Hazel’s wine-flavored lips. She was very good at fun too, whether she knew it or not.

I believe it.

Good, see you at the carnival.

Right, see you then.

HANSOF!!

That’s enough of that.

Right. Goodbye, Hazel.

Bye, Noah.

Noah had never attended the Dream Harbor PTA presents A Midsummer Night’s Carnival before. It hadn’t felt like the sort of thing a single man should attend by himself. He imagined it would be filled mostly with small children, dragging their parents along to play a few games and stay up past their bedtimes, and not much else. A small, school-run affair for kids to celebrate their freedom before school started up again. Not something anyone else attended.

He was very wrong.

Like most things in Dream Harbor, the town locals had turned out in force. Add to that the influx of tourists for the event and the carnival was packed. The town green was filled with rides. Teacups, spinning swings, and a small roller coaster had sprung up overnight. The giant lit-up Ferris wheel loomed over it all. Main street was closed to traffic and filled with game booths. Giant stuffed animals hung from wooden booths, attracting large crowds of kids and adults trying their hand at winning one. Lining the park were food trucks from every nationality and culture Noah could think of, filling the air with scents of fried dough to jerk chicken to gyros. His mouth was watering by the time he stepped up to the ticket booth.

‘Hey, Noah.’ Isabel smiled at him as he approached, still a bit shell-shocked by the whole thing.

‘This is amazing.’

Isabel laughed. ‘Yeah, the PTA goes hard for this one, but it funds most of the kids’ activities for the next school year so it’s worth it.’

‘It’s really impressive.’

Andy sat next to her, doling out tickets to a pack of middle-schoolers hopped up on cotton candy. Noah could feel the energy vibrating off them. Andy shook his head as they ran away.

‘Hey, Noah.’

Noah smiled. ‘I’ll take whatever forty bucks will get me.’

Isabel took the cash and Andy handed him a string of the ubiquitous red tickets.

‘Thanks for your support!’ Isabel said before turning to her daughter, Jane, who had come running up to show her the stuffed dog she’d won.

‘And it only took twenty-five tries,’ her father, Marc, said with a laugh.

Isabel rolled her eyes. ‘At least the money goes back to the school.’

‘Cool dog,’ Noah said, turning his attention to Jane. ‘Maybe I’ll win one, too.’

Jane looked up at him with pity. ‘It’s a pretty hard game. You might not win anything.’

Noah nodded, biting down on a smile. ‘Okay, thanks. I’ll try my best.’

‘That’s all you can do. Try your best.’ The little girl’s face was solemn as she delivered the advice before running off in the direction of the rides.

Marc shook his head. ‘Much better at giving advice than taking it. Kid would not budge from that booth until she won.’

Noah laughed, clapping Marc on the shoulder. ‘Good luck, man.’

‘I’m going to need it.’ He planted a kiss on Isabel’s cheek before running off to follow his daughter.

‘Have fun!’ she told Noah with a wink, her gaze flitting to where Hazel was waiting for him. He didn’t have time to wonder how much the Dream Harbor Book Club knew about Hazel’s clues before his brain stuttered at the sight of her.

Activity and noise and lights and bodies swirled around her, but Noah only saw her. It was as though everything else was blurred but Hazel was crystal clear.

She was standing next to the cotton-candy stand, where her dad, the mayor, was cranking out big tufts of fluffy sugar. She was wearing shorts again, which Noah found wildly distracting. Her thighs felt like a personal attack. He dragged his attention back to her face. She was smiling. At him.

If there wasn’t a growing line of people behind him and Isabel staring at him like she knew exactly what was going on in his head, he might have stayed frozen there forever. But he had to move or risk causing a riot at the Midsummer Carnival ticket booth.

Hazel raised a hand in greeting as he approached. ‘Hey.’

‘Hi.’ Very smooth opening line. He was good with women, wasn’t he?

‘You know my dad.’

‘Noah, how are you? How’s business?’ Mayor Kelly smiled as he handed a stick of cotton candy to a small child. The spun sugar was larger than the kid’s head.

‘Business is good.’

‘Wonderful, wonderful.’ The man kept spinning the paper sticks through the candy as he spoke. ‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you…’

‘They’re not here to talk business, hun.’

‘Right, right. Sorry.’

‘Do you know Frank?’ Hazel asked, her hand on the other man’s arm. ‘This is my other dad.’

Frank gave Noah a shy smile. ‘Nice to meet you.’

‘Nice to meet you, too.’ Noah would have reached out to shake the man’s hand but Mayor Kelly was already putting a giant blue cotton-candy stick in his fist.

‘Have fun you two!’ Did the mayor just wink at him, too?

‘Come on.’ Hazel tugged him by the hand away from the stand before he could think too hard about that. ‘You don’t have to eat that,’ she said when they were out of earshot from her dad’s booth.

‘Why wouldn’t I eat it?’

Hazel wrinkled her nose. ‘Because it’s disgusting.’

‘Disgusting?! What?’

A small laugh escaped her. ‘It’s just sugar-flavored air.’

‘And why wouldn’t I want sugary air? In fact, I wish all the air was sugar flavored. That would be amazing.’

‘And sticky.’

He shrugged. ‘I guess.’ He dropped Hazel’s hand to pick off some sugary fluff. It melted as soon as it hit his tongue, sending sweetness through his veins. He licked the stickiness off his fingers and he could have sworn Hazel watched him do it before tearing her gaze away.

‘So what do you want to do first?’

‘Well…’ Noah let his gaze wander suggestively toward the Ferris wheel.

‘Nope. Not ready yet.’

‘Okay, no problem.’ He looked around. ‘How about we play some games?’

Hazel nodded. ‘I can do games.’

‘Great.’ He pulled off some more cotton candy but before he could put it in his mouth, Hazel grabbed his forearm and rerouted the candy into her mouth instead. Her lips ghosted over his fingers and he nearly dropped the whole damn thing.

She gave a little sigh. ‘Might not be as bad as I remembered.’ She walked off ahead of him and he was forced to follow or risk getting lost in the crowd.

Who was this Hazel Kelly and what was he going to do with her?

He ignored the list of ideas that immediately popped into his head, starting with feeding her more cotton candy and ending with her very naked in his bed. This was a family event. Those thoughts needed to be tamped down along with the other ones about Hazel’s ample thighs, her bare shoulders and all that skin he’d never paid attention to before that he now couldn’t seem to stop staring at.

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was still behind her and a mischievous smile played around her lips.

If she kept looking at him like that he could no longer be held responsible for where his thoughts wandered off to. This Hazel Kelly was trouble.

And Noah liked trouble.