Page 21 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

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...’