Page 71 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

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‘Um ... ta da?’ Noah flipped on the battery-powered lantern he kept by the door, illuminating the small space.

‘Noah, where are we... Wait, do you live here?’ Hazel glanced up at him and she looked so small and sweet wrapped in his sweatshirt he had to look away or he might just kiss her and forget his whole plan to tell her about, well, about his whole plan.

‘Sort of,’ he huffed a laugh. ‘Don’t tell your dad. I’m not actually sure this isn’t all very illegal.’

Hazel’s eyebrows rose. ‘Oh, it’s definitely illegal.’ They were standing in his partially renovated beach cottage, the one he hadn’t actually paid for or got any sort of permission to work on or live in... Maybe bringing her here was a mistake.

Another impulsive idea. Just like dropping out of school, just like leaving home, just like getting involved with this woman. The one that was currently staring at him like he was insane and possibly a criminal.

Shit. He shouldn’t have brought her here. He’d just simultaneously blown up this thing between them and his crazy plan in one dumb move. Was it too late to reverse course? Just lie about the whole thing?

‘But it’s beautiful,’ she said, cutting off his thoughts.

‘It is?’

‘Of course. Noah, it’s gorgeous in here. Did you do all this?’ She ran a hand over the butcher block countertops he’d put in the kitchenette. Her gaze traced over the tiny house and he followed along as she took in all the work he’d done. The floors he’d refinished, the ceiling he’d patched after he fixed the roof, the walls he’d painted, the windows he’d replaced. She took the lantern with her, shining the light on his work. Noah had never been good at sitting still and this little house had become his hobby in his downtime. It did look pretty good, actually, if he was being honest with himself.

Even better as he watched the look on Hazel’s face.

‘Uh ... yeah. I mean, I had an idea to do the others, too. And then maybe do like a short-term rental thing...’

Her eyes lit up. ‘Noah, that’s a great idea. People would love these! And it’s like staying in a little piece of history. Oh, my gosh, we could look up who built them and when, and what they were used for in the past. We could put little plaques on each one!’ She was walking the perimeter as she spoke, past the chair he’d found at the flea market and the mattress he’d piled with extra pillows he’d found on his last trip to the home-goods store. Pillows he’d bought for her as he pictured her in his bed.

She finished her lap and was standing in front of him again in the little kitchen where he’d stalled out next to the front door, listening to her be excited for him, listening to her use the wordwewhen she talked about future ideas for the houses.

She was smiling. Beaming, really. Shelikedhis idea.

‘So, you think it’s a good idea?’

‘It’s a great idea.’ The worried wrinkle appeared between her brows. ‘You have some obstacles in your way, though. The main one being that these old shacks are owned by the town.’

‘Right.’

‘You should bring it up at a town meeting.’

Noah ran a hand through his hair, remembering what happened at the last town meeting. Heat rushed through his body at the memory of Hazel on her knees in front of him. Hazel must have remembered at the exact same time because her cheeks flushed red and her eyes widened.

‘You wanted to stay.’

He shook his head. ‘No, I very much wanted to go with you.’

‘Noah.’

‘Hazel.’

She frowned, hand on her hip. ‘You should have told me. We could have stayed.’

He flashed her a cocky grin, hoping to cover up how insecure and panicked he’d felt at the thought of presenting his idea to the whole damn town. ‘I think we had a lot more fun in that closet than we would have if we stayed.’

Hazel didn’t take the bait. The little frown stayed put on her perfect lips. ‘You need to at least bring it up with the mayor.’

‘Your dad.’

‘I like to refer to him as the mayor when I’m speaking about him in a professional capacity.’

Noah bit down on a smile. ‘Of course.’