Page 82 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

‘Okay.’

‘And this is the helm.’

‘The steering wheel?’

‘On a boat, it’s the helm.’

‘Fancy.’

Noah laughed. ‘Very.’

‘Will there be a quiz?’ she asked, running a hand over the steering wheel.

‘Maybe.’

‘I plan to ace it.’

‘I would expect nothing less.’

‘Wait, didn’t you say you lived on this boat when you first got here. How is that possible?’ Hazel looked skeptically at the bench seats. There was no way a man of Noah’s size could have slept comfortably on them, not to mention he would have been totally exposed to the elements.

‘I saved the best part for last.’ He gave her a cheeky grin and then lifted a latch near the helm. It opened up and revealed a small door that led down into a living space.

‘A secret door!’ She peered down into the compartment. It had a bed, a small one-burner stove and two more benches. ‘Wow, it’s like the inside of a camper.’

‘Yeah, it’s not much but it worked for a while. I got a gym membership and showered there. But the tight space got old after a while.’

‘I bet.’ Hazel pulled her head from the doorway and found Noah fiddling with some important-looking boat levers and knobs. She watched him, enjoying seeing him in his element. He was serious as he readied the boat, a side of him she’d rarely seen. She could see why people trusted him with their safety and their fun on his fishing excursions.

‘Ready to go?’ he asked, finding her staring at him.

‘Ready as I’ll ever be.’

Noah winked at her, the playful excitement returning to his face. He closed the door to the below-deck apartment. The boat was untied from the dock and they were off into the great unknown.

Or the coast of Dream Harbor.

But either way, it felt a little scary and a lot exciting.

And the perfect adventure to round out their summer of fun.

* * *

The trip went smoothly for a while. Hazel did a lot of staring at him while he steered the boat which Noah had to admit he liked a whole lot. It got cooler, Hazel pulled up her hood, reminding him of that day on the beach and the things they’d done, the things they’d talked about.

He was joking when he said that his sweatshirt on her made him feel like he’d claimed her. Mostly joking. He did love seeing her in it. Like a little proclamation to the world that something really was going on between them. Like they were in high school and she was letting everyone know she was taken.

It was ridiculous but it was true.

She looked so damn cute, sitting there, her cheeks pink from the air, her eyes bright. He wanted her there all the time. With him.

He shook his head. ‘Got any more snacks in that bag?’ he asked, distracting himself from the direction of his thoughts. Last week he wasn’t even sure if Hazel wanted to hang out with him at all and now here he was thinking about forever again. He needed to cut that shit out. Especially if he really was going to go through with his plan to help his sister. He might not even be here a week from now.

‘I brought scones from Annie’s or...’

Noah smiled as she rummaged through her giant bag. ‘Scones? Are we having a tea party?’

Hazel looked up with a scowl, but he could see the amusement in her eyes. ‘You can take the girl out of the bookstore, Noah, but you can’t take away her scones.’