Page 87 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

‘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.’