Page 32 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store
A new mix of emotions flitted across his face but Hazel couldn’t catch them before he was smiling again.
She wanted to say more. That he was a breath of fresh air in her musty life, that he was slowly reminding her how to let go, that he was waking her up like the sun after a long winter. But none of that seemed casual.
And this thing between them was very casual.
A few months of excitement and flirting and nothing more.
Regardless of how he looked at her.
ChapterTen
Noah had insisted she leave all their beach-trip planning to him. So she found herself wandering down to the shore with a straw bag tucked under her arm and no real concept of what the day would hold. The weather had turned again and despite the bright August sun, the day was cool and breezy. Hazel wore her favorite hoodie over her tank top and had opted for hot tea in her mug over iced tea.
It was a Tuesday morning, her day off, and Noah was free too, so they’d agreed to follow the book clue today. He’d told her to meet him at the end of one of Dream Harbor’s many little side streets that ended up at the water’s edge. But this wasn’t the public beach with its sandy shoreline and snack stand. Hazel was standing next to the rocky edge before the sidewalk turned into coarse sand.
She hadn’t ever been to this part of the shoreline, although she knew plenty of kids in high school who had partied here on the weekends. Not surprisingly, she’d never joined them. But she could see why this was the big meet-up spot; once you got over the large rocks, the beach was mostly obscured from the street. It was quiet and secluded. On a Tuesday morning there were no partying teenagers in sight.
‘Hey, there you are.’ Noah’s head popped up over the rocks, the usual smile on his face.
‘Hi.’
‘Come this way, there’s more of a path.’ He led her to where there may have once been a path but was now more like crumbled concrete. She took his hand as he led her over the rough terrain.
‘You thought this was the spot to convince me to like the beach?’
He grinned at her. ‘Yep.’ He hadn’t let go of her hand and she liked the feeling of her fingers intertwined with his, so she didn’t pull it away. ‘It’s like our own private beach down here.’
Hazel frowned, glancing down the narrow strip of sand. About a hundred yards down a mother was building a sandcastle with her toddler. Every time she tipped the bucket over and dumped out a castle, the boy stomped it and giggled manically.
‘Well, mostly private.’ He led her to where he’d spread out a blanket. A cooler sat next to it and the flip flops he’d already discarded. ‘This is for you.’ He grabbed the large straw hat that sat on the blanket and placed it on her head with a flourish.
It was huge and flopped over one eye. ‘Why would I wear this?’
Noah peered under the brim. ‘To protect you from sunburn.’
She wanted to protest. The hat was big and ugly but ... it was casting a nice wide shadow around her. There was no way the sun was getting through this thing. And then there was the way Noah was looking at her, waiting for her approval.
‘Do you like it?’
‘I like the shade it provides.’
‘Great!’ His smile grew as he tapped the hat further down on her head, adjusting the strap beneath her chin. ‘My grandfather always used to say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad equipment.’
Hazel huffed a small laugh. Only for her was a sunny day ‘bad weather’ but this big, dumb hat, did seem to be working.
‘Okay, next thing.’ He clapped his hands and started rummaging through a backpack he’d placed next to the cooler. He pulled out a spray can and shook it.
‘What’s that?’
‘Bug spray.’
‘You brought bug spray?’
‘Yep, close your mouth.’ She held her breath as he sprayed the bug repellent over her legs and arms. ‘I noticed you had a lot of bug bites.’
‘Uh, yeah...’
Pink had washed over Noah’s cheeks as he said it. He’d noticed herlegs. He’d noticed an awful lot about her and he’d brought all these things to make her beach trip comfortable. A new sensation settled in Hazel’s stomach. It was warm and happy.
