Page 67 of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store
‘Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get out of here.’
Hazel’s smile grew.
An easy decision.
You can’t always take the easy way out, Noah.It was the last thing his father had said to him before he left home for good. And here he was, still doing it the easy way.
Noah shook the old memory from his head and grabbed Hazel’s hand. They made their way out of the meeting hall, turning plenty of heads on their way. But the only opinion he cared about in this room was Hazel’s.
Even if she did only think of him as a good time.
ChapterNineteen
‘Ithink you’re better at this fun thing than you let on, Haze.’ Noah’s voice was a low rasp in her ear, his hands on her butt, tugging her closer.
‘I’m improving.’ She found his lips in the dark and he gave a quiet groan. She leaned into him and his back hit the shelves behind him, rattling the contents of the bins Hazel knew were stored there.
‘What is this room, anyway?’ he asked, pulling away from the kiss long enough to glance around.
Hazel pulled the overhead light switch and lit up the tiny storage room. The shelves behind Noah were filled with oversized plastic Tupperware stuffed full of seasonal decor. She knew because she’d been the one to organize them. It was nearly time to pull out the multiple bins labeled ‘fall’ and decorate the town hall with garlands of fake colorful leaves and plastic pumpkins.
‘Supply room.’ She flipped the lock on the door. ‘Don’t worry, no one ever comes in here. Especially after hours.’ Her father’s office was down the hall along with a meeting room for the town council and some other town employee offices.
Other than the over-full metal shelves, the room contained some old office furniture, several artificial Christmas trees with the lights still on, and a stack of traffic cones. Actually, with the fluorescent light on, the room was kind of depressing.
Hazel frowned. ‘Maybe this was a bad idea.’ She’d been sitting in that meeting realizing that it was nearly September and her birthday was only a month away and her time with Noah was running out and she just...
She already missed him.
And she didn’t want to waste any time. Certainly not to listen to the pros and cons of a new trash company.
But now that they were in this room where Dream Harbor hid its charm in between seasons, Hazel was thinking she’d miscalculated.
‘Nah, it’s not a bad idea.’ Noah stepped forward and ran a finger down her nose, gently forcing her to stop wrinkling it in dismay. ‘Just needs a little adjusting.’ He walked over to the biggest tree and stooped down to find the end of the lights. He plugged it into the outlet and the tree lit up with tiny white lights. He did the same with the other two trees and then pulled the overhead light chain, bathing the room in the soft glow of the Christmas lights.
Hazel smiled.
‘Much better,’ he said, pulling her close again.
‘You’re really good at that.’
‘At what? Setting the mood?’ He winked but Hazel didn’t miss the shadow that crossed his features at the joke, like he thought that was all he was good at.
‘No. At making me feel good.’
His eyes widened a little at that, his expression so genuinely surprised that Hazel wondered how he really saw himself. Did he not know how sweet and loving he was? How he made everyone around him happier just by being himself?
She should tell him but he was already dipping his head, already kissing her, nipping and sucking his way down her neck, breathing new words into her skin.
‘I’m going to make you feel even better.’
Hazel groaned. She didn’t doubt it.
He flicked open the buttons on her shirt one by one, exposing her to the soft glow of the room. A grin spread across his face.
‘I’ll never get tired of that.’
There was a lot packed into that statement, wasn’t there? Did he want to keep doing this after their time was up? Did she want to?
