The Cinnamon Bun Book Store: TikTok Made Me Buy It (Dream Harbor, Book 2)

Two Months Later

‘Happy Friendsgiving!’ Jeanie opened the door to the old farmhouse, her arms wide. Noah was immediately hit with the smell of sage and onions, cinnamon and ginger. His stomach grumbled. Hazel hadn’t let him eat more than a bowl of cereal this morning and the half a bag of marshmallows he’d scarfed on the way over. Although to be fair, they’d been busy with other things. Several other things that started with applying for a bank loan and ended with Hazel spread out on her kitchen table in nothing but her panties. So maybe he hadn’t just eaten cereal and marshmallows…

‘Hey, Jeanie.’ Noah let himself be enveloped in a hug by Jeanie, quickly putting aside his memories of the morning.

‘Welcome back, Noah!’ She gave him a squeeze and then moved on to Hazel.

‘Thanks for having us,’ Hazel said from inside Jeanie’s arms.

‘I’m so glad we decided to do this.’ Jeanie took the bags from Noah filled with wine and the rest of the bags of marshmallows Hazel brought to add to the yams, and ushered them inside. ‘It’s such a busy time of year, I’m just happy we could all get together.’

Noah decided not to point out that they all saw each other almost every day, especially now that he was back and full time at Mac’s for the season. They were constantly in and out of each other’s shops, but he knew Jeanie was excited to host her first official Friendsgiving, so he bit his tongue and followed her inside. It was warm and welcoming with a fire crackling in the hearth in the living room right off the hall. Jeanie and Logan had strung together several tables that stretched from the dining room into the living room. Candles and gourds ran down the center, creating a tablescape he was sure his mother would love.

His six weeks at home had been long and tough at times, but mostly for his sister. He’d had a blast playing with his nieces and going out with the crew on the new lobster boat. He even spent time going over his rental-property plans with his dad.

And talking with Hazel every night certainly helped. But with Rachel cleared by her doctor to be upright again, Noah was back in Dream Harbor. At least for now. He was taking Hazel home with him in three days and he was a ball of nervous energy about her meeting the family. But excited nervous and not dreading-it nervous so he was taking that as progress.

‘Oh, look who decided to finally show up!’ Annie emerged from the kitchen, wine glass in hand.

‘We’re not late.’ Hazel glanced at her watch. ‘Well, we’re not that late.’ A blush rose up her cheeks and Noah grinned, knowing she was thinking about exactly why they were late.

‘Gross, guys. I mean, really,’ Annie said, also expertly reading Hazel’s expression.

Hazel rolled her eyes, ready with a retort when a random man followed Annie into the entryway.

‘Um … hi,’ Noah said, taking Hazel’s attention from Annie to the man standing uncomfortably behind her.

‘Oh, this is Trent.’

‘Trent?’ Hazel’s voice rose incredulously.

‘Hey, nice to meet you…’

‘You brought a date to Friendsgiving?’ Hazel asked.

‘She sure did,’ Mac answered from where he sat glowering in the corner of the living room. Noah hadn’t even seen him over there. Trent shifted on his feet. Poor bastard.

Annie ignored Mac and turned back to Hazel. ‘Trent is a new friend. It just seemed nice to invite him.’

Jeanie hustled out of the kitchen with several trays of cheese and crackers in her hands. ‘And the more the merrier,’ she said, eyebrows raised like she was communicating a very important message to him and Hazel. A message about how no one was to ruin her Friendsgiving with drama.

‘Hmm.’ Hazel’s little noise of disapproval was all she contributed to the conversation.

‘Well, it’s nice to meet you, Trent.’ Noah stuck out his hand and the man breathed a small sigh of relief. ‘How’d you meet Annie?’

‘I tried her cookies and I just had to have more.’

Hazel choked on nothing, sputtering and coughing. Noah patted her back, biting down on his own laughter. He may or may not have heard Mac grumble something about staying the hell away from Annie’s cookies, but it was hard to hear over Trent’s backpedaling.

‘Uh … from her bakery. Chocolate chip. I went to buy some and we got to talking. That’s … uh … what I meant.’

Noah chuckled. ‘Yeah, she’s the best.’ He winked at Annie and she smacked him playfully on the arm.

‘Gee, thanks. Okay, now that we’re all introduced, let’s move on to having a nice day.’

More grumbling from Mac’s corner.

Logan was the next to emerge from the kitchen and Noah was starting to wonder how many more people were hidden in there. His friend was wearing an apron with a giant turkey on it.

‘Looking good, man,’ he said with a grin as Hazel followed Annie into the dining room for snacks.

Logan glanced down at his apron and then back to Noah with a frown. ‘Thanks. How’s your sister?’

‘Much better, no thanks to me, but I kept the kiddos occupied at least.’

‘Good man.’

Noah leaned toward him. ‘Did you do it yet?’ he whispered.

‘Shh!’ Logan grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back into the kitchen. ‘What are you crazy?’

Noah rubbed his arm. ‘Sorry. Geez.’

Logan frowned. ‘Sorry. I just don’t want to ruin the surprise.’

‘So you didn’t do it yet?’

‘No.’

‘I thought you said, by the end of the year…’

‘There’s still time.’

‘Hey, did you check the biscuits?’ Jeanie swept back into the kitchen and Logan nearly jumped away from Noah like they were caught doing something nefarious. Jeanie eyed them skeptically. Oh, his best friend was definitely going to ruin the surprise.

‘Uh, yeah. They need a few more minutes.’

Jeanie tucked herself next to him and Logan draped an arm over her shoulder. He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

‘So how are things with Hazel?’ she asked Noah.

‘Don’t pretend she doesn’t tell you everything,’ he said with a laugh.

‘Not everything! And besides, I like to hear it from you.’

Noah couldn’t help the smile on his face. It was inevitable when he thought about things with Hazel.

‘Things are great with Hazel.’ Great, amazing, the best two months of his entire existence, no big deal.

Jeanie grinned.

‘Uh, do you need help with anything out here?’

‘Nope. We’ve got it under control.’ She glanced over her shoulder as something bubbled over on the stove, hissing as the liquid hit the hot burner. ‘Mostly. Anyway, maybe you could just go make sure Annie and Mac stay in their own corners.’

‘Oh, is that all? Maybe I could figure out world peace while I’m out there.’

Jeanie laughed as she moved back toward the stove. ‘Thanks, Noah! You’re the best.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ he muttered as he went back out to the living room.

Annie and Hazel were busy stuffing themselves with cheese and crackers while Trent and Mac seemed to be in the middle of some sort of staring contest. At some point, George had arrived with Jacob and Crystal, whose rumored NFL boyfriend was off playing in Texas today. And the three of them were busy mixing drinks at the little bar cart Logan had set up.

Nana and Grandpa Henry were in Florida for the winter, so they weren’t around, but soon Alex and Joe arrived to round out the group. They’d been on again, off again since Hazel’s birthday but apparently today they were on. With the way everyone was already drinking, Noah could picture this Friendsgiving rapidly deteriorating, but he was going to do his damnedest to make sure that didn’t happen. He planted himself in the seat next to Mac and handed the man a small plate filled with crackers.

‘You should probably eat something.’ Noah eyed the empty scotch glass in Mac’s hand.

Mac grunted but started shoving crackers in his mouth. ‘I don’t know why she brought him.’

Noah glanced at where Trent was now by Annie’s side, looking at her all sweetly.

‘Maybe he’s nice to her.’

Mac scoffed. ‘I’m nice to her.’

‘Right.’

More grumbling. More cracker eating. ‘She’s the one that’s not nice.’

‘You are aware that you sound like a kindergartener, right?’

‘I’m aware.’

‘Okay, good. As long as we’re on the same page.’

Hazel sat down beside him with her small plate and glass of wine. ‘Hey, Mac.’

‘Hazel.’

‘For the record, I’m team Mac.’

‘There’s no team Mac.’

‘Hmm.’

Noah laughed and leaned closer to Hazel. ‘He’s grumpy today.’

‘I don’t blame him,’ she whispered.

‘I can hear you.’ Mac got up to refill his glass and Noah pulled Hazel’s chair closer to his.

‘You starved me all day so we could, and I quote, “save ourselves for the feast” and now look at you.’ He gestured to her plate filled with crackers, cheese, various cured meats, pickles and dried fruit.

‘I can’t resist a charcuterie board. Besides, we’re here now so this counts as part of the feast.’

‘Oh, is that the rule? Good.’ He snatched a fig from her plate and popped it in his mouth.

‘Hey! Get your own!’ She turned toward him and he grabbed her face. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the warmth of the room and the wine. Her eyes sparked happily behind her glasses.

He thought about the ring Logan had been carrying around in his pocket for months. He thought he wanted one, too. Someday. Soon. He wanted it soon.

She quirked an eyebrow like she was reading his mind so he kissed her, quick and sweet, at the table.

‘What was that for?’ she asked.

He shrugged. ‘Just thinking that I’m thankful for you this year.’

‘That’s sweet, but you should probably save it for later. I’m sure Jeanie’s going to make us do that thing where we go around and say what we’re thankful for.’

Noah chuckled. ‘Okay, noted.’

Hazel’s leg bumped against his under the table.

‘I’m thankful for you, too.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ He found her thigh under the table and let his hand run over the tights she was wearing under her skirt.

‘What are you doing?’ she murmured.

‘Nothing,’ he said, giving her his best innocent smile even as his fingers coasted higher.

‘Noah,’ she warned.

‘Yes?’ he whispered, leaning close to her again. He found the edge of her skirt and slid his fingers up and underneath.

Hazel’s breath caught.

He inched higher, keeping his expression neutral, placid.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked again even as her thighs parted for him.

‘Just having a little reckless fun.’

She held his gaze and he winked at her. She huffed a little laugh. ‘Oh, really?’

‘Mmm-hmm.’ He reached the apex of her thighs and slid a finger down the front of her. Hazel shuddered.

‘Time to eat.’ Logan thumped a plate with a giant pile of turkey down in front of them. Hazel coughed and Noah slid his hand from her skirt.

‘Later,’ he whispered before holding out his other hand for the bowl of mashed potatoes. ‘Can someone pass the gravy?’ he asked, not missing a beat. Hazel let out a breathy laugh next to him, catching his eye as their friends gathered around and took their seats. He smiled at her, letting the chaos of the room swirl around them.

Hazel sat at the center of it all, the calm in the storm. He didn’t really know what had brought him here; he’d docked at a lot of places over the past few years, but Dream Harbor had stuck. And he was thankful for everything that led to this moment. Every screw up. Every rough day at sea. Every fight with his family, with himself. It had all led him here.

He was meant to be here.

With her.

Hazel freaking Kelly. The girl of his dreams.

And for that he was thankful.