I think I’m just going to have to go there and see what all the fuss is about.

I flash him a smile. “Thank you. I appreciate your help and the discount.”

“Not a problem. Welcome to Port Snow, Ren.”

Holy hell, is it busy in here.

I stand still, taking in the cutest little gift shop I’ve ever seen. White shiplap covers the interior, with the exception of the exposed-brick wall behind the register, which is painted the same teal color as the trim outside. The gold, old-fashioned register itself is still in working order. Adorable.

The hardwood floors are a beautiful blond color, and the cases of fudge and pastry are spotless, the glass curved enough to give you a lovely view of all the goodies. There is a roped-off area where you can get in line for sweets, separating visitors with a hankering for fudge and pastries from the ones who want to buy something else, like a lobster-shaped oven mitt or a Port Snow T-shirt with the Lobster Landing logo on the front. Smart.

I glance toward the glass cases, and my mouth quickly waters, anticipating what I’ll bring home. One of those scones, for sure—my God, do they look amazing. I’m pretty sure this is where I’ll be spending half my teaching salary.

The line is a bit long, so I decide to venture around the store first, maybe check out the shirts. As of this morning, I am officially a resident of Port Snow. I should have a shirt to represent my new hometown.

I make my way toward the T-shirts, where I see one that immediately grabs my attention. A pale teal with Port Snow printed in a white font. Cute and simple with a V-neck and a feminine cut. I’m sifting through the sizes, searching for a medium, when I hear a familiar voice next to me. “Can I help you find something?”

I look up and spot Griffin, wearing a backward ball cap and a cocky kind of smile. “Hey, Griffin, I think—”

“I’m Reid, but I get that all the time.” That devilish smile appears again. “Despite the five years between us, we’re pretty much the same guy. The way you can tell the difference is he has wrinkles and I don’t.”

I blink a few times, letting my eyes adjust. “You’re Griffin’s brother?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How many of you are there?” I finally ask, a question that probably should have been posed earlier in the day.

He laughs, that rich sound I’ve already heard a few times. How is it possible to have so many replicas of one person? It’s actually a little freaky and weird. “There are four of us. Griffin, Rogan, myself, and Brig, who’s the baby of the family, and Jen is our older sister. I’m assuming you met Griffin already?”

“He was the man who rescued me from my car yesterday, and before you ask if he rescued me from a pond or a tree, he didn’t; it was just straight from my car, and he carried me up the hill.”

“Ahh,” Reid says knowingly. “You’re the new algebra teacher who was almost run over by a moose on your way into town.”

Wow, it’s actually refreshing to hear all the facts come from one person.

“Yes, that’s me.” I hold out my hand. “Ren Winters. Pleasure to meet you, Reid.”

“Nice to meet you too. Griffin told us a little bit about you this morning when we were opening shop. You’re staying in Alabaster Haven, right?”

“Yup. It’s how I met Rogan.”

“And your car must be in Brig’s shop, so you’ve met him already.”

“Correct.” I point at him, loving how friendly everyone is here. Living in Los Angeles has jaded me a bit when it comes to interacting with strangers, so this is refreshing. “You guys all look exactly alike. It’s thrown me off all day. I kept thinking you were all Griffin in disguise.”

“What? That old man? He doesn’t have time to be running around in costume. But I will let you in on a little secret.” He leans forward, and I mimic his posture, ready for a little dirt on his oldest brother despite myself. He looks furtively from side to side. “I’m the hottest out of the four,” he whispers.

Oh Jesus.

“Keep dreaming,” says a deep voice that rumbles over me, smooth as molasses. I turn to find Griffin standing behind me—the Griffin—hands stuffed in his jeans pockets, a charming smile showing off his straight white teeth, pecs apparent beneath his crisp white shirt.

I might just disagree with Reid on who the hottest brother is.

Griffin nods toward Reid. “Cover me up front; I need a fudge break for a second.”

Reid grumbles under his breath and walks away, leaving me alone with Griffin.

He shifts on his feet. “Get everything done you needed to get done today?”

I fold my arms over my chest, trying to ignore my marathon-level heart rate and sweaty palms. “For the most part. I ran into all your brothers. Nice of you to let me know you have so many.”

A small dimple appears on the left side of his face as he chuckles. “Get a little confused?”

“Uh, yeah. I kept thinking I was seeing you all over the place. It was not good for my psyche.”

“Sorry to break the news to you, but we are all over the place. And as a heads-up, we have a sister, too, but she doesn’t look anything like us. She takes after our mom. We boys look like our dad.”

Well then, their dad must be freaking hot.

“Five kids? That must have had its challenges growing up.”

He shrugs. “It had its moments.”

I decide to leave it at that. “Well, I’m going to get this shirt and some pastries. Any suggestions?”

Glancing over at the glass container, he nods. “Blueberry scone, three cider doughnuts, a quarter pound of the neapolitan fudge, and two thumbprint cookies.”

“Way to be specific.” I chuckle. “Okay, I’m going to go get in line.”

“Nah, come with me.” He nods toward the back of the shop as he grabs the shirt from me. I follow closely behind him, trying to keep my eyes off his firm butt—and failing miserably.

He walks me through a door that leads to a small room identical to the main shop with its white walls, beautiful floors, and teal accents. To the right, a door leads to the outside, flower boxes hanging by the window, and from the looks of it, there is a small sign that hangs just outside the door, but I can’t see what it says from my angle.

“This is a little-known secret of Port Snow. Locals come to the side entrance and give us their orders when the line is long. It’s the best way to avoid the crowds. Make sure when you want something, you come back here. I’ll go get your bakery items. Be right back.”

A secret checkout counter? How freaking adorable.

He goes to the front and starts plucking things from the glass case while I take in the small counter. It’s quite tiny but serves its purpose. The only difference between this room and the front is that instead of the cute old cash register, there is a modern iPad checkout system. I would wait in line to see the old cash register work . . . well, maybe I would wait in line. Depends on how badly I want a treat.

Griffin comes back to the counter holding a teal pastry box with red-and-white string tied around it and a white bag. Even their packaging is charming. No wonder this is a tourist destination.

“All right, got you everything and added a whoopie pie for free because they’re my favorite and I didn’t want you to not choose it.” He winks and starts ringing everything up, tapping away on the iPad.

“That was sweet. Thank you.” I hand him my card as well as Brig’s 20 percent off discount, enjoying that I get to see him in his element. “How often are you in here working?”

He spins the iPad around for me to sign. “Almost every day. I’m usually here with my sister, Jen, and when I’m called out by the station, my parents come in to help, or one of my brothers covers for me.”

“That’s sweet. So you kind of get the best of both worlds.”

“Exactly. Receipt?”

I shake my head. “I’m good.” I take the box and bags. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. I’ll see you around, Ren.” He points to the door to the right of me. “If you go out there and turn left, you’ll see a little path; it’ll take you back out to Main Street.” With one last parting smile, he walks back to the bustle of the store, leaving me with a skyrocketed pulse and a thirst for more.

CHAPTER SIX

GRIFFIN

“Hell, if she was my algebra teacher, I would have done a lot better than a C minus.” Reid is washing down the pastry cases, unable to shut up about his run-in with Ren. “I would have asked for all the extra credit, if you know what I mean.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me like a douche.

“Are you still talking about the new girl?” Jen asks, making her way from the back, where she was packaging up all the pastries and fudge.