Page 12 of The Secret Crush Book Club (Peach Blossom #3)

Zoey felt her heartbeat kick into overdrive, and she tried not to let her fight-or-flight reaction kick in.

Sometimes, she wondered if the universe was just playing a massive practical joke on her and sitting back to see how she reacted.

Then again, she figured maybe it was just the nature of small towns.

Nine times out of ten, if you were thinking about someone, the next time you went into town, chances are you’d see them.

Zoey realized that she hadn’t said anything, and she quickly moved to respond.

“I’d love to share a table with you, if you really don’t mind.

I don’t want to disturb you during your lunchtime if you need a break from people. ”

Dani smiled and Zoey felt the need to scream. It should be illegal for someone to have a smile so nice. “A break from people, sure. But I don’t need a break from you.”

Damn. Zoey wasn’t sure how to take that without giving herself false hope.

If those words had come from someone else, she would have thought they were flirting with her.

But from Dani, she wasn’t sure if she was reading too much into it because that was just what she was hoping for.

Zoey glanced over at Thomas. His expression hadn’t changed, but she could swear he was laughing at her.

“Um, if you’re sure.”

Dani nodded. “Of course I am. Come on. I have the booth over here.”

Zoey followed, nodding hello to the few patrons she recognized.

She was trying to look everywhere except at Dani and how good she looked in her baby blue scrubs.

When her gaze just happened to slide over giving her a glimpse of the way the fabric molded to the shape of Dani’s ass, she couldn’t help but stare.

I’m no better than a man , she thought, quickly averting her gaze when Dani stopped.

“Feel free to choose whichever side.”

Zoey nodded before sliding into the booth. She pretended she wasn’t watching when Dani slid in across from her and picked up the menu. Zoey knew exactly what she wanted when it came to food. She knew what she wanted when it came to the woman across from her too.

“Thanks for letting me sit with you,” Zoey said, trying not to look as awkward as she felt. Dani glanced at her from over the menu.

“Of course,” she replied simply before looking back at the menu.

Zoey looked down at the table as they waited for the waitress and fought against the need to drum her fingers.

The familiar diner sounds created a backdrop that kept the silence from being grating.

Still, there was a strange tension between them, and Zoey wasn’t sure how to break it.

She wasn’t surprised when it was Dani who spoke up first.

“So, how has your workday been?”

Zoey sighed softly in relief. Work was an easy enough topic to talk about. “Everyone’s back in school so it tends to be very quiet during the day. It’s easier to get things done before the afternoon when more people start coming in.”

Dani nodded. “I can see that. I’ve come in during the day a couple times when I didn’t feel like actually eating on my lunch break, and it’s always nice to be able to wander through the stacks and just kind of exist for a minute.”

That she could relate to. Her brother had often asked her if working at the library was boring when she was just putting books back in their respective places, but Zoey had always found it the perfect time to be alone.

The repetitive motion of walking around and putting the books on their shelves always helped her clear her mind, and she enjoyed those times just as much as she enjoyed talking with the other patrons and helping them figure out what books and resources they were looking for.

Working at the library also gave her time to do a little research for her books or jot down some thoughts when her muse decided to give her an idea for a scene.

Some of her best ideas came when she was walking through the aisles, returning books to their proper places.

It was like the pages whispered to her, sprinkling a bit of their wisdom. She loved it.

“On that, we are in complete agreement,” Zoey replied, looking up at Dani with a hesitant smile.

Dani grinned and it loosened something in her chest. Perhaps they could be friends.

It wouldn’t be such a bad thing, even with Zoey’s feelings.

She would get over it eventually and besides, there was nothing wrong with having more friends.

Maybe it was for the best anyway. She didn’t even know if she would be in Peach Blossom long term.

Everything was dependent on the budget, and she still didn’t know if there would be money in the budget for her to stay after her contract ended.

And even if they did decide to offer her a permanent position, did she even want to stay?

Doing research about a small town for her book setting was one thing, but after the book was written and done, would she want to stay?

When their waitress came, Zoey and Dani gave their orders before settling in and exchanging anecdotes about their workdays.

The conversation flowed easily and more of Zoey’s nervousness melted away in the face of Dani’s obvious interest in their conversation.

Zoey tried to keep her thoughts firmly on friendship, even as her mind cataloged everything from the way Dani’s lips wrapped around her straw to the way she licked her fingers after each chip.

At one point, she dropped her pickle when she glanced up and witnessed Dani, finger in her mouth and her eyes closed as she sucked off the salt.

Zoey quickly recovered, grabbing her pickle and taking a hard bite, hoping that the motion and noise would get her mind off other things.

“Didn’t you say you needed to order something else?” Dani asked as she pushed her now-empty plate away. Zoey frowned before she remembered Tiffany’s request.

“Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me.” She quickly called out to their waitress to put the order in.

She didn’t need to get back from lunch and immediately be met with an angrily hungry Tiffany.

She was not a nice person when she was hungry, especially if her not having food was someone else’s fault.

“So, are you bringing the food back for someone special?” Dani asked. The question was phrased nonchalantly, and Zoey took it at face value.

“No, just bringing back lunch for my coworker, Tiffany, since she was planning on working through hers.” Zoey smiled down at the table as she started ripping apart her napkin, just to have something else to do.

“I felt kind of bad because I was a little down in the dumps this morning and she was trying to cheer me up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

Zoey shook her head. “Inviting me to sit with you for lunch was enough. Thank you though.”

“Are you sure?” Dani asked. “We could go get some ice cream. It always puts me in a better mood.” Her expression was so earnest that it brought a smile to Zoey’s face. That was, until she remembered last night.

“Speaking of ice cream, how was last night? Your…date?” Zoey internally cringed at how curious she sounded. She had hoped to thread the question in more smoothly, but this was the only opening she could think of that would seem natural enough and not just coming out of nowhere.

Dani shrugged, her fingers playing with the rim of her glass.

Zoey couldn’t help but lock onto that tiny motion, staring at the way Dani’s fingers slowly circled.

The question had been on her mind since she sat down, and Dani had given her the perfect opening to ask.

Maybe she was a masochist for wanting to know how well Dani’s date went with another person.

Still, the question was already out there, and it would be even stranger to take it back.

She was going to have to see it through.

“Vernon was a nice guy, but the date itself wasn’t really anything exciting.”

It took everything in her to not smile. Zoey knew it was a dick move to be happy that Dani’s date didn’t turn out well, but she would deal with the karmic retribution later.

“Oh? I’m sorry to hear that. Are you guys going to try to go out again?

” Zoey asked, trying not to sound too interested in Dani’s response.

Dani shook her head. “Probably not. He wasn’t feeling it either, though I don’t know if that was because of my own lack of interest in him or not. Either way, it’s probably for the best.”

“Why?”

Dani paused for a moment before dropping her chin down in her hand.

She hummed softly, drawing her in. Her gaze was down, and it looked faraway like she was seeing some scenario that was invisible to the rest of the world.

Zoey waited patiently. She wanted to hear more, and she doubted that pushing was going to be the way to go.

Finally, Dani looked up. “I’m trying to work some things out for myself, and dating Vernon would not have been conducive to that.”

“Oh,” Zoey breathed out as she tried to figure out what that could potentially mean.

“Yeah,” Dani responded. “You know how sometimes your entire perspective can shift just based off one event?”

“Sure.” It wasn’t a lie just to keep her talking. Zoey truly understood. She’d had a few moments like that herself and understood that sometimes all it took was something small to start a wave of change in your life.

“Let’s just say that I am having a change of perspective,” Dani said. The conversation was interrupted by the waitress bringing the check and the to-go box with Tiffany’s food.

Zoey wanted to send her away. The conversation with Dani was just getting going and she wanted more.

She was gluttonous for more information.

She wanted to hear everything and spend hours probing Dani’s mind.

Still, she knew it would be rude to leave Tiffany waiting too long to eat.

With an internal sigh, she reached for the check, but before she touched it, Dani snatched it up with a grin. “I got this.”

“You don’t have to,” Zoey countered.

“Consider it a thank-you from a loyal library patron. Jordan talks so much about how he loves the esports league and it’s nice to see him so interested in something these days.”

Zoey nodded and dropped her hand. She watched Dani pull out her card and thought quickly.

She had to go back to work, but she wanted to spend more time with Dani.

It wouldn’t be weird to ask her out again, would it?

They could be casual about things. Friendly even.

She had to take advantage of this moment, otherwise Zoey knew she would regret not giving it a try.

“If you’re not doing anything later tonight, there’s a movie I was planning to see if you’d like to go with me?

” She internally patted herself on the back for getting the invitation out without stuttering over her words.

She had done her best to phrase the invitation casually as to not arouse suspicion, but she couldn’t help the way her heart pounded as she waited for Dani’s response.

Dani looked up from under long lashes. She signed the receipt before speaking. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I have Jordan this week and everyone else has plans tonight.”

“Oh,” Zoey said, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt. “That’s okay.”

“But,” Dani continued, “I’m free tomorrow night if that works for you?”

“Yeah. That works totally fine,” Zoey replied with a wide grin. She knew she probably looked ridiculous for being so excited about a simple yes to getting together again. Friends did this all the time, so it shouldn’t have been as big of a deal as it was to her.

“Great. It’s a date then.”

Zoey was shocked into silence as Dani stood up and slid out of the booth. “Have a great rest of your day.”

“Right. You too.” Zoey watched as Dani walked to the door and waved when she glanced back. When Dani finally disappeared from view, Zoey was still in disbelief of what just happened.

Date?