Page 23 of The Secret Crush Book Club (Peach Blossom #3)

Sixteen

D ani looked down at her phone and winced when she sent her latest text message to Zoey.

She wasn’t avoiding her per se, but the past week had been a test in patience.

The night she picked Jordan up early, she had tried to talk to Jacob, but he hadn’t picked up any of her calls.

She’d left him a voicemail and texted, but both remained unanswered.

Jordan had taken a couple days off from school before returning a few days ago, and Dani had taken the days as sick days to stay with him in case he decided he was ready to talk.

Most of the time, Jordan had stayed in his room.

Dani had checked on him a couple times and he’d either been huddled in bed or on his computer.

Daniel had gone in once or twice to talk to him, and Dani had had to curb her jealousy when she heard the faint murmur of their voices.

There was a time when she was the main one Jordan reached for when he felt big emotions.

It was hard to have that change now, right when she wanted to be there for him the most. It also meant she wasn’t being the most attentive to Zoey.

After spending a good amount of time together over the past week, it was strange to Dani to not have seen her or at least gotten lunch together, however brief.

Even now, Zoey had texted, inviting Dani to Thomas’s diner for a quick bite, and Dani had hated to turn her down.

What if she were gone and Jordan decided he wanted to talk to her?

As far as she knew, Jacob hadn’t reached out to him, and Dani didn’t feel right just abandoning Jordan now.

“What are you doing, sitting down here by yourself on a Saturday?” Daniel asked when he walked into the kitchen.

Dani was sitting at the table, a now-lukewarm cup of tea cupped in her hands.

She had come down to relax and think on what she was supposed to do next, but she’d gotten caught up in her own spiraling thoughts that led nowhere.

“Just thinking,” she replied finally. She lifted the cup, taking a small sip. “How was the talk with Jordan?”

Daniel smiled knowingly before coming over to take a seat. “Oh, we didn’t talk much. Mostly I watched him play some computer game where the people looked like LEGOs. I don’t get it, but it made him happy to show me.”

Dani smiled. She knew which game he was talking about, and she didn’t get it any more than he did. “Ah, yeah. That’s his favorite game to play.”

Daniel nodded. “Seems that way. So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

With a sigh, Dani looked down at the tea in her cup. She wished she had the power to read tea leaves. Maybe they would be able to give her an idea of what she was supposed to be doing next. “Nothing.” That was false, but she wasn’t sure what to say or how to start this conversation.

Her dad gave her a flat look. “Nothing. Really?” Dani shrugged before looking back down into her teacup. “I find that hard to believe, kiddo.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Pop.” The air went quiet between them and Dani wondered if her dad would actually believe her and change the subject to something less contentious.

“Did you know that at one point I thought about getting remarried?”

That was news enough to startle Dani. “What? When?”

Daniel shrugged. “About five years ago. There was a woman, Jane, down at the rec center.”

Dani nodded slowly as she tried to recall any women named Jane. Her eyes widened when a face flashed in her mind. “Wait. You mean the woman who temporarily worked there when Rosalie was on maternity leave? Wasn’t she like a decade younger than you?”

Daniel wagged his eyebrows. “I don’t know why you don’t think your old man still has it, but I assure you I am very much on the dating scene.”

“But…” Dani trailed off as she tried to remember if she had any suspicion. She didn’t recall anything that caught her attention. She hadn’t even known Daniel was dating and she was sure if she hadn’t, then Ava and Vini were similarly in the dark about it. “Why didn’t you then?”

“Because of you girls,” he replied simply. “I knew that even if I was ready, you three weren’t. Really, I wasn’t ready either, so it wasn’t a big enough deal for me to bring it up.”

Dani reached out and cupped his hand with her own. “If you really liked her, we would have understood. We don’t want you to be alone or anything, Pop.”

He smiled and covered her hand with his free one.

“I know that, sweetheart. It wasn’t just you three that I had to think about though.

I had to decide if I was in it for the right reasons.

I thought long and hard and, in the end, I couldn’t go through with it.

I had never loved anyone as much as I loved your mother, and truthfully, I don’t think I ever will. ”

Dani nodded. She knew her parents had had an epic love—the type that many people wrote about. She had always looked to them in awe and hoped to have a relationship that was half as successful as theirs.

“That’s all to say, sometimes things don’t work out and that’s okay.

As long as you are okay with your decisions at the end of the day.

” Daniel patted her hand again before sliding his away.

A creak on the stairs had Dani glancing over her shoulder and her eyes widened when she saw Jordan on the step. He peered into the kitchen.

“I’m hungry.”

Dani jumped up without thinking. “Let me make you something to eat, baby.” She walked over to the fridge, opened it and peered inside. When small arms wrapped around her waist, she looked down. “Jordan?”

His voice was muffled against her back. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

Dani felt her eyes burn and she quickly turned around, crowding him to her in a tight hug. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I just want to help.”

“I know,” he said before sniffling. “It just feels like, first getting married and now the baby, that Dad is trying to replace me. He doesn’t even really call me anymore.”

Dani looked over her head at her dad, and Daniel smiled and nodded at her. She looked back down at the top of Jordan’s head as she tried to think on what to say.

“Baby, sometimes people get so caught up in things that are new, that they forget to protect the things they’ve always had.

” Dani found it awfully ironic that she was saying this when she had been spending so much time cultivating her own new relationship.

Were there signs that this was coming that she had missed?

Surely there had been some sort of lead-up to Jacob announcing such massive changes.

Maybe Dani had been spending too much time doing her own new things that she was neglecting her other responsibilities.

“But that doesn’t mean they don’t love you,” Daniel threw out from the table. Dani smiled at him gratefully before looking back down at Jordan.

“Exactly,” she said, expanding upon what he had said. “You know your dad loves you and I know it hurts when he pays less attention to you. Those feelings are totally okay to have, and you are totally okay to tell him how you feel. I can help you if you’d like?”

Jordan wiped a hand across his face before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, can you? I want to send him a text.”

Dani knew that Jacob was probably going to blow up her phone with harsh accusations, but when Dani looked down into Jordan’s hopeful face, she knew she would do anything to give him the peace of mind and closure he needed.

“I know,” she said. “Why don’t we go grab some lunch and then we can think about what to put in the message.”

Jordan nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

Dani looked up at Daniel. “Do you want to join us, Pop?”

Daniel shook his head. “You two go enjoy your lunch. I’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone.”

Dani nodded before looking down at Jordan. “Go grab your shoes and we’ll head out. Okay?”

“Sounds good,” Jordan said before hugging her quickly and scurrying from the room.

Dani watched him go, her lips curled in a soft smile.

She felt a little more secure; like she had finally found some stable ground.

She still wasn’t sure what to do about things, but she hoped getting some additional time to come up with a plan might tease something out of her.

Saturdays were always a busy day at Thomas’s diner, and today was no exception.

It had taken a few minutes of waiting to get a booth, but once they did, Dani felt her shoulders lighten at Jordan’s pleased smile.

It had been a while since they did this, and Dani knew she needed to make sure she and Jordan had more time together just the two of them.

It was hard with so many things changing, but clearly this was something they both needed.

Things would only continue to get busier, and they both needed to be able to pause and reset.

“What are you thinking you want to get?” Dani asked as she looked over the menu. Jordan made a considering noise before he pointed.

“I want that new hot chicken sandwich. Brody said he got it last time he came in and it was good.”

Dani raised an eyebrow as she read off the description. “You know that’s supposed to be spicy, right?”

Jordan made a dismissive noise. “I can handle it. I like spicy food.”

“Alright, tough guy. I guess we shall see.” Dani chuckled when Jordan lifted his arms in a flex, but something just beyond him caught her eye.

There in the entrance was Zoey, but she wasn’t alone.

Dani narrowed her eyes in confusion as she tried to figure out what she was seeing.

She was here with a guy Dani had never seen and they were standing way too close to be casual acquaintances.

Before she could look away, the guy caught her eye and for a moment his eyes narrowed before he leaned down to whisper in Zoey’s ear.

Fuck. Caught red-handed , Dani thought to herself as Zoey turned.

Their gazes caught immediately, and Dani felt that familiar sense of all the air being sucked out of the room.

She had forgotten how much Zoey’s gaze called to her, but now she was torn between wanting to call out and wanting to run and hide.

Before she could make a decision, the guy started walking toward them with Zoey hurrying after him.