Page 28 of The Secret Crush Book Club (Peach Blossom #3)

Twenty

W ork had been uneventful, which was good considering the fact that Dani was still reeling from the events of the weekend.

Jacob never came back for Jordan, and Jordan never asked to go to his house either.

Instead, Jordan had spent most of the time holed up in his room, only coming out when Dani had yelled up the stairs that dinner was ready.

Dinner that night had been a quiet affair.

Dani hadn’t known what to say and even when Daniel tried to get some sort of conversation going, Jordan had only responded with one-word answers.

As soon as the last of the food had been consumed, Jordan had made a quick escape back to his room.

Dani had checked on him a couple of times before letting him know it was time for bed.

The one time she tried to broach the subject of his dad, Jordan had given her a look so somber that she almost apologized before changing the subject.

By the time Sunday rolled around, anger had overtaken Dani’s sadness, and she refused to let Jordan hide away in his room any longer.

She had carted him down the road to the nearest farm to do a little strawberry picking.

It was a bit early in the season, but she had fond memories of going with her sisters when they were younger.

It was also one of the places their parents would take them when it was time to have family discussions.

There was something rhythmic and calming about picking that helped settle them enough to form the right words.

Dani hadn’t taken Jordan there in a while, but she figured now was as good a time as any to continue the tradition.

It had taken a little while to get him to open up, but once they had filled up half of their basket Jordan had finally started giving more than one-word answers to even the most basic of questions.

Dani hadn’t wanted to break the peace they had fallen into by going too deep into things, but she needed to reiterate to Jordan that no matter what, she was here for him.

The car ride back home seemed as perfect a time as any.

“So, what did you think? Should we come back before the picking season ends?”

Jordan nodded. “Yeah. We should bring Grandpa next time. He could hold more strawberries.” Dani snorted. She wasn’t opposed to bring someone else in to do the heavy lifting. “Or…” Jordan’s voice trailed off.

Dani glanced over at him. “‘Or’? Is there someone else you were thinking of inviting?”

“Maybe… Ms. Zoey?”

Dani’s heart thumped in her chest. She tightened her hold on the steering wheel before taking a deep breath in. “Oh? Why is that?”

“Because I maybe…like her.” Jordan clenched his fists before crossing his arms over his chest. “I know it’s a stupid crush, but she’s cool. She lets me talk to her about video games and she actually knows the ones I talk about.”

“Hey,” Dani said, interrupting him. She reached out and patted his thigh. “It’s okay. Zoey is pretty cool. I’m sure she would enjoy strawberry picking too.”

“You think?” The hesitancy in his voice was nearly heartbreaking and Dani reassured him.

“Absolutely,” she said confidently. “Besides, anyone who doesn’t like strawberry picking is a noob and deeply uncool.” She grinned at him, feeling nothing but pride when he cringed.

“Mom, nobody says that anymore.”

The rest of the car ride was still quiet, but the tension that had existed previously had melted away.

Monday was better, with Jordan slowly going back to his normal happy self and Dani felt better about the direction everything was going in.

She worked into the evening, so she wasn’t there when Daniel picked Jordan up from his esports league at the library, which meant she wasn’t able to see or talk to Zoey in person.

They had been texting though, leading up to tonight’s book club.

For all of five minutes, Dani thought about skipping it, given all of the recent turmoil that had been going on in the house but when she talked to Jordan and Daniel, both of them insisted that she get out of the house and go.

You don’t get out very often at all, Mom. Go and have fun. Grandpa and I are going to hang out so I can teach him how to play my favorite video game.

Dani had checked with her dad just to make sure he really was okay with staying in with Jordan for the night and once she confirmed it, they both practically pushed her out the door.

She wasn’t sure whether to feel some type of way about them trying to get rid of her.

Then again, the two of them did enjoy doing their grandpa-grandson bonding activities.

Dani was never really sure what they did during that time, but as long as nobody was bleeding when she got home it was none of her business.

When Dani walked into book club, she felt a familiar sense of calm wash over her.

As much as she wanted to be there for Jordan, there seemed to be no outward lasting effects from the argument she and Jacob had had over this past weekend.

She also knew that downtime was just as important for her as it was for them.

She knew it was going to be a long uphill battle leading up to Jacob’s wedding, and she was already dreading what she knew would be additional arguments.

“Dani. So good to see you,” Tiffany said. She handed Dani a cup before herding her into Zoey’s apartment.

Dani looked down into the cup, confused. “What is this?”

Tiffany’s smile was wide. “I decided to make some sangrias, but don’t worry—they’re not that strong and there’s plenty of water.

” Dani took a sip, enjoying the bold fruity flavors that danced on her tongue.

When she walked into the living room, she waved at the familiar faces, exchanging hellos as people talked softly catching up on all the events that had occurred over the past week.

When Dani saw Zoey, she couldn’t help but smile.

It hadn’t been that long since they last saw each other, and yet she found herself greedy for a glimpse of that familiar yellow cardigan and those curls that she knew were pleasantly soft to the touch.

There were still things that she needed to talk to Zoey about, and she had some book-related questions that didn’t concern book club.

When Zoey caught sight of her, her smile was exquisite, and she ducked her head as if bashful.

She could be the cutest thing that Dani had ever seen and yet Dani still remembered the hunger with which their lips met.

Had it really only been a couple weeks since their first kiss?

They had been taking things slowly, but Dani was hungry for more.

Zoey slid a tray on the coffee table before addressing the group. “Okay, everyone please feel free to eat and drink as much as you want as always, but let’s get into our book for this upcoming month.”

Dani had bought the book already. It was one that she was superexcited about, and it had been tough not to read too far ahead of where they were supposed to for tonight’s discussion.

Over the next hour, Dani let herself fall into the world between the pages.

It was nice to be able to pretend that she was someone else.

She had thought that this book would be one of her favorites, and she was right.

The writing had let her jump right into the words and Dani was not too proud to admit that she had gone back and bought every book in the author’s backlist. She figured it was a belated gift to herself for putting up with people’s shenanigans day in and day out.

It might have blown her book budget for the next couple months, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be upset about that.

“What do you think, Dani?” Tiffany asked, catching Dani’s attention. “From what we’ve read so far, are you getting the feeling that this is going to be a plot-driven or character-driven book?”

Dani thought on it for a moment, tapping her chin with her finger.

“This is giving character driven for me. I mean, the setting is pulling me in as well. It’s really giving early nineties nostalgia but beyond that, I really feel it’s the characters that are leading the way for this book so far.

” She looked around and saw some of the others nodding in agreement.

“I have to agree with you there,” Zoey said.

Dani couldn’t help but watch as her long fingers brushed over the pages of the book in her hands.

Dani’s mouth went dry imagining how those fingers would feel against her skin.

It was a terrible time to be thinking of things that were very much not book related, but she and Zoe had been casually seeing each other for weeks and they had yet to go beyond kissing and a little grinding action.

It wasn’t the slowest that she’d ever gone with someone she was seeing, but it definitely was leaving Dani frustrated and damn near gagging for more.

The group took a break after about an hour of discussion and Dani followed Zoey into the adjacent kitchen.

Her living, dining and kitchen space was all open but there were columns that gave an illusion of privacy.

Dani had a few questions she wanted to ask Zoey, and she didn’t want to particularly do it with a live audience.

When Zoey noticed that Dani had followed her to the kitchen, she turned with a smile.

“Hey, is there anything that I can get for you while we’re in here?”

Dani shook her head. “No, I’m good. I did have a couple questions for you though, if you have the time?”

Zoe nodded. “Of course, I have time. What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

Dani glanced over her shoulder before looking back at Zoey. She was pretty sure nobody was paying any attention to them, but she would do her best to keep it vague just in case. “I don’t know if you heard, but Jordan’s dad is getting married.”

Zoey nodded. “Jordan did mention something about that at the esports club last week.”

That surprised Dani. She had thought that Jordan wasn’t really opening up to anyone.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that Jordan had opened up to Zoey already before he really talked about it with her.

On one hand, Dani was happy that Jordan felt comfortable enough with Zoey to go to her for questions or if he had concerns.

On the other hand, she wasn’t sure if that was muddying the waters a little too much a little too soon.

Jacob’s words still echoed in her memory, and she hoped that getting involved with someone who was already entrenched in her kid’s life was not going to be an issue.

“How is he handling the news?”

“Well, he isn’t taking it the best. I don’t think it helps that his dad and his dad’s fiancée are also expecting a new baby.

It’s been a lot for him to take in,” Dani said.

Zoey’s eyes were wide and her lips were slightly parted.

It was simultaneously hilarious and adorable to see her so lost for words.

“Well, yeah, I can imagine that that would be a lot for him to take in all at once,” Zoey replied. “Is he okay with everything?”

“I mean, he’s as good as he’s going to be while he processes it, but I was hoping that you might have some book recommendations that I could buy or check out that might help facilitate a conversation that I know we need to have.”

Zoey nodded. “Yeah, I definitely know of a couple books that might be helpful to at least get the conversation going. I could text you over the list of them tomorrow once I get to work, if that works for you?”

Dani agreed, feeling better about things now that she had the beginnings of a plan.

She knew coming to Zoey would be a good idea, if only to get some resources to help Dani formulate talking points that she could use in a conversation with Jordan.

She didn’t think she would be able to appeal to any sort of logic when it came to Jacob, and she wasn’t even going to waste her energy to try.

“That works perfectly,” Dani replied with a grateful smile. “I don’t know what I would do without your help. Thanks so much, Zoey.”

Zoey shrugged. “Of course. I might have a couple books here in the house that you might find helpful if you want to stay after book club. That way, you can take them home and go through them and see if anything is helpful before I text you out the second list tomorrow.”

Dani nodded in agreement just as everyone else in the living room called them back.

Zoey gave her a small smile but before she walked by, she also brushed her lips against Dani’s cheek.

It was a simple little touch and yet it meant just about everything to Dani in that moment.

It was a comfort and one that she hadn’t even realized she needed until then.

Maybe that made her weak; Dani didn’t know.

All she knew was that she felt a newfound sense of strength as she walked back into the living room and prepared to discuss books with people who were quickly becoming friends.

When it was time to pack up and leave to head home after another successful book club, Dani took the plates and cups into the kitchen, intent on helping out.

“You didn’t need to do that,” Zoey said as she walked into the kitchen. Dani glanced at her from over her shoulder. “I could have gotten it in the morning.”

“You’ve been such a big help that the least I can do is a couple of dishes.

It’s really not that big a deal. You should see how many I have to do when I’m at home,” Dani joked.

She was expecting Zoey to laugh but she wasn’t expecting to feel the heat of her against her back or to find herself shivering as a pair of arms snaked around her waist. Dani leaned back into the comforting embrace.

It was nice to just be for a moment. With everything that was going on, Dani didn’t often get moments like this.

Before she could second-guess herself, she turned in Zoey’s embrace and wrapped her own arms around her waist.

“Dani?” Zoey asked softly.

She didn’t answer, instead fitting her face in the space between Zoey’s chin and shoulder. “Can we just stay like this for a moment?” She braced herself for the questions she wasn’t ready for. Her surprise when Zoey nodded felt a lot like relief.

“Of course. Take all the time you need.”