Page 35 of The Secret Crush Book Club (Peach Blossom #3)

Twenty-Six

Z oey had become accustomed to waking up alone, so when she woke up with a weight in her arms, her eyes slammed open before her brain fully came online.

She looked around for a moment before turning her head and seeing a mass of hair.

Memories flooded back into her mind and when she realized who it was lying on her arm, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Somehow, she had managed to fall asleep with Dani in her arms and stay asleep through the night.

She was notorious for not being able to fall asleep with someone in her bed and this seemed like the final thing to fall into place.

Last night had been…well, magical. Zoey wasn’t some type of sex god charming maidens in her bed at every turn, but she had had her fair share of amorous moments.

None of them had compared to last night.

She hadn’t expected Dani to be so forward or so ready to jump into sex with another woman, given her recent revelations, but Zoey had never been so happy to be proven wrong.

Dani had fallen against her with the type of hunger that nearly left Zoey speechless.

When Zoey closed her eyes, the memory of Dani’s face dipping between her thighs had her stomach clenching in renewed arousal.

A groan beside her had Zoey’s heart lurching and she turned to watch Dani slowly wake up. Dani turned on her arm, head coming up as she looked around. When her sleep-addled brown eyes met Zoey’s, she smiled softly, sending butterflies skittering in Zoey’s stomach.

“Good morning.” Dani’s voice was scratchy and deeper than it was normally. It washed over Zoey pleasantly.

“Morning.” Taking a chance, Zoey leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss against Dani’s lips. When she pulled back, Dani’s eyes were closed again but she had a little smile on her face that Zoey couldn’t help but kiss again. “You are not allowed to look this cute when you wake up.”

Dani snorted before resting her head back on the pillow and peering up at Zoey.

“Look who’s talking.” She looked so comfortable lying there that Zoey just wanted to stay in bed with her all day.

A glance at her clock let her know that she had a couple free hours before she needed to get ready for work. “Do you have to work today?”

“How did you know what I was thinking?” Zoey settled back down before throwing an arm over Dani’s waist. “Are you secretly psychic?”

“If I was, it would make being a nurse so much easier,” Dani said. She shifted, moving closer to Zoey. She looked so soft that Zoey had to reach out and touch. She brushed the back of her hand over Dani’s cheek before leaning over and kissing her. “Morning breath.”

“I don’t give a fuck.” Dani burst out in laughter and Zoey leaned back in confusion.

Dani shook her head. “It’s just so fun hearing you curse when normally you’re in your librarian mode.” She kissed Zoey quickly before pushing up to sit. “But seriously, do you have to work today? I don’t want to make you late.”

Zoey groaned and pressed her face into her pillow before looking at Dani from the corner of her eye. “I do have work, but for the first time ever I want to play hooky and call in sick.”

Dani chuckled before moving to stand beside the bed.

Zoey turned to look at her more fully when she reached down to pull off the oversize T-shirt Zoey had let her borrow to sleep in.

Seeing her standing there so unselfconscious in her nudity did things to Zoey and she shifted to move closer.

Dani snorted and took a step away from the bed, staying just out of reach.

“Where are you going?” Zoey asked, trying to keep her gaze on Dani’s face and not on her pert breasts and dark nipples that just called out to be touched and teased. “Do you need to leave?”

Dani smiled and put her hand on her hip, cocking it to the side. “Yes, eventually. But more, I need to get you up and out, so you aren’t late to work. Can’t have the town blaming me if their favorite librarian doesn’t open the library up on time.”

Zoey wanted to say that the town would forgive her if they knew the siren she had standing in front of her, but she knew Dani was right. She needed to get up and get moving, otherwise she would spend all day buried in Dani’s warmth. She groaned and moved to stand.

“Is you being right going to be a permanent thing?” Zoey asked, smiling to take the sting off her words. Dani cocked her head to the side before holding out a hand.

“Probably.” Zoey took Dani’s hand, pulling her against her. Their lips met again in a soft kiss before Dani pulled back to give her a sly smile. “But I think we should have some time to shower together. Right?”

Zoey didn’t bother responding, instead cupping Dani’s cheek and pulling her back into a kiss as she walked her back toward the bathroom door.

* * *

“Well, hello there stranger,” Tiffany called out as she walked over to the circulation table. Zoey looked up, giving her a quizzical look.

“Stranger? I literally saw you yesterday.”

“True, but it sounded fun to say.” Tiffany walked by, heading to the office. When she got back, Zoey was reviewing the returned books as she geared up for sorting and moving them back onto their shelves. “How’s the morning been?”

Zoey shrugged before answering. “Fine. It’s been quieter than usual but I’m sure that’ll change after lunch.” She glanced at Tiffany. “How was yesterday? Sorry I left in kind of a hurry.”

Zoey hadn’t had to ask Tiffany twice about leaving a little earlier than usual to prepare for dinner with Dani.

It wasn’t something Zoey planned to make a habit, though now she more than likely wouldn’t need to since they’d sorted everything out.

Zoey couldn’t help but smile at the thought of how well they had sorted things out last night and then again in the shower that morning.

She had never considered herself to be an uptight person, but she couldn’t deny that the number of orgasms she’d had definitely contributed to how relaxed she now felt.

She wasn’t even stressed out about her looming deadline.

“What is this look on your face right now?”

Tiffany’s question shook Zoey from her memories, and she quickly looked back at her laptop, avoiding Tiffany’s stare. “I don’t know what look you’re talking about.”

Zoey felt Tiffany move closer but forced her gaze to stay on the work in front of her.

She actually did have tasks to finish before she left for the day.

Plus, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to divulge about last night.

As much as she wanted to scream it from the top of the rafters, she and Dani hadn’t discussed how they would handle people’s comments.

Zoey wasn’t worried about anyone side-eyeing them.

Peach Blossom was as progressive as a town could be, but even so, that didn’t mean everyone wanted to be “out” with things.

And with Dani just now figuring things out about herself, Zoey didn’t want to force her from any proverbial closets before she was ready.

“So, have you thought about the position?”

Zoey snapped out of her own thoughts and glanced over at Tiffany. “The position?”

Tiffany put her hands on her hips and gave Zoey a hard look that Zoey was sure she didn’t deserve. “The permanent position here. At the library? The one I put my blood, sweat and tears into pushing through the board?”

“Oh,” Zoey replied, remembering the last conversation they’d had about it. With a sheepish look, Zoey ducked her head. “I hadn’t thought about it actually. I kind of…forgot.”

Tiffany’s mouth flopped open as she gaped at Zoey in disbelief.

“You forgot about it? Are you fucking kidding me? After all that work I put into it, you just up and forgot?” For a moment, Zoey wondered if she should move all of the books out of firing range.

She wouldn’t be surprised if Tiffany grabbed one and chucked it at her.

Instead, Tiffany sighed. “I know you’ve been all up Dani’s ass lately, but I need you to remove your head from her sphincter and remember that there are other things to think about. ”

Zoey winced. She hadn’t realized she was that bad lately. “I’m sorry, Tiff.”

Tiffany eyed her for a moment before shaking her head and smiling. “It’s fine. I know you’re working double time to show the sexy single mama that you are the perfect woman for her, so I can forgive you this time.”

“Yeah, about that,” Zoey said before trailing off.

Tiffany gave her an incredulous look. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up already? We can always come up with a new plan.”

Zoey shook her head, halting Tiffany’s words. “No, not giving up. Dani and I had dinner last night, remember? We’ve already talk about everything.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened. “Okay…and?”

Zoey shrugged, though she felt anything but nonchalant. She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “We decided to give it a try.”

“‘It’?”

“Being together,” Zoey clarified. When Tiffany let out a loud squeal, Zoey shushed her quickly even while she felt her smile widen.

Thankfully, there weren’t that many patrons in the library, but still it would set a bad example if the librarians were the ones being disruptive.

Still, Zoey couldn’t help but warm at Tiffany’s enthusiastic response to hearing about the change in her and Dani’s relationship status.

“You’re more excited about this than I am. ”

Tiffany waved her words away. “I know that’s a lie. I knew something was different about you when I came in. It’s the happiness. It’s written all over your face.”

There was nothing to say to that. Zoey was happy and she didn’t care who knew that, but she couldn’t resist giving Tiffany a hard time. “You know what would make me really happy? If you would help me sort these returns.”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I know you’re over the moon about things. Maybe next time your brother is in town, we can have a double date and you can officially introduce me to him.”

Normally, Zoey would push back about that, but she was feeling entirely too good right now to care about the implosion that would be introducing her two favorite people. “Sure. Why the hell not.” When Tiffany’s eyes widened, Zoey couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Damn. Dinner must have gone really well for you to be saying that. So, who did who?” Tiffany asked, waggling her eyebrows.

It was Zoey’s turn to roll her eyes. “We’re both women. We both did each other.” She froze when she realized she had walked into that trap. Tiffany snickered.

“Well, food for you both. Nothing wrong with a little bump and grind to seal the deal.”

Zoey shook her head though she didn’t disagree.

Her cellphone buzzing caught her eye, and when she realized it was Dani, Zoey smiled.

She didn’t hesitate to answer it. “Dani. Hey.” When Tiffany made kissy faces in front of her, Zoey swatted at her before turning away so she could focus on the phone. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine,” Dani reassured. “I just made the mistake of coming home when the house was up and now they want you to come to dinner tonight. Be warned. It’s most likely going to be an interrogation.”

“Oh, should I be worried?”

“They’re mostly harmless. But don’t let Ava push you around, otherwise you’ll never get the upper hand with her.” Zoey giggled at Dani’s warning. “Vini’s still out of the country, so you won’t have to deal with her yet. Easing in one sister at a time is probably the best strategy as is.”

Zoey wasn’t sure how to take that, but she figured if Dani could handle her brother, Mason, then Zoey could handle questions from Dani’s family.

Zoey also couldn’t help her smile at the thought of sitting down to a meal at Dani’s side.

It meant a lot that she was already being invited over for meals instead of being hidden away like some dirty little secret.

“Do you want me to come for dinner?” Zoey asked. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, like you have to announce us before you’re ready.”

“Of course, I want you to come for dinner,” Dani said. There was muffled talking on the other line. “I don’t feel pressured at all. I get to brag about bagging the hottest librarian. No offense to Tiffany.”

Warmth infused Zoey and if not for having an audience, she would probably be giggling like a schoolgirl whose crush just looked her way. “Then sure. I would love to come to dinner tonight. Should I bring anything?”

“Just yourself.” There was more commotion across the line before Dani spoke up again. “I have to go. See you tonight. Seven o’clock if I didn’t mention that. Tell Tiffany I said hey.”

Zoey stared down at the phone after they hung up. She knew Tiffany was probably vibrating with the need to know who it was and what was up, but for a moment, Zoey just enjoyed the fact that she had someone she liked who liked her back. Tonight couldn’t come fast enough.