Title: Her Little Secret
Author: Gemma Johns
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 05/28/2024
Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Female/Female
Length: 69100
Genre: contemporary, teaching, non-traditional family situation, children, surrogate parent, lovers to friends, hurt-comfort
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Description
On a rare night out, single mum Lily stumbles into the arms of the dazzling Parker. They spend one passionate night together, but both know it will never be anything more. Lily has lost too much over the years to even want to try again.
A year later, devoted teacher, Parker, is excited to start the new year at her brand new school. Greeting the parents, she sees one familiar face in the crowd—the woman she met over a year ago. The woman she has been unable to forget.
Arriving at the classroom, Lily cannot believe her son, Bodhi, has Parker as his new teacher. This surprise was totally unexpected!
Their roles have changed now—as teacher and school parent—but the attraction toward each other has remained. And, as if the situation wasn’t already complicated enough, there’s Bodhi’s dad: Who is he? And why on earth is he still hanging around?
As their worlds clash, Parker knows she needs to be super professional, even though her heart races when she sees Lily. With everything to lose, but their chemistry so strong, is it worth taking a gamble for love?
Her Little Secret
Gemma Johns© 2024
Walking into the classroom, she noticed Parker in jeans and a jumper that was more fitted than she usually wore. She felt a stirring inside as she looked at her broad shoulders and remembered caressing them on Saturday night. Parker was strong, but such a soft, gentle person. Lily loved the contrast. Parker’s naked body was impressive and highlighted the contrast even more, with her gentle caresses and care for Lily’s emotions. But this was at odds with her practically kicking Lily out the moment they’d finished. This was the moment Lily had pondered all day on Sunday—over and over, torturing herself, wondering why on earth Parker had shoved her out of the house. She didn’t look much better herself—she looked pale and exhausted.
Fifteen minutes later, Lily stepped into the office. “Good, you’re here on time. I got you a coffee,” Jacqui handed her sister a latte, which was still piping hot. She put it down and sank into her office chair. “Thanks. I need it!”
“Bad morning with Bodhi?”
She shook her head in response, picked up her coffee and upon sipping it, burnt her tongue. She placed it down again, and decided to talk to her sister instead of attempting to drink the coffee. “Remember Bodhi’s teacher?”
Jacqui grinned instantly at the reminder, but tried not to look too excited at what she clearly anticipated was gossip. “I sure do! What’s up?” Jacqui would understand Lily’s mixed emotions, but she was also clearly excited to see the topic wasn’t over yet.
“Well, I saw her on Saturday night. The trivia night.” Jacqui simply nodded, indicating she needed more to go on. “And by seeing her, I mean, I went home with her after trivia.”
Jacqui choked on her own coffee. “You dark horse,” she said in response. “Next time you pick up someone, can you invite me over for brunch and debrief or something the next day? At least phone me. Bloody hell. I mean, none of this waiting to tell me business.”
Lily smiled and shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like I can’t help myself around her.”
“That’s great,” Jacqui said. “God, I need to live vicariously through you. An ageing husband isn’t all it’s cracked up to be! So, when you say you went home with her…?”
“It was my idea,” Lily looked surprised. “So not like me, I know. But I suggested it, and we did, and it was really just meant to be a coffee or a glass of wine. I opted for the wine, that was my first mistake.”
“Or not mistake,” Jacqui said, delight in her tone.
“We had a few glasses of wine. I kept filling our glasses.” Lily had replayed that moment over and over. She’d probably filled the glasses three or four times. At some point, they’d opened another bottle. “And then I kissed her.” Jacqui looked elated, and Lily didn’t know whether to blush or laugh with her sister. “I kissed my son’s teacher.” She cringed. “You’re laughing; you should be judging me.”
Jacqui shooed her away. “You’re not the teacher. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I seduced my son’s teacher, Jacqui. Like, shit! I like that school. Bodhi loves the school, and now we’re going to have to move schools. How do I explain that to Scott?”
Jacqui couldn’t hide her laughter now and put on a voice mimicking Lily, “Sorry, Scott. We have to change our son’s school because I couldn’t stop hitting on his teacher. Oops.” Lily tried not to laugh, but Jacqui always managed to make her laugh. “You’re no help. I should catch up with Maree and confide in her instead of my big sister.”
“Oh yeah, because Maree is a good example of restraining herself when it comes to women.” Jacqui was laughing even harder now.
“True.” Lily bit her lip and then picked up the coffee, sipping it slowly.
“So, you just kissed her?”
Lily raised her eyebrows, bit her lip again, and shook her head. “Oh, no. That would have been a good place to stop, hey? But it wasn’t where we stopped. Noooo. Not at all.” Jacqui tried to hide it, but she was grinning like she’d won the lottery. At Lily’s stern look, she responded, “I’m sorry. I’m just happy to see you living. Having fun. Enjoying yourself. Following your heart.”
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Gemma Johns has always loved writing and wanted to write a novel since she first discovered how much she loved reading them. Her older sister told her she needed to ‘live a little’ before she wrote a novel. Years later, Gemma has now lived a lot, so finally decided to put pen to paper. Writing fiction is a part time gig for her, and she has a full time job in academia. Gemma lives in Australia with her wife and their five children.
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