Page 34 of Forever After All

“Really? You two looked cozy dancing. You sure things didn’t heat up?”

Jess straightened, holding onto the handle of a bin lid. “Things did not heat up. I don’t know what you mean by that.”

Thea tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Nothing happened. He took me home, walked me to the door, and said good night.”

Oh, and they’d hugged, but that wasn’t the juicy gossip Thea wanted. No one else thought hugging and handholding was big news.

Except Jess. It was big news to her. Groundbreaking.

“Hm. That’s strange. I could have sworn he was into you.”

Welcome to the club, sis.

Jess went back to measuring feed. “Well, he isn’t. Time to move on.”

“Maybe he was distant because you didn’t say it was a date.”

“Why did I have to be the one to say it? He was the one that brought it up and then didn’t want to say it was a date.”

This was the reason she hated vagueness. Just say what you mean.

“He said it would be what you wanted it to be. Didyouwant it to be a date?”

Jess huffed, unhappy with the swirl of indecision in her head. “I don’t know. All I do know is that we’re fine the way we are.”

“But are you really fine with it if you’re stressing over it?”

Jess straightened. “I’m not stressing over it. You’re the one trying to talk about it.”

Thea put her hands in the air. “I get it. We don’t have to talk about it. Just know, I think he does like you as more than a friend. He might be too scared to tell you.”

Well, that made two of them. “Thanks, but if he liked me, he would tell me.”

“Like you told him?”

Jess slammed the lid down. “Are we still talking about this?”

“Nope.” Thea grabbed the buckets she’d filled and headed out of the feed shed.

Jess growled. She wasn’t ever scared to say how she felt. Why was it different now that she suspected she had feelings for Linc?

Because she wished they were more than friends. Because he was the only man she’d ever met that she truly trusted. Because he understood her odd behaviors and never turned up his nose when she said something sharp. Because things progressing to more with Linc was terrifying.

If she could just get a glimpse of what it would be like, just a taste, maybe she’d know if this was the path they were meant to be on.

Thea poked her head back into the shed. “Have you prayed about it?”

Jess didn’t turn around. “No. God doesn’t care about my boy problems.”

“This isn’t a boy problem. This is your happiness.”

“I’m happy enough.”

“You don’t look it.”

Jess sighed. “This is just my default expression. I’m happy on the inside.”

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