Her stomach flipped with anticipation.
Man, that sounds like a date…
It sounds like companionship.
You’ll know when we are dating - I promise.
“Oh crap,” she muttered openly and slapped a hand over her mouth, looking at the children nearby warily. A few mats rustled, but no one stirred. Relief swept through her. The last thing she needed was a toddler learning “crap” from Miss Nettie. Thankfully, none of them noticed, and she was left with her racing thoughts. What did that mean –you’ll know when we are dating?
And decided to ask him.
So we’re not dating?
You wanted friendship.
I do
Unless you changed your mind?
No – I want friendship.
I could ask you out on a date – if you’re interested in more than friendship.
It’s up to you
Her breath lodged in her throat. The air around her seemed too thick, too still.
They were circling each other, both afraid to step forward, both afraid to name what was already happening between them.
And truthfully? Tate had never just been Gina’s older brother.
He was Gina’s ridiculously hot, grumpy older brother—the one Nettie had harbored a stupid, secret crush on for years.Uh, don’t lie or minimize it, a voice spoke up in her head. He’sexcessivelyhot…
Her phone buzzed again.
I guess we’ll see…
She gaped. “What the heck does that mean?” she whispered, then typed quickly.
The kids naptime is almost over – but what do you mean by ‘we’ll see’?
We’ll see means WE WILL SEE.
I’ll let you get back to work. See you Friday…
“That’s it?” she squeaked in disbelief.
Her fingers flew.
We’ll see about Friday then.
She added a tongue-out emoji for good measure. It was cute, adorable, and took the bite out of her words to make it look like she was flirting with him.
He responded with a row of laughing faces and a thumbs-up. How was this happening? How were they having cutesy text conversations?
Like a couple…
She groaned softly, shoving her phone deep into her pocket before she could text something regrettable. Tate thought he was so clever. So smooth. So… maddening.
