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Chapter 1
Jaime
A full sigh falls from my lips as I stare out the window. I should be happy, excited. Tomorrow…well, less than fifteen minutes from now, starts a new year. Instead, I’m miserable and it’s all because of a man.
A man that never called.
A man that sent another officer to get my signature on my statement even.
I swear he felt the sparks between us but it’s the end of December, over three months since I met him, and not a damn word. And it’s not like there haven’t been chances.
I’ve seen him all over town.
At the courthouse where Maia’s parents argued they should retain custody of her.
At the grocery store where I was picking up snacks for the girls night me, Jillian, and Maia were having.
At the movies where a huge group of us were headed in to see a new rom-com that’d come out and he was across the street picking up his dry cleaning.
Plus a bunch of times as we were headed somewhere to have lunch when Jillian stopped by the office or when we were with friends for dinner.
Hell, I even saw him at the mall while we were mainly shopping for winter clothes for Maia but also splurging on Christmas gifts for the whole family.
But not once did he come to talk to me and that hurts. Even more when the attraction sure as hell is there.
I don’t get why he’s avoiding me. It’s madness and that’s one thing I despise. I like my life nice and calm. Not this…madness.
“Brooding again?” Jillian asks, coming into the library finding me.
“Women don’t brood,” I counter trying to smile but it’s no use. I am brooding over a man that I want nothing more than to throw myself at but don’t have the first clue how to get him to want it too.
“Sure we don’t,” Jillian teases, her eyes softening a bit taking in my full expression. “Okay, it’s time you either bite the bullet and make the first move or you move on, Sis.”
“I don’t think I can,” I admit making her brow lift a bit.
“Move on or make the first move?”
“Either,” I sigh. “I just don’t get why he won’t even talk to me. I mean, you said it wasn’t just in my head that first night. You meant it, right?”
“Yes, that man was completely into you,” Jillian assures me, which calms a part of my worry but also makes me hurt that it’s been three months, and he’s never even tried to talk to me since.
“I don’t even know how I’d begin to make the first move. It’s not like he’s been encouraging whenever I’ve seen him out to go over and talk to him.”
“Did you ever think that maybe it’s because you’re generally with me and the rest of us girls or our friends when he has seen you?” Jillian asks, and I let out a sigh, telling her about the grocery store run-in last month. “It was Black Friday, he probably was in a hurry to get to work or something, or he just might not want to face a rejection in public.”
“Face a rejection?” I scoff shaking my head at her.
“Yeah, Sis,” Jillian states, her face serious and my brows furl a bit in confusion. “You just said that he doesn’t seem to be encouraging you to come over when you see him out and about right? Well, did you ever stop and think maybe he’s thinking the same thing about you?”
“I’m pretty sure it was clear as day how I feel about him.”
“To me, to Mom, to the other girls in the family maybe, but we know you, Jai. We can read the little micro expressions that cross your face, but not even our friends always know when you’re being serious or when you’re making a joke, being flippant,” Jillian adds and that stops me a bit. “We all love you but even with our friends, you hold yourself back. You don’t let anyone really know what’s going on inside your head, or your heart. So maybe he’s waiting for the right opportunity, the right moment when he sees that it’s not just him that’s still interested, because I know he is. He may not realize that your little shy smiles and waves whenever you see him aren’t your normal reaction when we see someone out and about. It may be that he simply doesn’t want to risk you turning him down if he asked you out. That living with the hope you’ll say yes is better than actually being turned down.”
“So what am I supposed to do? Just call him up and say ‘hey, do you want to go out with me?’” I question on a bit of a laugh, although what she’s said isn’t entirely unbelievable. With the family it’s one thing to hug and tease them, I just can’t do it with our other friends. Probably because I’ve always felt they tolerate me for Jillian’s sake more than that they really want to be my friend because I never want to go to parties with them.
Going out to dinner or the movies with the group is one thing, going to some party where I don’t know anyone else…is definitely not something I’m comfortable with. Not when I know they’d all be looking for cute guys to flirt with and that’s also something that I’m not comfortable with, that I can’t seem to figure out how to do.
“Take a chance,” Jillian says making my brow lift curiously. “Look, from what we’ve learnt about Bryan, he seems like an introvert like you instead of the fabulous extrovert that I am,” she adds making me laugh as she flutters her lashes at me.
