Had I not told her that before?
“I was already dressed to go out,” I said softly.
Slowly, she nodded, studying me, as if this made some kind of sense.
I hoped my face wasn’t as red as it felt.
His mom smiled. “Mmhmm. Well, have fun out. Let me know if you’ll be back for dinner.”
“Will do.”
“Have fun,” I added.
Josh paused, looking at me for another moment before giving a single nod. He half lifted his hand as he turned around. “See ya later.”
Mrs. Hutton’s eyes were on me.
I looked back to my gingerbread, transferring them over to the tray to go into the oven.
“Well, don’t give up just yet, Brielle.”
“What?” I asked, confused what we were talking about now. “Did I miss something?”
“Your dates,” she said, reminding me of the conversation we had been having prior to Josh walking in. “Don’t worry. The right one is out there.”
“I’m just happy she isn’t locking herself up in the apartment.”
“Seems like she has been getting out quite a bit.” Mrs. Hutton shot me a sly look. “Maybe the right one is closer than you think.”
My eyes widened. I wasn’t sure if Mrs. Hutton was hinting at something or if it was just my imagination running wild. I’d only just gotten here, and Josh had walked into the room for what, all of a minute, maybe two? No way.
“I’m just … focusing on finding a job right now,” I said, my voice a little too high-pitched.
I rolled out another section of dough, willing myself not to think about Josh’s warm smile or the way he had been looking at me lately. No one else had noticed, but I knew.
I let out a breath, heart still racing. My stress levels had been through the roof recently. I needed to get my head on straight. Focus on baking. Focus on work and writing. Focus on anything other than the fact that Josh was living in the same house, which felt even more intimate than the apartment for some reason, and the way he looked at me, like he was trying to tell me something without saying a word.
At least … until the holidays were over and I was out of this pressure cooker of it all.
Future me could deal with that.
I could curse now me later.
“I actually have one Christmas present for you early,” said Gina, coming up next to me. “You good here, Mom?”
“Go,” she said with a little less of a smile, though her voice remained upbeat. “Enjoy yourself.”
I took the hand towel from her, wiping my hands.
“What are you talking about?” I asked Gina.
She’d better not have gotten me anything extra. I had already been stressed over what to get her this year, maxing out my present budget to make sure it was something worthwhile with how great she had been to me since we’d moved in together.
“You didn’t need to get me anything, let alone something extra.”
“Psh.” Gina waved me off.
Mrs. Hutton smiled without saying anything. Her eyes flickered when they landed on me again, as if studying.
