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But they could also go out and discover that there really was something special between them. That thought scared her a little bit, but she’d made the decision to move forward with dating, so she wouldn’t back out now.
The next day, when she walked into the sanctuary, Janessa glanced around. She spotted Daphne—minus her new boyfriend—but that wasn’t who she wanted to focus on, so she kept looking for Will. She found Jay first, of course, but Will was standing next to him, so Jay’s height worked in her favor.
She smiled at the people she passed as she walked to the aisle that would take her to Will’s side. When he spotted her, he immediately smiled, and Janessa couldn’t keep from smiling back.
“Hey there,” he said as she joined them.
“Hey.”
“Mom said everything went really well last night,” Misha said after she gave Janessa a hug. “Did you guys have fun?”
“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say it was fun,” Janessa told her. “But I think everyone had a good time. Your mom’s food was amazing.”
“She had a blast helping. I think she’s missed cooking for bigger crowds.”
“Well, no worries,” Will said. “I think she’ll have plenty of opportunities. Evelyn said something about a Christmas banquet.”
“Oh, Mom will be thrilled to hear that.”
As people around them began to find their seats, they also sat down, with Janessa seated between Misha and Will. Janessa was acutely aware of Will’s closeness in a way she’d never been before.
She’d sat beside him plenty of times over the years, and this time shouldn’t have been any different, but… it felt completely different. He didn’t have his arm around her the way Jay had his around Misha, and yet Janessa was convinced that everyone would be able to tell that her and Will’s relationship had changed. No one was looking at them any differently, but it felt like there was a flashing sign above their heads.
Though she wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with the scrutiny and gossip that would come with taking their relationship public, there was a part of her that wanted the world to know. But she was going to be smart about this and enjoy it being just her and Will, for the moment, as they figured out how to navigate the change from friendship to dating.
Once church was over, the four of them discussed plans for the afternoon. But unfortunately, the weather wasn’t conducive to anything outside since the drizzly rain from the previous night had continued. Janessa was a bit disappointed because it meant that she couldn’t hang out with Will.
As they walked out of the church after Jay and Misha had collected the kids, Janessa’s text alert went. She glanced at Will, but he was walking next to Jay with his hands in his jacket pockets.
Pulling her phone out, she read the message.
Will:Want to go to CDA and grab some lunch? Maybe we can find something to do after that.
Janessa slowed her walk a bit as she tapped out a message, wondering if he’d muted his phone or if people would see her respond to a text and then hear Will receive one.
Sure! I’d like that.
As they reached the parking lot, Will turned to Janessa and smiled. “See you later.”
“Yep.” She gave Jay and Misha a smile. “See you guys later too.”
“If not today, on Tuesday,” Misha said.
Janessa nodded, then gave a wave and headed for her car. As she pulled the car door closed, her phone rang. Spotting Will’s number on her phone screen, she didn’t hesitate to answer.
“I don’t mean to make this all clandestine,” Will said when she answered. “But do you want to meet up somewhere and then take my car? Will people wonder if your car is at the house and you’re not there?”
“Yeah. They probably will.”
When Will suggested meeting at the large store in town, Janessa agreed. A busy parking lot would be the best place to leave her car.
After arranging a place to meet in the parking lot, Janessa drove home and hurried inside. No one else was home yet, so she didn’t waste any time rushing upstairs to swap out her church clothes for a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She pulled on a pair of low-heeled boots, then grabbed a different jacket and left her room.
The house was still quiet when she left, for which Janessa was glad. She wasn’t up to answering a bunch of questions from her sister or Aria. The day would come when she’d be more willing to talk about what was going on between her and Will, but it wasn’t that day.
Well, unless everything crashed and burned before they told anyone, then she wouldn’t be sharing the news with anyone.
Janessa really hoped that didn’t happen, but the reality was that she had never been in a serious relationship before, and Will was just getting out of a long-term relationship. It wasn’t perhaps the best backdrop for a relationship, but she was going to try her best to make it work, and she was confident that Will would, too.
