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“Well, I was okay going on this one date, but sorry, that’s all you’ll get out of me.”
“My options are so limited now that Jay and Gareth are both dating.”
“Wilder will be back soon, I would imagine,” Will said. “You could always ask him.”
“Pretty sure it’s still a few weeks before he makes an appearance. I don’t want to wait that long for a second date. Sure you won’t reconsider?”
“I’m positive,” Will told him.
Going on the date had given him a way to gain some clarity on where he might be in his healing journey from the breakup. He’d gotten some clarity, alright. Just not the clarity he’d expected.
As the evening had progressed, Will had realized that he hadn’t needed to worry about comparing the woman to Daphne. Nope. There had been no comparing her to Daphne.
All the comparing that had been going on in his mind had been to Janessa.
That had been a surprise. A shock, really.
But at no point during the evening had he smiled or laughed as easily as he did with Janessa. And he didn’t think it was just because he didn’t know the woman the way he knew Janessa.
“When do you think you’re going to be interested in dating again? Are you supposed to wait a certain length of time after a breakup?”
“I imagine that it’s different for everyone.”
“Did she really mess you up?”
Will hadn’t had anyone ask him that particular question. “I think most people would leave a long-term relationship feeling a little messed up. But I can see now that our breakup was for the best.”
“You wouldn’t get back together with her even if she wanted to?”
“Nope. Looking back, I can see that neither of us were all that happy in the last several months of our relationship. Pretty sure Daphne isn’t going to want to get back together, anyway. She’s moved on, so it’s all a moot point.”
“The longest relationship I’ve had has only been a couple of months, and it still hurt to be rejected. I would have thought that after being together for four years, it would hurt even more.”
Will hadn’t thought too much about the relationships—or lack thereof—of the people around him. He knew the most about Jay’s, of course. There were a couple of people he could make assumptions about. To his knowledge, Wade hadn’t dated much since his divorce. Charli had also steered clear of men after whatever had happened with Layla’s dad—whoever he was.
But he had no idea why Jackson had such a difficult time maintaining a relationship. And Janessa… well, he wasn’t sure she’d ever had a serious boyfriend. She might have had one while he and Jay were away for college, but Jay had never mentioned it, and Will had never asked.
Now, however, he couldn’t stop wondering why Janessa didn’t date. The revelation he’d had during the evening had lightened his mood, but it had also added an emotional weight to him.
He hadn’t even realized that he’d developed feelings for Janessa, and now he wasn’t sure what to do about it. She’d never treated him as anything but a friend, and he’d always appreciated that. But was there a way to move from friendship to something more with her? And would she even be interested in doing that?
The rest of the drive passed with Jackson sharing all his thoughts on the evening and Emily. As he listened to the other man talk, Will realized that part of Jackson’s issue in maintaining a relationship might stem from his tendency to get attached way too fast.
“Maybe you need to just chill a little,” Will cautioned. “And wait until you’ve had more than one date before you start planning a future with her.”
“Why?” Jackson asked. “I mean, if you know, you know, right?”
“Maybe.” Will couldn’t really argue with that because his folks had fallen in love quickly and were still going strong. “But how many times has it felt right?”
Jackson didn’t respond right away, and Will wasn’t sure he was going to.
“A few,” the man conceded.
“Maybe coming on a bit too strong scares some women off. They might be a little more reluctant to dive right in.”
“She just seems so nice,” Jackson said.
“But that doesn’t mean you need to start planning your wedding right away.”
