Absolutely Not in Love (Sweater Weather, #7; Appies, #2)

by Jenny Proctor

I linger a little longer. I offer my students extra credit for coming to one of my concerts, and I tell them to come up and wave at me so I can see they’re here. I never want to disappear too quickly just in case. I look out into the auditorium, smiling when I see one of my students, Annabelle, standing with her mom, halfway down the aisle closest to me. She waves and smiles, and I wave back. She’s a cellist like me, an eighth grader, and one of my students who probably has the potential to play professionally one day. As Annabelle moves toward me down the aisle, someone else catches my eye. But it isn’t another student. It’s Felix, wearing the suit I saw him in earlier and looking good enough to eat. My heart pounds in my ears, and my breath catches in my throat. So that’s why he was all dressed up. Our eyes meet, and he lifts his head in acknowledgment. A flush creeps up my neck. What is he even doing here? Surely he didn’t just come for me. But he’s alone. Who goes to symphony concerts alone? I don’t have time to think about it because Annabelle has finally reached me, her smile wide and her arms open for a hug. I take the stairs at the edge of the stage and greet her, doing my best to give her my full attention as she chatters on about the concert, but I can’t ignore the handsome giant still hovering at the back of the auditorium. He’s still there, which means he has to be waiting for me. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But why? He has been making more of an effo...