How did you write/show your character's interest in their love interest?
Did you explicitly say they liked the other person? if you implied it how did you imply it?
No spoilers for "Hushabye Prince"...okay one, but Kimberly is pretty obvious and flirtatious from Day one.
on the other hand in "Damsel in the Red Dress" one romantic interest is not super subtle, but at first, it isn't explicitly said, just implied through their behavior. But as Alicia gets angrier you realize that she already knows her best friend has feelings for her. It's not a surprise for her, she's just waiting for him to say something. The other romantic interest I think nobody saw coming to the extent to which it went.
That said, sometimes it's explicitly mentioned in "Damsel in the Red Dress" other times it's just shown through the description of their behavior or expressions, and you can see pretty clearly what is going on.
“Alright. A promise is a promise.” I free the frozen phone from my pants pocket and warm the glass against my cheek until it becomes responsive. The lock screen still glitches twice, refusing to acknowledge my password, and I wait for it to reset, staring at the ugly picture of himself that Kattar set as my lock screen a few months ago, when I was stupid enough to fall asleep with my phone unlocked.
He has his hair pulled up into a messy cross between a bun and a ponytail, his teeth bared like a hissing house cat. I can see myself in the background, my head propped up on the arm of the sofa - the shadow of my hair giving me the illusion of a neckbeard.
Kattar has asked me a thousand times why I haven’t changed this screensaver yet. And I’ll hem-and-haw, say he got me fair and square, so I’ll suffer the prank until the turn of the year, but the truth is, the picture isn’t half as ugly as he thinks.
“I brought chocolate,” I suddenly remember, handing him the little circlet containing all the details on the 'Sweetheart Box.' “Did you see the chocolate angel?”
“I did. It was nice. Really detailed.” He says it all quickly. The words clipped. He’s still in pain, breathing shallowly to try to mitigate the suffering.
I want to look at the floor, but I don’t, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
“Are you going to paint it?”
“Probably not,” I move to take a seat by the window and push the curtains back, letting the light in. The sun is around on this part of the building, and backlights me, making my loose strands of hair glow. He sits up a little straighter, following me with his eyes.
“Too bad,” a slight wince - he can’t suppress this time, as he shifts on the mattress so that he’s more or less facing me. He smiles to mask it, his eyes disappearing into half-moons.