Is this shy woman into me?

[softsoul1]

This woman is my neighbour in her early 30s. I'm approaching mid 40s.

I dont think she dates regularly and seems like a homebody who don't hang at bars and nightclubs but instead with family and friends and dog-sitting. In the two years she's lived here I've never seen here with a boy or girl who might be a partner or anyone staying over other than her mum. I guess I could be wrong though. Even when she goes out she doesnt seem to stay out too late, stay over elsewhere or bring partners back with her at night. She seems to spend time with older relatives.

I dont see her often but when I do we kind of have this slightly nervous energy when we chat and she kinda giggles or trails off at the end of sentences.

She has complimented my guitar playing as 'beautiful' when she first moved in 2 years ago. And said 'so you're a mechanic too?' when I helped start her car last month.

Last year, she randomly turned up at a pub on my birthday with her dad when I was there and ended up sitting next to me (she rarely if ever goes to pubs) She wouldn't know it was my bday that day. We are not friends on social media but my username on Instagram has my birthday in it. She appears on my suggested friends list. I have given her Christmas cards the last two years, with one year I gave her a small chocolate thing but she didn't mention them.

And another morning she waved at me twice and smiled broadly at me as I drove away.

One morning she knocked her car into another car when reversing out a space and kinda looked over at me as I was sitting in my car. She pulled a kinda joke shocked face and with a smile looked at me and said "I'm not having a good week with cars". I said back 'it can only get better!' and she smiles back at me.
Then she got in her car and as she drove away she waved at me and smiled. I waved and gave her a thumbs-up from her car and she gave me a thumbs-up back, like mirrored my action.

I got another wave as I drove by and she was putting her seat belt on. Some mornings her times change- she either leaves a few seconds before me or can be late. I wonder if we try to time when we leave to try bump into one another.

One morning she was out walking her mum's dog at the same time I leave for work. She told me she was dog-sitting for her mum and was off work all week. She was dressed in her Pyjamas but wrapped up warm in a housecoat and hat. When she was about to leave I shouted her name and she turned back quickly to look at me and I paused, then asked how her cat was (he had sadly passed).

I've noticed she's started carrying a backpack to grocery shop like I do.

I was scraping the ice off my car about 2 months ago one morning when my neighbour came out to head to work. I said 'Hey R.. you alright?' I said yeah 'I'm ok.' and smiled at me. She kept walking but said "it's freezing today!" i can't remember how I replied but asked her as she walked further away if she had been dog-sitting and she said "yeah they're away back home now. Freedom!" When she was scraping her car I drove away and she waved and smiled at me.

So I bumped into her about seven weeks ago. I didn't ask her to hang out! Though I wanted to.
Our chat was kinda like
Me - hiya
R- hey how are you doing?
M - yeah i'm ok. Off anywhere nice today?
R - going for a walk with friends? What about you?
M - shopping (she grimaced in a jokey way). Then hanging with family for a bit.
(Bit of silence)
R - it's s*** having to scrape the ice off the car isn't it?
Me - oh yeah definitely (I said something cheesy here).
R - we will need to park in the sun?
Me - oh yeah definitely. Great idea!
R - well I'll see you later.
M - bye take care.


It can be hard to bump into her. Sometimes she leaves earlier or later for work. Sometimes it's like she is in her own world and won't see me when driving by her. But she waved at me on another day. Recently she got into her car which was parked next to mine and did not look over to me? Shyness?

Can any introverted or shy women offer insight into how she might feel about me?

Thank you.

[Alpacalia]

You’re in that gray zone where there are definitely signals of warmth and interest, but nothing so clear that you can confidently call it romantic.

If you’re interested, you don’t need to make a grand move. You just need to give her a safe, low‑pressure opening.

Something like:

“Hey, I’m grabbing a coffee later — if you ever want to join, let me know.”

[softsoul1]

9 minutes ago, Alpacalia said:

You’re in that gray zone where there are definitely signals of warmth and interest, but nothing so clear that you can confidently call it romantic.

If you’re interested, you don’t need to make a grand move. You just need to give her a safe, low‑pressure opening.

Something like:

“Hey, I’m grabbing a coffee later — if you ever want to join, let me know.”

Thank you so much. Perhaps I should have framed the question as 'is there interest enough to pursue a coffee?'

[Alpacalia]

2 minutes ago, softsoul1 said:

Thank you so much. Perhaps I should have framed the question as 'is there interest enough to pursue a coffee?'

She seems open enough that a simple invitation won’t feel out of place, but reserved enough that you won’t know unless you take that small step.

That’s really the sweet spot you’re in. She’s giving you just enough warmth to justify a gentle nudge, but not so much that you can assume anything. A low‑pressure coffee invite fits perfectly...it’s casual, it’s friendly, and it gives her room to lean in if she wants to.

If anything, the fact that you’re thinking this through so thoughtfully already puts you ahead. Most people either over‑interpret or under‑interpret signals. You’re reading the situation with nuance, and that’s exactly how you avoid awkwardness.

[softsoul1]

7 minutes ago, Alpacalia said:

She seems open enough that a simple invitation won’t feel out of place, but reserved enough that you won’t know unless you take that small step.

That’s really the sweet spot you’re in. She’s giving you just enough warmth to justify a gentle nudge, but not so much that you can assume anything. A low‑pressure coffee invite fits perfectly...it’s casual, it’s friendly, and it gives her room to lean in if she wants to.

If anything, the fact that you’re thinking this through so thoughtfully already puts you ahead. Most people either over‑interpret or under‑interpret signals. You’re reading the situation with nuance, and that’s exactly how you avoid awkwardness.

Thanks so kind. Thank you so much.

 

I rarely run into her so I am struggling with my patience. Hopefully I see her soon