29M, Did I Miss Read The Signals

I need some outside opinions because my brain won’t shut up about this. I feel like I got completely blindsided, and I don’t know if I was delusional or if she actually gave me signals.

So, I work with this female coworker, and over time, we developed what felt like a unique bond. She shares personal things with me that she doesn’t share with others—small details like showing me her nails, her socks, her notebooks, and even random things she buys. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but the more it happened, the more it felt like I wasn’t just any other coworker to her.

We talk a lot at work—way more than she does with anyone else. She laughs at my jokes, teases me, and seems genuinely comfortable around me. She also told me deep personal things that she doesn’t really discuss with other colleagues, and it started to feel like we had a real bond.

At this point, I started genuinely considering the possibility of something more.

I even thought about asking her out, but since we’re coworkers, I didn’t want to make things awkward. Instead, I tried to test the waters indirectly:

I’d say things like “I’m new in town, you should show me around” to see how she’d react.

Whenever she mentioned being near my area trying a new restaurant or hanging out, I’d jokingly say, “Next time, you should call me.”

Then, out of nowhere, she hit me with reality. During a casual conversation, she suddenly drops:

“This is top secret, I’m seeing someone.”

I froze. I kept my cool on the outside, but inside, I was shocked, confused, and completely blindsided. I played it off, but I couldn’t even make proper eye contact.

Now I feel like an idiot. I don’t know if I completely misread everything or if she was actually giving mixed signals.

And the worst part? I have to see her every day at work. Now I don’t even know how to act around her. Do I act normal and just keep things friendly? Do I distance myself emotionally to stop feeling like this? Did I completely imagine the whole thing, or was she actually leading me on?

I need some brutal honesty—was this just my imagination, or did she kinda mess with my head?

Edit: I wasn’t thinking about her in a romantic way at first, but over time, she started acting in ways that made me wonder if there was something there.

Some examples: • She once mentioned wanting to go to the cinema on a Friday but said she didn’t know who to go with — which just happened to be Valentine’s Day. My friends even thought she was hinting at something, but I wasn’t sure.

• She messaged me on Valentine’s evening — just casually — which felt like a weird time to start a random conversation if there was nothing there.

• She made sure to tell me multiple times that she’s is single even when the conversation wasn’t about relationships at all.