My (33F) boss (40sM) might be flirting with me, but I’m not sure. Maybe I’m overthinking.

Hey, Reddit. I’m honestly not the best when it comes to understanding signals from other people, and I’ve only been in a tiny handful of relationships throughout my life (all of which were initiated online), so my sphere of experience with flirting is small. I’m hoping someone can give me even the tiniest of insight here.

I started a new job a few months ago (around early October), and my boss has been quite helpful and pleasant from the start. As we continued working together, I noticed that he started being very… sweet towards me. Really warm smiles, a soft tone of voice, etc. He said things like how he’ll always be there for me, and the way he said it almost brought me to tears. It felt protective and caring. Plus, he knows that I have some anxiety issues and does his best to alleviate them; sometimes, he’d stand near me in a crowded space since he knows I’m not comfortable there. Then, maybe a month in, there was an occasion where he very gently touched my arm as I said goodbye to go home, and another time, it was even a hand on my back as we entered a meeting room. He also put both of his hands on one of mine after a meeting where I helped out with something rather critical (his words were that he was grateful for my help). We’ve been having occasional 1-on-1 review sessions to go over projects, and I feel like I’m just showered with praise through every moment of them.

Basically, am I reading *way* too deeply into this? He could just be touchy-feely and one of those people-sensing types, and I’ve heard some people say to observe how others are treated in these situations; I’ve not noticed him acting this way with others during my relatively short time here.

For the record, I’ll just say that I’m not interested in him in any way beyond a professional one, but I do find it strongly endearing just how protective he seems to be. I also don’t feel harassed or anything even if some might consider it as such; maybe it’s because I just really like touch and feel comforted by it (no matter who does it, figure of authority or otherwise).

I don’t know much about his personal life. I think he is married, but that’s really about it. That’s also one huge reason that I’d never pursue this no matter what the facts were.

Thanks for reading. 🙂 Obviously there’s no solid answer unless he says something, but I just like to hear opinions.

TL;DR: Boss is acting super caring and protective of me and has been gently touching my arms/back lately. Is it flirting, maybe? Just kindness?