Hesitated, looking embarrassed after hand gesture (7)
I believe the answer is:
wavered
'hesitated' is the definition.
('waver' can be a synonym of 'hesitate')
'looking embarrassed after hand gesture' is the wordplay.
'looking embarrassed' becomes 'red' (someone may go red when embarrassed).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'hand gesture' becomes 'wave' (as in waving goodbye).
'red' put after 'wave' is 'WAVERED'.
(Other definitions for wavered that I've seen before include "Fluctuated" , "'Vacillated, hesitated (7)'" .)