Chapter 18
It was right at 6:00 pm when the Rowells finished dinner. Rita kicked back on the couch with a cup of coffee while Hubert and Stephanie were in the kitchen doing the dishes.
Hobert was wiping down the counter when he glanced at Stephanie and paused for a moment. “Steph, Charles asked me to check in with you–what do you think of Daniel?”
Stephanie was rinsing off a plate. She narrowed her eyes, thinking it over for a moment.
Daniel?
She remembered how quiet and polite they had been when they first met four days ago and how they had opened up enough over the last couple of days to share stories from their pasts.
Stephanie felt like things were moving pretty quickly between them. She nodded slowly, her voice a little unsure. “He’s nice. Why’d Mr. Charles ask?”
“Why? Well, he likes you and wants you to be his daughter–in–law, of course. He was already excited for you to come back when you were still in Javerton
“As soon as he heard we were setting up a blind date for you, he brought Daniel over, hoping we’d choose his son. Your mom and I saw Daniel’s good- looking, well–spoken, polite, and around your age, so we thought he’d be a great match.
“We’re not saying you have to get married this year. We just want you two to hang out and see if you get along No pressure. It’d be great if it works out, but if not, you can always be friends.”
Stephanie knew Hubert and Rita meant well and didn’t want them to stress about it.
She opened up a little “I know. He’s really nice, and I feel comfortable around him. But we can’t rush things. Both of us need time to see if we’re really a good match
“So don’t stress too much. Just relax, enjoy your coffee, play some chess, and go line dancing with Mom.”
Hubert realized he’d said enough and didn’t press it. He knew Stephanie always knew what she wanted. He patted her shoulder and headed downstairs with Rita for a walk after dinner.
After placing the plates in the cabinet, Stephanie headed back to her room. As soon as she picked up her phone, she saw a friend request from Liam
She ignored it and walked over to the window, planning to close it, but then she saw Liam and Ivan waiting downstairs. They were too far away for her to make out their expressions.
Stephanie was feeling good, but when she thought about what happened when she got home earlier, her mood took a dip.
She closed the curtains, wiped off her makeup, and jumped in a hot shower, finally feeling like herself again. Wrapped up in her soft blanket, she started to feel sleepy and soon drifted off
When she woke up again, the room was dark. Hubert and Rita must have come back at some point and turned off the lights. She grabbed her phone and saw it was already 11:00 pm.
The room felt stuffy. Stephanie yawned, got up to crack the window, and saw that Li and Ivan were still outside.
She believed she’d been faithful to Liam and hadn’t done anything wrong. She had nothing to feel guilty about. She’d already said all she needed to that alternoon
Not wanting to get caught up with them anymore,
more, she pretended
pretended not to see them and went back to bed.
Stephanie opened WhatsApp and saw that Daniel had texted her four hours ago to let her know he had made it home safely.
Just to be polite, she texted back, “I fell asleep after dinner and missed your message. Please say hi to your parents for me tomorrow.”
A few seconds later, a new message popped up. “I’ll make sure to pass along your regards. But now that you’re up this late, won’t you have trouble sleeping tonight?
Stephanie probably would have trouble sleeping, but she already had plans to pass the time. She grabbed the book she bought at the bookstore yesterday, snapped a picture, and sent it to Daniel
“I really liked the gardening tips you shared the other day. I’m thinking about getting some succulents to keep at home, so I grabbed a book to learn more. Just what I needed to unwind”
“Succulents? Are you thinking of getting them online or picking them up in person?”
“In person. I’m planning to check out the flower market the day after tomorrow.”
As soon as Stephanie sent the message, Daniel replied right away as if he’d been waiting for it
“The day after tomorrow is Saturday. Do you want me to tag along? We could grab coffee in the afternoon.”
Having a biology professor join her seemed like a smart move. Stephanie figured she couldn’t go wrong with his expertise, so she agreed “Sure.”
