Rowena realized she truly liked having his presence around her. Several times she stole glances at the man who was enjoying his food and their surrounding, not aware of her looking at him in interest.
"Is the meal to your tastes?" Raphael asked. "Or do you find it lacking? We could request something—"
When the man suddenly turned to her and asked her about the food, Rowena batted her eyes and froze. She nearly embarrassed herself when he found out she was looking at him.
"N-no, it's not l-lacking..." she replied in a stammer. "All good."
She blushed when she realized that Raphael must have noticed her stare and simply assumed that something was wrong. It wasn't the case.
Quite the opposite, really.
"Thank you for treating me to my birthday, I appreciate it a lot," Rowena said as she plucked up her wine cup and took a large sip.
