"Hey there, stranger." I wave to Daniel as he crosses the bridge. He shoves one hand into his front pocket and trails his eyes down the length of my body. I drop my head forward to hide behind my hair. Daniel hands me a white rose and twirls the stem between his fingers.

I take the rose and inhale the scent and smile.

"Thanks for the rose."

"You look amazing, Ellie." He gasps.

"In this old thing? Thanks." I chuckle, swaying from side to side.

I wanted to wear denim jeans and I nice t-shirt but my mother convinced me to crack out my pre-pregnancy clothing which includes very tight dresses which shows off my shapely figure. She was probably right about the dress.

"Amazing doesn't cover how beautiful you look. You're taking my breath away."

I hold the rose up to my nose again, but it doesn't hide the bright smile.

"Honestly, I haven't stopped thinking about you since we met." He shoves his other hand in his pocket and rocks back onto his heel.

"I'm surprised you're still interested after I had to bail on our other date."

Daniel shrugs with a carefree smile.

"You said your schedule was busy and you have your son, so I understand things don't always work out. If you kept bailing, then I would be worried."

"Thanks for your patience and understanding."

"Turns out tonight is better because there's a dumpling special, so I hope you're hungry."

"Dumpling special? Oh." I perk up at the thought of that. "Pre-warning, then, you may need to roll me home with the amount of food I'm about to consume."

He laughs, and the butterflies set in.

"I think it's this way." He points to his right and I follow his lead. As we walk down the street, I tug on the fabric and attempt to etch it down, but it slides up to the top of my thighs. Daniel's shoulder brushes against mine and I look up into his blue eyes.

"You're so beautiful." He gushes. "I can't believe you're on a date with me."

"You're not so bad looking yourself." I wink.

His walking strides are longer than mine, so it's a struggle to keep up in my wedges and control this dress. The look on his face was worth it, though.

"Tell me more about your family. You mentioned you have two older brothers?"

"There's Harvey and Henry, and we're all two years apart. I was supposed to be called Hunter, but my dad's grandfather passed and he really wanted to name me after him, thus ruining the letter H streak. I think my mother is still mad about it."

"Craig and I could not agree on Noah's name. He almost came home from the hospital with no name, but we managed to decide on Noah. I hated every name he suggested and Noah was the first one he liked."

"You chose well. It's a nice name."

"Picking a name was harder than I thought it would be. What if you pick the wrong name and your child hates you?"

"Or those weird spellings? English is hard enough, now people are making up their own spellings to be unique. It's confusing."

"So confusing." I shake my head.

We round a corner and come to a stop outside of a laundry mat. He knocks on the door and somebody opens it, revealing a restaurant inside.

"I have a booking for Daniel Sullivan."

"Right this way."

The server leads us through to the middle of the restaurant and we talk our seats opposite each other. She hands us the menu and I spy some good dishes.

It's a small restaurant but the drawing point is the cherry blossom tree in the centre of the restaurant and the decor surrounding it.

"Have you been here before?"

"Yes, and I've almost tried the whole menu, and it's pretty good."

"I'm so excited about the dumplings."

"They're some of the best dumplings I've had."

"Wow."

"I hope they live up to the hype now." He sighs.

"I'm sure they will."

We fall into a nice silence as we look at the menu. Once I've decided on the dishes, I'd like to order, I peer over the menu and smile at Daniel.

"So, you've got your older brothers, the three nieces. What about your parents?"

"My mother is a manager at an antique store and my father is a carpenter. He taught me how to build things when I was a teenager. We used to tinker around in the garage building things. We weren't allowed anywhere near vintage furniture, otherwise my mother would kill us."

"I would love to see some of the things you've built."

"Here's the bookshelf I built for Sadie. You can spin it around, so it's a great space saver and you can put it in the corner. She wanted baby pink paint and the love hearts cut out of the wood."

He shows me the picture and I gasp.

"Sadie's very lucky. That bookshelf is so cute."

"I built some custom shelves for my Lego collection."

"Don't you mean Lego store?" I laugh.

"I'm obsessed with Lego because I like to build and create things. When I'm not messing around in the shed, it's a good distraction, which doesn't cost as much as the DIY projects I want to do."

"Somehow I understand this. Lego is my go-to thing to play with Noah. I've always wanted to try building something that's not a tower or dinosaur related."

"Perhaps we could do that next?"

"I would love that."

A server comes by and I order dumplings, noodles, and a cocktail. Daniel orders a bunch of random side dishes, which sounds delicious.

"What about your family?"

"My mother works at a yoga studio and my father passed away when I was twelve."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. It happened a while ago."

"What are your hobbies?"

"I love reading. I have books scattered through my house like decor. I try to read every night to unwind, even if it's just stories for Noah. What about yourself?"

"Other than the Lego, watching tv. It's not as great as reading."

"Both are a form of escapism. I just find books have more options. A different world completely if you want."

"You make a good point there."

When the food arrives, it barely fits on the whole table, but Daniel adjusts the angles of the plates and manages to fit everything on there.

"You can eat whatever you want. It's more of a share plate than a main meal place. If you don't like spicy food, don't eat this dish as it's loaded with chili." He points to a bright red plate. "Or if you're in an adventurous mood, perhaps you'll like it."

"I'm great with chili, so I'll leave it for you."

I grab the chopsticks and grab a dumpling. Flavour explodes in my mouth after the first bite.

"These dumplings are delicious."

"I don't usually come out here to eat unless I'm going to an event, but I saw this place on TikTok and had to try it, especially the half-price dumpling deal. I couldn't resist."

The server brings my cocktail, and it's got fairyfloss in the glass and another bottle where you can pour the drink into the glass. I watch as the fairyfloss dissolves before taking a sip.

"Do you read books?"

"I haven't read a physical book in a long time. Perhaps I need to try reading before bed. I need a way to unwind that isn't scrolling through my phone."

"Sometimes I'm so bad for that, or I lose my phone and can't find it. Sometimes it's because Noah takes it and decides he wants to take pictures of his feet and the ground."

"What genre do you read?"

"Oh, um." I can't tell him I like spicy stories, but come on, I'm a single mother with a sex life like the Sahara Desert. "Romance, but sometimes a little of fantasy if I want to escape the entire world."

"Ah, you like romance."

"Don't say it like that." I sigh. "I like the idea of romance, of being swept off my feet, but that is a tale for the books. In real life, relationships are hard and I'm not fooled by the happy endings where people ride off into the sunset on white horses."

"I wasn't expecting this," he admits.

"I'm twenty-five and a single mother. I don't have time for fantasies."

"I can't promise I'll never hurt you, but I believe romance and love still exist beyond romance novels. Some people can't tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction. I can be the guy who buys you flowers and occasionally opens the car door."

"You're so nice. Perhaps something in these books is right."

"What about your music taste?" he asks.

"Oh, that's right, we didn't talk about that last time." I chuckle. "I like a whole range of music. I start my day with some boppy beats and usually end the day with calming music. I do love a throwback session when I'm cleaning the house."

"I'm about the same, except when I'm bored with the radio, I switch it up to triple j and the random bangers on there."

"Sometimes that whole station is a mood."

"I know right."

Our conversion comes to a halt as we consume the dumplings and noodles before they go cold. We do a decent job polishing off the dishes. By the end, I lean against my chair and pat my bloating stomach.

"Thank you for suggesting this place. It's amazing."

"Are you ready to go? I need to walk before I fall into a food coma," he says.

"Good idea." I nod.

Daniel helps me up from the chair and we walk to the front of the restaurant. He reaches for his wallet, but I pat his arm and shake my head.

"I can pay. You bought me all those drinks the other night."

"I asked you on a date, so let me be the gentleman and pay for dinner. I did promise romance isn't dead."

He pays for dinner, then opens the door and gestures for me to walk outside. We hit the street, and he casually grabs my hand. I look up and smile.

"Be warned, I have no idea where we're walking."

"Sounds like an adventure." I smile.

We walk down the street and I trip on some uneven pavement. I lurch forward, but Daniel grabs me and I spin around and come face-to-face with him. His warm breath fans across my face as I look deep into his eyes.

"I promise to catch you when you fall."

He pulls me upright and I place my hands against his chest. He grabs my waist and I find myself getting lost in his eyes. They're so blue and magical.

Daniel etches closer and softly presses his lips against mine. I slide my hands up to his face and deepen the kiss. His tongue brushes against mine and his hands squeeze my waist. His nose brushes against mine and he grins.

"I've been waiting to do this since I met you."

His lips find mine again and I get lost under his touch.

My phone buzzes and I groan.

"Is there something wrong?"

"It's a reminder that I should be heading home because I have a curfew." I sigh.

"It's okay if you need to leave, Cinderella."

"I don't want to." I bite my lip, but he cups my cheek and pulls my lip out from between my teeth.

"Thank you for an amazing night." His blue eyes search my face, almost like he's exploring every detail of it.

"Same here." I smile.

"Perhaps we can do this again?"

"I have a date idea in mind. I'll message you soon, though."

"Okay." He nods. "I'm excited."

"I promise I won't leave you hanging too long this time."

His hands return to my waist and I lean up and steal another kiss before ordering a car home.

* * * * *

What do you think Ellie is planning?