For ouatevilregal8, who was the 150th reviewer of Safe Haven and was also instrumental in keeping me writing it.
"I know they're not much, but I hope you like them."
Regina was holding the bouquet of wildflowers that she'd found tucked into the doorjamb of Rocinante's stall. She'd recognized them instantly as the flowers that grew in the meadow where she loved to ride, but why they were there escaped her until she heard Daniel's apologetic voice from behind her. "Why have you given them to me?" she asked as she turned to see the stable boy with a hint of red in his cheeks.
"It's just what one does, I suppose," he replied, not sure how to take the confusion on her face. Was the idea of him courting her so ridiculous that she couldn't even imagine it "I think of you often," he added softly.
"Oh." Regina met his eyes boldly, trying to place the emotion she found in them. "How do you think of me?"
There was nothing coy in Regina's response, nothing embarrassed or shy, and Daniel realized that she truly didn't understand his reasons for the gesture. "I think of how you always look so serious and sad," he said honestly, "and how I'd love to see you smile just for me. I think of how kind you are, and how quiet. How beautiful."
At that, Regina gave him just a hint of a smile, suddenly getting an idea of what was happening. "Thank you," she said, not sure at all how to react. "The flowers are lovely." With that, she turned and left the stables, hurrying into the house and up the stairs. Once in her room, she hurriedly stuck the flowers in a vase before taking a novel from her bookshelf.
She felt silly, having to find information about affairs of the heart from books, but the complete lack of affection between her parents had left her with little idea of how love worked. Her mother had schooled her, of course, in proper methods of courting among nobles, but that was a series of rituals that Daniel was clearly not following. No, this was something else, and she scoured the chapter in which the peasant protagonists fall in love. When she'd first read the book, she'd thought it all just fantasy, but she could see a hint of Daniel's shyness in the characters. Flowers were exchanged, and Regina had to admit that she was exhibiting a few of what seemed to be the symptoms of love. Now that her confusion was gone, there was a lightness inside her that she'd never felt before.
It didn't last long, of course. She had at most an hour before Cora came in and scolded her for reading such nonsense. Her mother zeroed in on the flowers right away and called a maid to remove them, calling them common weeds and demanding some of the fine flowers from her garden to replace them.
Regina wanted more than anything to protest, and that confirmed everything for her. She was glad Daniel had given her the flowers. And she liked the flowers, common as they were, and was truly sad to see them go.
As soon as she could get away from her mother, she returned to the stables to find Daniel lovingly slipping Rocinante an apple. She couldn't help smiling at that. She loved her horse, that she knew for sure. That was a kind of love she understood.
Daniel heard the sound of boots through the straw scattered on the floor and looked up, his own grin on his face. "There's that smile."
Regina's smile brightened just a bit at that, even though his reverent gaze made her uneasy. Still, she came closer, pausing when just a few feet remained between them. "I don't know how this works," she admitted.
"Knowing has nothing to do with it." Daniel gave Rocinante the last of the apple and stepped towards the girl, taking her hand. "It's about letting go and feeling." He brought her hand up to her heart, his fingers lingering for just a moment before he took them back.
"I don't know much about that either." But Regina could tell that her heart was beating faster than it ever did.
Regina brought her ride to an early halt when she saw Daniel come into the meadow on foot. She slipped from the saddle and left Rocinante to graze while she ran to the stable boy, thankful for the way his arms always anchored her and sent her spinning at the same time.
"I didn't mean to disturb your ride," he said with a chuckle, not that he was complaining about the embrace. "I was coming to watch you."
"I like having you near. I like it more than riding, even."
Daniel smiled at that. Regina never used to ride with her hair down, but after he'd told her he liked it that way she hadn't braided it once. It allowed him to tuck a strand back behind her ear like he did now. "There are other things we can do besides just holding each other," he offered.
"I know," Regina said primly. "I've read my books. I know all about kissing."
"Do you?" Daniel teased, eyes locking with hers. "You'll have to teach me, then."
Regina didn't know how, but she'd learned that Daniel wasn't the type to let her fall. Despite his words, he was the one who leaned forward to capture her lips. He stroked the nape of her neck in a way that made her forget to think so much and she simply moved with him, kissing back until he pulled away.
"I love you, Regina," he whispered, running his fingers up into her hair. He always had, in a way, ever since the moment he first saw her, but over the weeks since he'd given her flowers he'd actually gotten to know her, to see what she was like. To make sure there was more to her than the quiet surface, which he was now certain there was.
Regina blinked a few times, a bit dazed by the kiss and his words. She cupped his face in her hands, looking seriously into his adoring eyes. "I'm still not really sure what love is," she admitted. "But I care for you, Daniel, more than I care for anyone else, and I think of you always."
Daniel smiled at that, and a reassured Regina smiled back. "That's what love is." And he leaned in to kiss her again.