Page 33 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

NATHAN

T hankfully, Daphne was pretty easy to find online and her social media accounts weren’t private.

Listen, I wouldn’t say I was stalking her.

More like doing some light private investigating.

I mean, how would I woo her if I didn’t know where she was or what she was up to?

It’s not like she was giving me much to go on over text and besides, I had a plan.

Step one, recon. I needed intel. I wanted to know as much about Daphne as I possibly could.

I already knew some basic things. She sucked at the game Operation, preferred red wine over white, liked to read romance novels, loved fall, Halloween, and scary movies, Italian food was her favorite, especially pizza, had an affinity for all things pumpkin spice, and thankfully lived in the same city as me.

From my brief gleaning of her socials, I got a pretty clear snapshot of her life.

She was a dedicated and caring nurse, volunteered at an animal shelter, and hardly went anywhere without her best friend, Lexi.

Step two was a little more complicated, and I’d need to enlist help for that.

That’s why the recon was so important. I had to find out who my potential allies could be.

The number one contender was Lexi. As Daphne’s best friend, she was an obvious choice, but I wasn’t sure she’d be on board to help me get the girl.

I’d have to have a pretty compelling argument to win her over, but that was a later problem.

It had been a few days since Daphne left the cabin and I hadn’t heard from her since she let me know she had gotten home safe.

I texted her once a day later to see how she was, but she didn’t respond.

She had asked for space, and I was trying my best to honor her request. I knew it was what she thought she needed, but was it what she actually needed? I wasn’t so sure.

Daphne hadn’t posted anything on her socials since she was at the cabin, so I wasn’t entirely sure of what she was up to, but I was also checking Lexi’s and happened to catch a couple of posts that indicated Daphne was staying with her.

I spent the week after I returned from the cabin going between my investigative work and writing because, let’s face it, regular life had to go on.

Writing was going surprisingly well, despite the ever-present distraction that was Daphne, who kept invading my thoughts. Maybe she was my new muse.

After a week of radio silence, I decided to shoot my shot and sent Lexi a message through social media. We weren’t friends, so I wasn’t sure if she’d see it, but I hoped she would and I hoped she’d be open to helping me.

Me

Hey Lexi—I know this is totally out of left field, but I had to try something. I know we haven’t officially met and I’m sorry that our first encounter is this creepy message on social media, but

Delete, delete, delete.

Me

Hey Lexi—Remember me? I shared a cabin with your good friend Daphne last week

Delete, delete, delete.

God, why was this so difficult? I felt awkward as fuck messaging this girl who I didn’t even know. Finding the right words seemed impossible.

Me

Lexi—I’m in love with your best friend and I need your help.

Full send.