Chapter 43. A Surprising Confession

*Beautiful. He called me beautiful.*
Sienna kept daydreaming about her last encounter with Daniel. It had gotten into her mind so badly since he called her *beautiful.*
“Am I beautiful? I don’t feel like I am,” she murmured shyly while staring at her reflection on the tall mirror in her bedroom.
For a moment, Sienna gazed out at the wavy long hair she had. The dark brown color made her looked like an Italian girl, which she inherited from her mother’s side. Her mom was half Italian. And her almond brown eyes she got from her dad, who was American.
She had a slender body, not too tall, but not too short either. Her cheekbone looked a little high, maybe she could make it as a freelance model with that feature. Her full lips always looked kind of pinkish and dewy even she didn’t wear lip gloss. Her skin looked fair white, although kind of pale like her mom.
She thought she looked just like another young adult girl. Sometimes she only wore a peach lip gloss and a little powder before going to college. It was all just simple.
When Daniel called her beautiful that day, she didn’t see it coming. He took her off guard when he called her that way. Sienna hoped he didn’t realize how embarrassed she was at the time.
She quickly left him to meet with Cora. And of course, she told Cora about the second encounter with him in the bookstore. And finally, Cora had seen his manly figure in person, although she could only steal a glance at him from across the room. Cora gasped the air, feeling bedazzled by the fate that brought Sienna to meet that handsome man again.
He was wearing a long sleeves white shirt and black pants that day. He always looked formal, even during the weekend. And he always appeared neatly and business alike as Sienna searched for his photos on the internet.
However, a week had passed since she met him the last time. She wondered if he would ever call her. He had asked for her phone number that day before she walked away from him.
Her heart was so restless whenever she thought about it. She couldn’t stop thinking about him since that day. She worried if he changed his mind. But why would she be worried?
“Gosh, I should have just chilled a little!” She snapped to herself. “Who cares if he doesn’t want to meet me again? He can be just bluffing that day…”
It was like the universe really listening to her grumpy talking, and suddenly, her phone was ringing on the bed. Her heart immediately skipped a beat. She wondered who that might be.
And when she quickly reached out for her phone, she saw his name on her phone screen.

INCOMING CALL
Daniel Wilson

“Oh, shit! He really calls me!” She instantly felt agitated. She was not actually ready to talk with him or meet him later. She was confusing herself. Her feeling was mixed up terribly.
She got an anxiety attack. And it was pretty bad.
“Shit… should I pick it up?” She was being restless all by herself.
And soon after, she cleared her throat before she accepted his phone call.
On the count of three, she spoke on the phone, “Hello?”
*“Miss Rozewood, hello…”* his voice sounded deep as he greeted her friendly. *“I’m Daniel. Do you still remember me?”*
“Of course! I mean…” she pretended to clear her threat.
She was so nervous and excited at the same time.
“Yeah, of course, Mister Wilson, I do remember you,” she chuckled as she tried to calm the tone of her voice.
*“Very nice,”* he murmured. *“Just like I’ve promised you the last time. But I’m very sorry to make you wait for another week. I was actually planning to call you last Sunday after you left. But my father kind of gave me a workload, so the plan had to be canceled.”*
She gawked as she listened to his confession. “Oh, that’s okay. Just take your time, please.”
*“I don’t want you to think of me as a liar,”* Daniel stated. *“I’m the man of my word. I do want to spend the right time and in the right place with you.”*
She sat on the edge of her bed as she asked, “Okay, so, when will you have the right time?”
*“Today, right now, if you want to,”* Daniel murmured.
Her mouth was agape, surprised. “To… today? Right now?”
*“I won’t force you if you’re not comfortable,”* Daniel said carefully.
She quickly shook her head. “Oh, no! I mean…” she tried to calm her raging voice. She kept on exclaiming when she felt panicking. “Sure, we can meet right now. Where?”
*“In your favorite cookies store, perhaps?”* He suggested. *“I do want to treat you some cookies based on your recommendation.”*
When he was being such a gentleman, she felt nervous.
After she agreed to meet him there, she hanged up the phone call. Then she ran into her wardrobe to choose for the perfect clothes to wear that day.
***
Sienna was wearing a long brown coat, maroon shirt, skinny jeans, and flat shoes. She let her hair hanging down loosely on the back.
As she waited alone in the corner of the pavement, she felt nervous to meet him. She had imagined seeing his dimple smile and handsome face. She had been daydreaming to see him again. She got enchanted by his charm somehow, and she didn’t even realize it.
“Miss Rozewood?” A familiar voice greeted her from behind.
She turned quickly to see him. Daniel appeared handsomely as usual in his white shirt and dark hair.
“Do I make you wait for so long?” Daniel looked worried.
She quickly shook her head. “Absolutely no. I just got here.”
He nodded and smiled at her. “So, about the cookies store, where is it?”
“It’s in the corner of the road, over there…” she nudged her chin at the small rustic building behind her. He quickly followed her stare.
Then he turned to see her again, he said, “Let’s go then. I can’t wait to taste the cookies.”
As soon as they got there, Sienna gave her recommendation based on what she liked. She chose the macadamia chocolate cookies. She said it was the best flavor that the store served.
And as he had promised, he really did buy some bag of cookies for her. She felt shy to receive them for free actually. She didn’t want to seem like a moocher even she knew that Daniel was a very rich man. He was probably could buy the entire store in a blink of an eye, but she would still feel uneasy about it.
And thus, she told him, “Mister Daniel. I think I should just pay you for the cookies.”
He chuckled as he pinched his eyes at her. “Miss Rozewood, it will be a huge insult in my face if you reject my sweet treat.”
She slightly bit her lips as she looked away from him. She still felt shy around him.
Thereafter, Daniel asked her to sit down with him. They both sat near the window. The cookies store had a small coffee shop.
As their warm milky coffees were served on the table, Daniel started the conversation, “I’ve been yearning to see you again, actually.”
She blinked when he told her that. While his eyes kept staring intimidatingly at her.
“You do?” She wondered if he said that sincerely or he was just being a rich playboy.
He grinned and quickly tried to hide his expression as he stared down at his warm cup.
She was not as clueless as the last time. She noticed his awkwardness toward her.
“When I saw you for the first time that day, I felt something,” he murmured without staring back at her eyes. He wanted to hide his expression from her. She wondered why he looked a bit tensed. “But I can’t explain it, even now, in front of you,” and then he finally looked at her.
She paused to observe a slight smile that appeared on his lips.
“In the auditorium?” She recalled the memory. “So, I was right, you really were looking at my direction.”
“Yes, I did,” he chuckled. “I immediately noticed the only beautiful girl in the room that day. She kind of took my breath away.”
She gawked. She didn’t expect him to say that.
“Pardon me, Mister Wilson, but…” she blinked and slightly shook her head, “If you’re approaching me to seek for a momentary fun, I’m not the right girl for you.”
She had to warn him before anything would happen. She didn’t want to get hurt in the end if he was just like another rich playboy in the city. She had seen too many romance dramas about the playboy billionaire that would only want a one-night stand with random women out there. She didn’t want to be one of those women, obviously.
“I’m sorry, I have to say this to you. But I’m not seeking a playful affair. And I’m not that kind of girl, just in case if you’re planning to hurt my feeling in the end,” she finally dared to say it all to him.
He was taken aback by everything that she said to him. But then he grinned widely.
“You can judge me all you want, Miss Rozewood. But I don’t have that kind of intention with you since the start,” he told her gently. “I really do, want to get to know you in person.”
Daniel was just a complete mystery to her. She didn’t know for sure what she really thought about her. And thus, she grinned and shouted after, “I don’t think a successful billionaire like you will want to spend time with a girl like me.”
He sighed for a second as he stared down at his cup again.
She felt uneasy with the silence between them. She hoped she didn’t say that to anger him.
Thereafter, he stared back at her to say, “I don’t know. You’re right. Why would I make the time for you?”
Her eyes got widen when his voice sounded firm this time.
“Is that the most important question which you need to know from me? Then let me be honest with you,” he muttered. “I feel drawn by your innocent mind and soft personality. And I like the way you talk. I find the comfort every time I hear your voice.”
She chuckled shyly and talked back to him, “You are amazing. You’ve almost blown my mind away with your charm.”
“On the contrary, Miss Rozewood,” he snapped quickly. “I’m the one that feels charmed by your beauty.”
Sienna paused to stare awkwardly at him. She truly didn’t expect him to say all that.
And soon after, she could also sense that the love feeling started to grow between them.