Alec, who had been standing there, almost frozen, stared at Rose with a strange expression on his face.

　　Suddenly he moves closer to her, helping her sit down on the couch. Once she is comfortable, he bends his knees and sits on his haunches right in front of Rose, with both his hands on either side of her.

　　“Rose, I actually had been meaning to talk to you about something for a while but something or the other always came up.”

　　Rose looks at him ...