"You don't know, do you?" Stanford chimed in, disbelief plain in his voice. "Man, you wanna propose to this girl and you don't even know where she works?"
"And her last name?" Stanley added quietly, as if laying down the final card in a stacked deck.
Stefan swallowed hard. His fingers drummed against the table, then stilled. "Aveline… uh…" He cleared his throat. "I just call her Ave."
Steve groaned and dragged a hand down his face, while Stanford let out a low whistle.
"Goddamn, Stefan," Steve muttered. "You're falling hard for a girl you barely know."
"I know enough," Stefan snapped, standing now, his chair scraping against the floor. "She's good. She's kind. She listens to me. She makes me feel… seen. And isn't that what matters?"
Mara's heart ached, hearing it in his voice that thread of loneliness, of need, like a man chasing something to fill an old, aching hollow.
