Hazel hesitated. She wanted to say that he could buy lunch if it would make him feel better, but that just seemed rude. On the other hand, she could afford a quick meal, but she didn't want to imply that he couldn't afford anything. She was caught in something of a social corner.

Kaladin noticed her hesitating and smiled faintly. "My treat?" he offered, raising his eyebrows at her. If she said no, he could wait until he got back to the ranch. And if she said yes then he'd cover the bill.

He half-hoped she'd say yes.

Hazel smiled a bit in relief--and pleasure. She hadn't expected him to offer, and she was pleased that he had. It meant she could spend more time with him.

"Sure," she said.

Kaladin nodded and started looking around. They'd passed a little cafe that had looked nice on the way to the seamstress's, and he wanted to see if he could find it again.

"There?" He nodded to aforementioned cafe. Hey, he liked the look of it. It looked comfortable, not fancy and formal.

Hazel looked over at the cafe and nodded. She knew that cafe; the prices there weren't outrageous or unreasonable. Then again, she might also be a little biased.

"Sure," she said. "It's a nice place."

Kaladin nodded and led the way over to the cafe. They were seated almost immediately, and he glanced through the menu quickly. Well, at least not everything had a fancy name.

Hazel was familiar with the menu, and was about to order something that, to anyone unfamiliar with it, would have sounded ridiculously expensive, but she thought better of it. Today, something simpler sounded better.

Kaladin ended up going with a grilled cheese sandwich with chicken. Because it had been a while since he'd been out to get fresh bread and that sounded really good.

Hazel ended up with a salad with spring greens, chopped nuts, and crumbled cheese on it. There were even little slices of citrus on it that she particularly liked, and a couple of slices of bread on the side. It was fresh and light and exactly what she had wanted.

Kaladin ate quietly, unsure what else to do now. Sure, he'd spent time with his employers before, but none of them had been so young. Or so pretty.

Hazel was also quiet. She wasn't sure what to start a conversation about, and all of the topics that came to mind seemed trite and overused, or seemed like they could get uncomfortable quickly. It wasn't like conversation with her peers, where she could point them in a direction and let them go how they liked. This was different. And it didn't help that he was more than reasonably attractive, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself.

Kaladin paid as soon as the check arrived. Fortunately it was reasonable, and he expected they'd be paid within the next week or so.

"Shall we give the seamstress more time?" he asked quietly, looking at her. "Or shall we go check on her progress?" He was fine with either one, really. And she was in charge out here.

"It hasn't been quite an hour yet," Hazel replied. "Best to give her all the time she asked for, first. She gets a bit testy otherwise, and it's never a good idea to annoy your seamstress." She'd heard stories of gowns that had fallen apart because the girl in question had insulted her seamstress, or gowns that were intentionally made wrong. She made sure never to deserve such a punishment from the woman who made her clothes.

Kaladin nodded. That much he knew. "A few jobs ago my employer had a daughter, maybe sixteen? She was used to getting what she wanted when she wanted it. Apparently her seamstress didn't do what she wanted, or didn't have a dress ready for her when she wanted it, and she yelled at the woman. A few days later she went to a party and the back of her dress fell off the instant she sat down."

Hazel couldn't hold back a few giggles.

"I've heard of things like that happening," she said. "Thankfully, my seamstress still likes me, so all of my gowns are made well."

Kaladin nodded. "Always a good thing." He settled back in his seat for the moment, content to simply sit for a few more minutes.

After a few moments of quiet, Hazel got up from her seat and shook out her skirts.

"I think we've given her enough time now," she said. "We should go and see how the suit fits, before you have to go back to the ranch." And she wanted to try on her gown one more time to make sure the bodice fit right. It was always the hardest part, according to the seamstress.

Kaladin nodded and got up, once again letting her lead the way out and over to the seamstress. He was quiet the whole time, thinking.

"Why did you agree to run the ranch?"

Hazel stopped walking and looked at him, blinking. Nobody had asked her that before, and she'd never really thought about it. Her reflexive answer would have been 'because it's mine,' and it would have been true, but it wasn't the whole answer, and she wasn't sure what the rest of the reason was.

"Why?" she asked.

Kaladin shrugged. "It's unusual to see someone so young in the business as an owner. Most people your age are either in training or have a general manager to do things for them. Or they have an aunt or uncle or someone who actually owns the place."

"My grandfather gave it to me," Hazel replied. "Why would I turn around and give it to someone else? It's mine." She was quiet for a moment, thinking. "And, I suppose... When I saw everything that needed fixing, I couldn't just leave it. And when I saw how much Brit cared for the place, I couldn't abandon it. So I kept it."

Kaladin nodded. Okay. That made sense. "I see. I'm glad you decided to keep it." He smiled a little. It certainly was one of the more unique places he'd worked.

"I'm glad I did, too," Hazel replied softly, glancing at him for a moment before glancing away again. She fought off a blush that threatened to blossom across her cheeks.

Kaladin was quiet until they got to the seamstress's again. Then he took the altered suit quietly and went to go change again so they could make sure it fit properly this time.

While Kaladin was trying on the suit, the seamstress went into an adjacent room to help Hazel try on her gown. It definitely wasn't something that could be put on alone. Once Hazel was in the gown and looking at herself in the mirror, the seamstress went out to see how the suit looked on Kaladin. After a few moments, Hazel followed to see what the gown looked like in better light, in front of a 180-mirror, and paused when she saw Kaladin.

"It looks wonderful," she said, going a bit closer to take a look. For the moment, she forgot she was wearing a formal ball gown, in favor of focusing on him.