Blaise had been avoiding Daphne, it wasn't that he didn't want to see her, it was more that he felt guilty about seeing her. He couldn't take back what had happened and he couldn't continue to allow his own feelings to slip through and interfere with her relationship. What he and Daphne had shared was over at Hogwarts and lingering emotions did neither of them any good. He had spent the last month trying to forget the kisses or the middle of the night blunders.
Working seemed to help him forget, helped him deal with the fact that he hadn't seen Ae-cha in almost two weeks and the fact that he was not getting along with Su. It was almost as if he was running on automatic, dealing with each day in a haze or fog and then drinking himself into a stupor at the end of them. It was self destructive but it worked for him.
He wasn't sure what had made him ask Daphne out to lunch, it was surely masochistic to put himself into that place. He adored her, she was his best mate but since the night at the bed and breakfast it had all changed. He felt intrusive and out of place in her life.
Making it to the cafe a few minutes late, he smiled brightly as he saw Daphne seated at a table. "I'm sorry I am late, last minute complications with the designer." He dropped a very chaste kiss onto her cheek before sliding into the chair opposite of her. "I would be tempted to say you look beautiful today but.." He looked at her thoughtfully, "I want to know what's wrong, darling." He didn't say she looked awful, he could tell something was wrong.