Quinn thought about mentioning that it would be too troublesome for him, but she changed her mind at the last moment. She then nodded and said, “I’ll take up your offer then.”

Quinn treated Julian when he was in Summervale. Now that she was planning to visit Wiltspoon, he would be treating her. That way, they would not owe each other anything.

“Quinn, besides pancakes, what’s on your mind?”

Julian got back to the main topic.

They looked at each other.

After a moment of eye contact, Quinn tentatively asked, “What else would I think of? Something like thinking that you like me just because you gave me flowers?

“I know that you like me. I like you too. If we didn’t mutually like each other, we wouldn’t have become friends.”

After a brief silence, Julian said in a low voice, “Have you never thought that my affection for you isn’t just platonic, but the affection a man has for a woman?”

“You’re a man, and I’m a woman. Your affection for me is exactly a man’s affection for a woman. W