“Sure. I-I won’t rush you or force you. Think carefully about it. Even if you can’t accept my feelings right now, I can wait. It just means that I haven’t done enough to move your heart and satisfy you.

“I’ll keep striving my best to make you fall for me and make you happy.”

Quinn smiled and said, “It’s not that you haven’t done enough. It’s just—I saw you as a friend but you saw me as a wife. It’s too sudden. I need some time to digest this since this is a major life decision and does concern my happily ever after. I have to think carefully about this.

“Julian, this is between the two of us. Don’t tell my parents about this before I’ve given you an answer. If they knew I didn’t immediately say yes, they’d probably yell my head off. Unfortunately, I am that person who’s been stood up countless times by my blind dates.

“My dad doesn’t really care. It’s not like I’m that old either—I’m only in my twenties. But my mom’s anxious and keeps thinking that I might be able to defend myself