No Strings Attached

Elle gazed at him with an impassive expression. "Where's my mom?"

"She had to leave for a bit. Clara sent me to pick you up. Orin has already gone ahead with Eddie."

Anders gently coaxed Elle into the car with an arm around her shoulders.

Casually reaching into the back seat, he pulled out a small box and handed it to her. "Your favorite apple turnovers from that bakery you love. See if they taste like the real deal." Elle stared at the apple turnovers in her hand, with a faint smile flickering across her features. "Did Orin tip you off?"

The question hit Anders squarely in the chest. Indeed, it was Orin who told him that his mother's favorite dessert was apple turnovers, and her favorite dish was simply grilled fish.

felt an immense guilt for a long time. While abroad, Elle indeed brought home a box of apple turnovers once, offering

his words, Elle threw the entire box of turnovers in

made him grilled fish once and burned her hand in the process. While he applied medicine to her burn, he told her not

the very things he disliked were Elle's favorites. Reflecting on this, Anders couldn't help but

apple turnover from the box and held it to Elle's lips. "Go on, give it a taste. They're still warm.

sweet flavor of cooked apple filled her palate, while the flaky, soft texture brought a subtle smile to her

taking a bite of the turnover from Elle's hand. His tongue inadvertently grazed her fingers. Then he nodded in satisfaction. "Definitely

her fingers

knew Anders was doing this on purpose, but in her memory, Anders was always the epitome of a gentleman, never one to flirt so openly.

her composure, looking at him with a neutral expression. "Anders, you don't have to do this. If