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.

of apple turnovers once, offering him a taste. Without

his words, Elle threw the entire box of turnovers in the trash, which were never

him grilled fish once and burned her hand in the process. While he applied medicine to

he disliked were Elle's favorites. Reflecting on this, Anders couldn't help but mentally chastise himself as

an apple turnover from the box and held it to Elle's lips. "Go on, give it a taste. They're still warm. Won't be as good once they cool off," he said gently.

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

taking a bite of the turnover from Elle's hand. His tongue inadvertently grazed her fingers. Then he nodded in satisfaction. "Definitely not bad. Crispy and flaky. What

taken aback by his bold move, staring at her fingers that

in her memory, Anders was always the epitome of a gentleman,

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