She made up her mind.
Pushing open the door to the private dining room, she said to Lucy, “Lucy, come out here for a second.”
Lucy stood up instinctively and walked toward the door. “What’s going on?”
Quinn’s fingers tightened slightly around her fork, the pressure turning her nail beds a pale pink.
Lucy left the room. Now only Quinn and Julian remained. The air in the room suddenly felt thinner, and Quinn’s whole body tensed.
She set her fork down, making a soft clack against the plate.
Julian did not speak. But Quinn could clearly feel his gaze fixed directly on her.
That night on the yacht, the way Maddox had looked at her made her feel as if she had been cornered by something cold and dangerous.
Julian gave her a completely different feeling. His presence carried a quiet pressure that made people instinctively tense, the kind that kept her constantly aware of him and unable to relax.
The silence in the room gradually became harder to bear, pressing in around her until she finally lifted her head.
As expected, Julian was already looking at her.
His gaze was steady and unreadable, holding a depth that made it impossible to tell what he was truly thinking.
“Mr. Sterling,” Quinn said carefully, meeting his gaze. “I think I owe you a thank-you.”
Julian’s thin lips moved slightly. “What for?”
“The thing on the yacht…” Quinn said with difficulty. “Thank you. If you hadn’t shown up, I might have… Anyway, no matter what, thank you.”
Julian replied calmly, “Once you stepped onto my yacht, your safety became my responsibility. I don’t allow anything to happen to anyone on my boat.”
“If it had been someone else, would you still have stepped in?”
“I would.”
Quinn immediately felt a wave of relief.
For some reason, she did not want any kind of special connection with Julian.
It would be best if he treated her like a passerby, and in her own life, someone like Julian, a man standing so high above everyone else, would never cross paths with her again.
“Don’t be afraid of me,” Julian suddenly said. “I’m just a normal person.”
Quinn took a sip of coffee to hide her reaction. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Then why can’t you even look at me?”
Quinn’s heart skipped. She reflexively looked into his eyes.
Julian had very striking eyes. But the sharpness in his gaze added authority and pressure to his entire presence.
Still, there was something undeniable about being watched so intently by someone like him.
Being watched so intently by someone like him created an odd sense of satisfaction that made people unconsciously straighten their posture.
But to Quinn, his gaze was far too deep and distant. It was impossible to tell what he was truly thinking.
“I just…” Quinn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re not close.”
“We will be,” Julian said. “You’re Lucy’s friend. If you ever need anything in the future, you can come to me.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Quinn said quickly. “I’m already very grateful for what you did before.”
“How do you plan to thank me?”
Quinn suddenly looked up, thinking she had misheard.
“What? Was that just something you said to be polite?”
Quinn felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. She had not expected Julian to actually ask for a thank-you gift.
But thinking about it, if she only said thank you and left it at that, it really did seem insincere.
The problem was, what could someone like Julian possibly want?
“I don’t know,” she admitted honestly. “Mr. Sterling, what kind of thank-you gift would you like? I’ll do my best.”
Julian looked at her. Deep in his eyes were emotions that no one else could read.
“I ran into you at the clothing shop last time,” he said. “You make clothes too?”
“I work in fashion design,” Quinn replied.
Julian nodded. “Then design and make me an outfit as a thank-you gift. That’s not too much to ask, right?”
Quinn was stunned.
Someone as powerful as Julian probably wore custom-made clothing from private designers. Families like his usually had designers who worked exclusively for them.
People in his position rarely wore ready-made clothes, unless it was from a brand with special meaning.
After all, someone with his status openly favoring a particular brand could easily create complications.
For a moment, Quinn felt both surprised and flattered. “You want me to make it?”
Julian raised an eyebrow. “What? Am I not worthy of wearing it?”
“No, no,” Quinn said quickly, waving her hands. “It’s me who isn’t worthy.”
Julian looked at her.
Quinn noticed something in his gaze. A hint of dissatisfaction.
Quinn quickly asked, “Then what kind of style do you like? Should I make you a dress shirt and suit, or maybe a coat?”
Julian held out his phone. “We can talk about that later. For now, why don’t we add each other so it’s easier to stay in touch?”
Quinn felt like the whole situation was surreal.
Julian… Someone like Julian actually saving someone’s number?
Being alone with him still made her uneasy. For some reason, her mind kept drifting back to that kiss.
After all, that had been her first kiss.
And she had revealed it without even realizing it. The way Julian had kissed her, confident and intense, he had clearly done it plenty of times before.
“Is that inconvenient for you?”
Julian’s voice pulled her back to reality.
Quinn snapped out of her thoughts. What am I even thinking about?
However many women Julian had kissed had nothing to do with her.
She hurriedly said, “No, it’s not inconvenient.”
She never would have imagined that one day she would actually have Julian on her contacts list.
His profile picture was simple. A snow-covered mountain peak beneath a wide blue sky.
His name was even simpler. Just one letter.
J.
Outside the private room, Veronica grabbed Lucy before she could rush in.
“Lucy, trust me. Julian wouldn’t do anything to her.”
“What exactly is he trying to do?” Lucy said anxiously. “Veronica, Quinn is my best friend. I won’t let him bully her.”
Veronica sighed. “Do you really think Julian is that kind of guy?”
“Maybe he wasn’t before,” Lucy said. “But Quinn is gorgeous. Maybe he’s just thinking with his hormones instead of his brain.”
Veronica tapped her forehead. “Julian has seen more beautiful women than you can count. You really think he judges people just by looks?”
“Then why is he doing all this?” Lucy said. “First he shows up for dinner with us, then he wants to talk to Quinn alone. If he’s not interested in her, what’s the point?”
“You should trust him,” Veronica said. “He knows where the line is.”
“But Quinn is married!” Lucy said. “If Julian is making moves on her, that’s seriously messed up!”
“Isn’t she getting divorced?”
“She’s not divorced yet!”
Veronica smiled slightly. “Let’s stop overthinking it out here. Maybe you’ve got the wrong idea. Julian wouldn’t do anything to Quinn. Just wait.”
Lucy still looked worried. “You don’t think he’d bully her, do you?”
“How exactly would he bully her?” Veronica said. “If he wanted to, he already would have.”
“Veronica!” Lucy stomped her foot. “What are you saying?”
Veronica explained patiently. “Think about it. On the yacht, when Quinn was in trouble, Julian was the one who helped her. If he had bad intentions, she was barely conscious back then. Wouldn’t that have been the perfect opportunity?”
“Julian would never do something like that.”
“Exactly,” Veronica said. “If he didn’t take advantage of her then, he definitely won’t now.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.