Oh, she's lovely. It's hard to escape just how fond he's grown tonight, and harder still to hide it. He doesn't try, instead allowing himself the little luxury of leaning in slightly towards her. There's a sort of happy shyness to the way he answers, the knowledge that this is not, as a rule, how he talks to people. "You'd be surprised. When I'm interested in something, hours go by in moments."

All right, hours is likely pushing it. But the idea of remaining in her company makes him inclined towards hyperbole.