@Kaarme While its true she'd be an adult in a year or two, that means at the very least he needs to keep a proper distance for a year or two. Moreover, for someone in his mid-30's she would and should still be looked at as a kid. Besides the legal age itself, you can tell she's not a mature person yet, moreover she's in a very complicated home situation. To pursue her would be taking advantage of her, and to lead her on would just be cruel. Not to mention getting involved with her could really negatively impact his reputation and career which is already not helped by his face. The age gap itself isn't so much of an issue as where they both currently are at in their lives. Mind you people can ignore all that since we know this is fiction and the main characters are created to be good and well intentioned, but in reality he would need to wait a few years if he didn't want to look like a shifty pervert.