Page 44 of The Enemies With Benefits Deal

Even though I already think I’m in too deep and need to start swimming for the surface, I can’t.

She has bewitched me.

CHAPTER 16

JADE

Mom leans closer to me, reaching into the bowl of popcorn and tossing some of the kernels into her mouth. “So, do you want to tell me about the man you’ve been blowing off movie night for?”

My cheeks warm as I pick at the popcorn. “It’s nothing. Just a guy from work that I’ve been seeing. It’s nothing serious, so there’s no need for you to start worrying about it.”

“I’m always going to worry about it. I don’t think you’ve ever learned the art of taking time for yourself and figuring out how to be happy.”

“Ouch.” I give her a teasing smile, but the words do sting. I’ve spent so much time over the last few years building my life to what it is. All those relationships I could have been forming and getting my heart broken over were put on the back burner.

I wanted to build something that was going to outlast me, and I have.

Mom hums and eats some more popcorn. “I don’t think you’re being honest with yourself right now. If this man meant nothingto you, you wouldn’t be spending time with him instead of watching rom-com movies with me.”

“It’s not like that between the two of us.” I sigh and stretch my legs out, putting my feet on the coffee table.

“Then what is it like? This is the first guy you’ve even mentioned around me since you were in school.”

“That’s because there hasn’t been anyone memorable since college.”

Mom eyes me like she doesn’t quite believe me. “If you don’t want to talk about him, you don’t have to, but it seems like this man is starting to make a pretty big difference in your life.”

“I wouldn’t say that he’s making a big difference. Just a difference.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “If you’re being this avoidant about him, I would say that you’ve got it bad. Maybe even worse than you had it for that guy in college. What was his name?”

“Grayson.” I swallow hard, squeezing my eyes shut and bracing for my mom’s reaction. “It’s the same man I’m seeing now.”

Mom’s hand flies to her mouth before she starts laughing. “Oh, no. How did the two of you end up together?”

“The company I’m doing all that work for belongs to his father.”

“So, you’re dating the boss’s son? That’s scandalous, Jade.”

My entire body ignites as I roll my eyes. “Mom. It isn’t like that at all. We just happen to be spending time with each other.”

“Sure, if that’s what the kids are calling it these days. You know, at least in my day, we had the decency to say that we were sleeping with each other.”

“Mom!”

She cackles and puts the bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table, muting the movie before turning to me. “All right, so tell me all about this Grayson. You were pretty tight-lipped about him back in the day, and I want some of the details now.”

I bury my face in my hands, laughing as she tries to pry them away. “You don’t want to know any of the details from when we were in college. We were horrible to each other back then.”

“Well, something must have changed for the two of you to be getting along so well now.”

“I think we just got older and got a better understanding of what both of us were going through back then.” I nestle deeper into the cushions, staring at the couple on the screen. “It’s not going to turn into anything more serious than that though, so don’t get your hopes up.”

Mom scoffs. “I’ll get my hopes up all I want. I think it means something that he’s the only man you’ve ever come home talking about, even if you don’t think that it’s going to go anywhere.”

I sigh, grabbing the remote and starting the movie again.

Her hand smooths through my hair. “One of these days, you’re going to see that you’re worthy of every ounce of love a man has to give you, and you’re going to feel like that piece that’s been missing is finally home.”

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