Page 71 of The Forever Rule

“No, I don’t think secret families are too normal. I, however, was blessedly boring and normal,” I put in, wanting to steer the topic away from the hard parts, at least for now.

“I would love to hear about boring and normal.”

I shook my head. “My mom’s a lawyer, Dad’s a firefighter.”

He raised a brow. “Really?”

“Really. They worked a lot, but between all of my after-school programs and sports and everything, it really worked out that I could see my family often, and yet they were out of the house more often than not.”

“And you’re still in touch with them?”

I nodded. “I had that walk with my mom this morning. And I have dinner with them often. I’m very blessed with my parents. I’m an only kid, which sounds a little shocking with your eleven siblings.”

He shook his head. “I could barely keep up with the seven before,” he said dryly.

“Totally. I can’t even imagine.”

“So, blessed and boring. Any ex-boyfriends I should worry about?” he said, surprising me with the straightforwardness.

I swallowed hard. “No. I had two serious relationships in my early twenties, but they didn’t go anywhere.” I shrugged as I said it, and honestly, I didn’t feelanything. They had both been nice guys, but nothing had happened. I didn’t feel that heat. Nothing like I felt right now. And that should worry me.

“That’s oddly surprising,” he said, as he stood up and took the plate to the sink. He just raised that brow at me, as he washed his dishes and set them in the drying rack. I stared at him, wondering why this felt so domestic. And normal.

“One ended after college because he wanted to go to grad school on the east coast, and I wanted to stay here. And the other was right out of college, and we just didn’t suit.”

“Did he want you barefoot in the kitchen making him a sandwich?” he asked, that smirk on his face.

This time I rolled my eyes. “Pretty much actually. He wanted marriage and babies, and he didn’t want marriage and babies with me. And honestly, I didn’t want that with him so I wasn’t too heartbroken when we broke up.”

“So no current boyfriends.”

I scowled at him. “I’ve kissed you how many times now? No, no serious boyfriends at all. But what about you?” I asked, softly. “Is there someone I should worry about?

Other than him of course.

He shook his head. “I don’t share. And I don’t cheat. I was in a serious relationship for most of my twenties, and I was engaged.”

I choked on my own spit and blinked at him.

“What?”

“Yes, I was engaged. Meredith was a wonderful woman, and in the end we didn’t suit.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. I hadn’t known he had been engaged. Although, when was I supposed to have figured that out. “Can I ask what happened?”

He shrugged again, and yet I wasn’t quite sure if he was as nonchalant as he was trying to seem.

“She broke it off.” He said it so succinctly, that it took me a moment to catch up.

And something inside of me twisted, just ever so slightly. As in the other woman had walked away. And was he still thinking of her? No, I couldn’t let that get in my head, and yet, there it was.

“But I would’ve done it soon anyway.”

I felt like my emotions were all over the place in this moment. “Oh?”

“She was nice. Good at her job. Pretty,” he said, that humor in his gaze again, and I narrowed my gaze at him.

“Oh really?”

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