Page 75 of Keep Your Friends Close and Your… Work Enemy Closer?

There was no way in hell I could tell him any of that, so I simply stared at him, wondering what I should say.

"Come on, Dee. What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking about my last boyfriend." There. That would for sure stop him from asking me anything more. No normal guy would even want to go there.

"What about him?"

Well, I supposed Jared couldn't exactly be called normal, could he? "Just that it's been a while."

He smiled at me, and I had a little trouble focusing. "How long?" he asked.

"A couple years, I think. I don't remember. I've been so focused on work that I haven't exactly had any time for dating."

"Understandable."

Something about his tone was so relaxed and easy, and I had this sense that Jared didn't judge me,wouldn'tjudge me, and it was beyond refreshing. All my life I'd been judged and found lacking. But with Jared, I didn't feel that, and I suddenly wanted to know more about him.

"What about you? When was your last relationship?"

His face blank, he stared at me a beat, almost like he was pondering what to say, and I wondered if I'd overstepped. But if he could ask me, I could ask him right back.

"About a year ago," he finally said.

"Yeah? Was it serious?"

Looking like he'd rather drink poison than discuss it, he nodded. "We were engaged."

"Oh. Wow." And now I had a million more questions. As well as a sick feeling in my gut just imagining Jared down on one knee asking some girl to marry him because of course he'd still be hung up on this woman. He had to be.

"When my mom and grandma needed my help, that's when she called it quits," he said, his voice dull. "She said she couldn't be with someone who lived with his family like that."

Indignation rose up in me. "Are you kidding? Even though you were clearly doing the right thing and helping out your loved ones?"

Jared shot me an unexpected smile. "Right? I said good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Shaking my head, I still couldn't quite believe it. "Had you already set the date for the wedding and everything?"

"Yep. It was about ten months out, had it all booked, wedding planner, the whole thing in motion. But then, my mom lost her sight in one eye, had all these migraines... she's doing much better now but still could use a hand. And my grandma, well, she had to have hip surgery, and still needs another, and she's not getting any younger." His shoulders went up in a shrug. "So that's a big part of my life now."

I couldn't tell by his blank expression if he was deeply unhappy by that or if he'd accepted it and he was okay with the turn his life had taken. "And that's a good thing or a bad thing?" I ventured to ask.

"Mostly a good thing. My mom is pretty laid-back, and my grandma... well, you've met her. She's a character. And she's a great cook so I can't complain. But the real thing is..." He leaned forward a bit, his expression serious. "She won't be around forever. And I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't stepped in to help."

My chest squeezed—that cold thing in my chest called a heart actually fucking squeezed—spreading around a warmth I didn't know existed. "You absolutely did the right thing then. I would have done the same. Well, um, maybe."

He raised a brow. "Maybe?"

"My grandmas aren't around anymore, but they were both amazing, so yeah. But my mom..." My voice drifted off as I thought about how to characterize my mom, and my dad, and whether or not I could live with them at this point in my life.

"Yeah? What about your mom?"

"It's complicated."

"I've got time."

"It's like two in the morning, and we have to leave early to go back."

"I don't care about sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead. So tell me..."

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