“Right. That was me being an ass.”
This time, she laughed. “You’re learning.” Curiosity lit her gaze. “You had to raise your younger brother? Did something happen to your parents?”
He always avoided talking about his past. Other than his brother, he wasn’t one to share emotions or delve into painful history. But he found himself telling her anyway. “My mom took off when Nate was about ten. Dad pretty much fell apart in a drunken stupor, so there was no one around. We didn’t have any other family. I just took over.”
Ella stared at him for a long while. “He was Luke’s age? How old were you?”
He shrugged. “Fourteen. I was able to handle it.” He couldn’t help the proud grin that escaped. “Nate’s a genius. He worked for NASA and now he’s employed by a private company working on space travel.”
“He got through college with a scholarship?”
“Half of it.”
“Did loans pay for the other half?”
“Nah, I didn’t want him in debt. I worked a few jobs and saved so he had most of it paid.”
“You worked a few jobs when you were a teenager? And paid for your brother’s college on your own?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah. Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal. I was working steady by sixteen. Dad had the mortgage and main bills paid at least, even though we rarely saw him. I’d never been great in school anyway, and Nate is gifted. He got the brains in the family. It made sense for him to go.”
“I see,” she said softly. Why was she looking at him funny? As if she was seeing him for the first time? “But you’re in college now.”
“I’m going for management. The company I work for won’t promote anyone who doesn’t have a degree.”
“You decided on Verily. That’s a hard school to get in to.”
“They offered me credits for life experience and my current work, so I was able to chop some time off. I got lucky, too. Scored high enough on the college entry exams.”
“Did you go the full four years?”
He wondered at the odd inquisition but kept answering. “Nah, I stuffed four years into two.”
“Other than my class, what’s your GPA?”
“3.9.”
“But your brother is the one with the brains, huh?”
Her gaze stripped away the lies and got to the truth. No wonder she was a good teacher and an awesome mom. No one could hide under a stare like that, whether he wanted to or not. He’d never talked about himself this much before. Hell, the whole evening with Tracey they’d flirted, talked pop culture, and discussed her acting career. Nothing about him. Yet, here he was, spilling his guts while he stood in his neighbor’s doorway.
Suddenly uneasy by everything she seemed to see, he cleared his throat, trying to get back his footing. Another cliché. Why was he noticing every simplified thought when it had never bothered him before?
He gave her a smile and fell back into his usual female mode. “Hope I didn’t ruin your Valentine’s Day. I know it’s an important day to women.”
She shuddered. “I despise Valentine’s Day. I think it was created to completely torture the male species and force women to feel bad about themselves if they’re not in a picture-perfect, sugar-coated, commercially driven relationship.”
He lifted his brow. Who would’ve thought they’d actually agree on one thing? The standard words fell from his lips without thought. “I’m sure there’s a line of men who are waiting to take you out tonight. You’re pretty as a picture. You just have to get out there. My offer to babysit still stands.”
He waited for her to blush or smile, but instead she glared. “That’s the stupidest line I’ve ever heard in my life. We both know there’s no line. I’m not pretty. And you’re using those ridiculous clichés again that I hate. Why do you have to cheapen a genuine conversation with such drivel?”
His mouth fell open. “I was only trying to give you a compliment. Make you feel better about Valentine’s Day.”
“No, you weren’t. You were trying to make yourself feel better by believing inane lines spoken to women actually make them feel good. You were being lazy because God forbid, you take the time to actually find out who someone really is. Your so-called compliments insult both of us. Don’t you ever get real, Connor Dunkle?”
Shock poured through his system. How had this happened? Her son vandalized his car and suddenly she was insulting him? He dealt with reality every single damn day. “Hey, I’m the one being attacked for being nice. Ever consider that your adversarial ways are blocking you from getting a date?”