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"What does that mean?" he asked.
I shrugged. "It's...we're...I don't know. You probably know that he's married, right?"
Jared nodded. "My grandfather was actually really good friends with Stan Keith, Miranda's father. Our families have known each other for years. I was actually really surprised when I saw you and Sterling together, to tell you the truth, because she's always talking about him."
I cringed. Jared was on a first-name basis with Brandon's wife. And yeah, that night at the symphony had probably looked suspect to a lot of people who had known about Brandon's marital status. Everyone, it turned out, but me.
"Right. Well, then you probably know that they're in the process of getting a divorce. We're...taking a pause until it's finished."
It seemed safe enough to say. Let him know I wasn't really available without blowing Brandon's cover.
"I know what most people know," Jared replied as he turned off the highway. "That he filed a few years ago and hasn't done much since to move it along."
"That's because his wife wants to contest it," I countered. "She's nuts and won't let him go."
Jared just gave a skeptical shrug. "Is that what he said?"
"That's not fair."
Jared shrugged again. "I don't know him, but I do know Miranda. She's not a psycho. Maybe that's just what he's telling you."
We sat in awkward silence again while Jared drove down the congested streets by the Garden and into the North End. I crossed my arms over my stomach and tried not to let the seeds of doubt plant in my mind. Brandon and I were just starting to rebuild what we had. I wasn't going to let some rich kid who was clearly on the wrong side of the situation poison that process.
We drove down my crooked, cobbled street, and Jared easily found a parking space. The guy had the best parking karma I'd ever seen. After he turned off the engine, he gave me a sympathetic look.
"I'll say one more thing, and then I'll leave it alone. I think you can do better, Skylar. I think you deserve better."
Someone like you? I wanted to ask. But instead I continued to sit with my mouth pressed into a thin line as I stared at the soft green fabric of my skirt. Jared reached out to squeeze my fist for a second, but when I didn't respond, he pulled his hand back.
"All right," he said with a little more acerbity. "Message received. Should we go up and get to work?"
I gave a brief nod, then turned to let myself out of the car. There wasn't anything more I could say, and we needed to focus on the bar exam instead of my complex love life.
Jared followed me up to the apartment, where Eric was already sitting in the living area with his study materials spread over the coffee table.
"Hey, sports fans!" Eric greeted us. "I got the homework divided into threes. I figure we can teach it to each other and then do a review. Thoughts?"
"Sounds good to me," Jared said as he joined Eric on the couch.
"I'm just going to change clothes," I said, and headed to my room, ignoring the way Jared's eyes followed me.
While I changed into a pair of cozy black harem pants and a gray tank top, my phone buzzed on my bureau: another text from Brandon.
Brandon: so i never asked: how's the day, beautiful?
I smiled half-heartedly, even though I knew he couldn't see it. No matter how hard I tried, Jared's words still rankled.
Me: Good. study session in a few. what's on your agenda this afternoon?
Brandon: a barrel of laughs. I'd rather be studying for the bar again.
Before I could ask what he meant, my phone buzzed again, this time with a photograph. I opened it up to see a screenshot of Brandon's schedule, where most of the afternoon had been blocked off with "mediation with Miranda."
This time my smile was genuine. Jared had no idea what he was talking about.
Me: good luck.
I tossed my other clothes into my laundry basket. My phone buzzed again, and we traded a few more texts.
