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“It’s speculative.”

“Hmm.”

He leans in, and I don’t fight it, don’t even attempt to pull away from his mouth on mine. My lashes flutter as his lips move languidly, his mouth tasting of syrup and appropriately giving me a rush that goes straight to my head. I’m a little dazed when he pulls away, and it’s clear that I’m fighting a losing battle here.

“Overruled, I’d say,” he says softly, his green eyes shining with amusement.

I blow out a breath, running my fingers through my slightly tangled hair. “This is crazy, Ezra.”

“Is it?”

“We’re opposing counsel.”

“Yeah, but fighting is sort of foreplay for us. I don’t foresee that being a problem.”

I narrow my eyes, but I can’t exactly disagree. “I’m still going to do everything I can to win.”

“I would expect nothing less, Dani.” He takes a sip from his glass of juice, shrugging. “It’s just a job. It doesn’t have to have any bearing on what we do outside of the courtroom.”

“And your fa—” I frown, correcting myself. “What about Alexander?”

Ezra’s jaw tenses. “Probably best to keep it from him. At least for now.”

There’s a crackle of tension as we’re both most likely remembering what he told me last night, and the instinct to soothe him is powerful. I give in to it, sliding my hand over his knee. “I’m…sorry, Ezra. About your mother. About all of it.”

“It’s just…how things are,” he says with a sigh. “My mother has towantto leave him for there to be any real change. Half the time, she’s still convinced that she deserves this. Not to mentionthat she’s still clinging to the way things used to be. He practically has her constantly begging for scraps of his affection.”

“That’s…tough.”

“Right,” he huffs. “Be grateful your parents are so well adjusted postdivorce. I’m jealous of how well they get along.”

I bristle, feeling irritated by his casual assessment but then guilty for even feeling that way. Sure, I have hang-ups about my parents, but my experience isnothingcompared to Ezra’s. Honestly, the entire thing with his mother is casting a new perspective on my situation.

“You know,” I tell him, wanting to give him something after everything he’s shared with me. “I was so mad at them for so long.”

“Because of the divorce?”

I shake my head. “No, I…” I breathe out a sigh. “They lied to me. Foryears, they let me believe they were the happiest couple that ever existed. It was all a fucking lie.”

“People fall out of love all the time. It’s not uncommon for couples to try to make it work for the child.”

I laugh derisively. “There was no ‘falling out of love,’ ” I tell him. “My parents were best friends growing up. Both of their dads were alcoholics, and they lived near each other. They spent most of their lives taking care of each other. Then in college…” I feel his hand cover mine where it’s still resting on his knee, squeezing gently. It makes it easier to keep talking. “They thought maybe they were supposed to be more. They realized after one night that the love they had for each other was nothing more than friendship, that it never would be, and thatshouldhave been that, but…”

“They had you,” he offers gently.

I nod. “They thought it would be easy to raise me together.Neither of them had ever dated seriously, so to them, marrying their best friend and giving their child a two-parent household—something neither of them ever had—seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“When did you find out?”

“I found the divorce paperwork the day of my high school graduation. They didn’t mean for me to find out that way, but after…they sat me down and basically told me that my entire life was a lie. That they’d spent all those years together because ofme.” I cast him a forlorn glance. “I stole half their life from them.”

“Hey.” His fingers tighten around my hand, and he leans in closer. “No, you didn’t. They’re adults, and they made a choice because they loved you. None of that falls on you.”

“Maybe you’re right. I’ve just…I’ve been so angry for so long.”

“Well…I can promise you this, Dani,” he says gently. “There are worse things than having parents who love youtoomuch.”

I wince. “God, I’m sorry. I’m babbling about this stupid shit when you’re—”