“Not even close,” he said with a laugh that lacked his usual sincerity. “They’re…well, they’re a lot to take care of. I have to make sure the bills are paid, since neither of them will hire a business manager, then there’s the reminding them of birthdays and important dates, and yeah, I have to check in but, despite it all, they are pretty amazing. My mom finds the good in almost every situation, and my dad, well, he’s got a way of looking at the world that always makes me sit back and reevaluate what I’m doing. They’re both smart, loving, and completely oblivious to all of the little things that have to be done to function in the real world.”

Chelle pivoted in her seat, her hand dropping to his thigh. “Is that why you do what you do? All of the mansplaining and telling people what to do?”

“Someone has to, and I’m the oldest, so there it is.” He drained the rest of the wine in his glass. “I make sure they don’t Absentminded Professor their lives into a mess. They’re good people. They’re just preoccupied. A lot. You have brothers or sisters?”

She shook her head. “Only child.”

“Do you talk to your mom still?”

“No, uh…she died when I was in high school.”

He reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Chelle mentally pressed back on all of the anxiety and hurt that started to swirl around in her chest. “Dad and I weren’t close after I left the family fold, only the obligatory call on birthdays and holidays. If it wasn’t for the family foundation, I’m not sure we would have talked beyond that.” Realization of the emotional black hole they were walking toward hit her, and she pulled up before they crossed into the weepy stage of wine drinking. “Okay, we’re supposed to be celebrating killing it at the IKEA scavenger hunt, not falling down the rabbit hole of how our parents messed us up.”

Nash dropped his arm across the back of the booth again, his fingertips brushing against her shoulder. “Tell me about the foundation.”

Chelle relaxed, and most of the sadness stirred to the surface by thoughts of her mom settled.

“It’s small, but we have a solid crew of people who really care about helping people, and Hadley Donovan, our fundraising consultant, has made it possible for us to do that.” Hiring Hadley after she’d just started her own business had been a risk, but wow, had it paid off. “We offer rental assistance, food subsidies, educational and training opportunities, and anything else we can possibly fund that can get real-world results for the folks that need it. I love making things better and helping people to flourish.”