Run, Girl (If You Can)

The Halls and their guest spent about an hour singing carols between downing glasses of eggnog and eating the treats Keeley had baked. Aaron didn't know most of the words so he had to look them up on his phone, which was both funny and sad.

She hadn't realized how terrible holidays must have been for him as a little kid that he didn't even know the words to popular Christmas songs. No wonder he was indifferent to her desire to be festive for most of their relationship—he had never been exposed to the fun things about Christmastime enough to care. It was just another day to him.

He may have all the money in the world but his life kind of sucked. Aaron wasn't able to follow his dreams—did he even have any?—or do fun things.

His parents dictated everything for him. The one time she ever witnessed him defy them was when he married her. Both of them regretted that decision fairly quickly.

In her past life, she and Aaron got married two years ago. Why hadn't he caved to his parents' pressure and gotten engaged to a socialite yet? Unless…he already had.

As far as Keeley knew, he spent all his time not working either with her or texting her. He didn't have time to have a real girlfriend but that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't formally engaged to someone he didn't care about.

She frowned, her attention on the movie playing in front of her long gone. A quick glance at Aaron next to her on the couch showed him appearing happy and relaxed though his expression was still neutral as ever. She could just tell; his aura was different.

Was he engaged to someone else? If he was…why hadn't he told her? Because he liked her and wanted their association to continue?

All along Keeley knew this friendship they had reached was temporary. Once he married his socialite wife she would go back to her world as if nothing had changed. She had been banking on it. So why did she suddenly feel a bit regretful?

She would miss him. She hadn't anticipated that. After he left her life, she would miss Aaron Hale. When had that happened?

He had wormed his way back into her life but she hadn't expected him to make it as far as her heart. Keeley didn't like him—she wasn't that stupid—but she would definitely notice his absence. How strange.

For the second time that night Keeley found herself wishing he was a normal guy. When he inevitably left…would she ever find someone who was so nice to her again?

Feeling oddly bereft about something that hadn't even happened yet, she scooted closer to him so their thighs and shoulders were touching. She had to enjoy this while she could.

Aaron stiffened at the contact before hesitantly moving the arm she had pinned to his side to rest it on top of the back of the couch. Over the next couple minutes it inched closer and closer until it was around her shoulder.

She shot him a questioning look, which he ignored. She would have asked what he was doing if her dad wasn't there. Thankfully he was too engrossed by the movie to notice what was happening right next to him.

Keeley adjusted herself to fit more comfortably in his embrace. She had officially lost her mind! Why was she allowing this? It was only encouraging something that would never happen.

Robert fell asleep before he noticed his daughter's predicament. She remained with Aaron's arm around her until the movie ended. They may as well exchange gifts now while he dad wasn't watching.

"Hey, I want to give you your present now."

"Later; I'm comfortable right here."

She sighed. Of course he would make things difficult. "Aaron, I promise we'll come right back and watch another movie. It'll only take a couple of minutes."

"Alright. But I get to open yours first."

She hopped up freeing herself from his arm and fetched the present she had left on the table. "Okay, so this is kind of dumb but…"

"I'm sure it's less dumb than you think," he said as he tore open the wrapping paper.

He pulled out the gift, a white mug Keeley had written '#1 Errand Boy' on in Sharpie with doodles of purple and yellow stars surrounding the words. To get the Sharpie to stay on without washing off, she had followed a tutorial she found online and baked the mug in the oven after writing on it.

Aaron didn't speak, simply stared at the mug. She felt a bit self-conscious. Maybe an inside joke gift wasn't the best idea for a man like him.

"I told you it was dumb. I'm sor—"

He cut her off by pulling her into his arms and burying his face in the top of her hood. "Don't apologize. I love it."

"Really?" she asked doubtfully, daring to peek up at his face.

His expression was soft and his dark blue eyes were abnormally warm. He meant it; he wasn't just saying it to make her feel better. She suddenly felt a bit shy and looked away.

He pulled back reluctantly and handed her the gift he prepared. "Here."

She lifted the lid off the box and gasped. Not only was the newest iPhone inside, but it already had a case on it. A fun one. This was something she would have picked herself if she could afford it.

"How did you—"

"I saw your post about your broken phone. It only cost a few hundred dollars; all you have to do is switch out your SIM card."

Keeley was tempted to scoff at the word 'only' referring to a few hundred dollars but had to admit that this was nowhere near the most expensive thing he had bought her. And she really did need a new phone. His timing was perfect.

"Thank you! This will really help me out! The case is awesome too, where did you get it?"

"Online."

"It's exactly the sort of thing I would have gotten for myself," she admitted. It was strange to think how well this Aaron knew her when her Aaron had never paid attention to the things she liked.

Suddenly, Robert made a reappearance behind them, holding a sprig of mistletoe over their heads. Keeley hadn't even realized he was awake. How long had he been listening in?

"Look what I found," he said innocently. "You know what they say about two people being together under the mistletoe."

"Dad! Where did you even get that?!"

"It fell off Mrs. Orne's homemade wreath next door. Go on then, just a quick kiss on the cheek. It's bad luck if you don't."

Oh, she was going to get him for this later! Face flaming, she glanced up at Aaron, who was as nonchalant as ever. He raised his eyebrows at her as if daring her to bring them both bad luck.

Keeley stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on Aaron's waiting cheek as fast as lightning. "There!" she said, still red as a tomato. "Can we get back to watching movies now?"

Aaron and Robert exchanged a glance before simultaneously saying "sure."