Aaron hated Thanksgiving. It was catered by a Michelin-starred chef, but the event—held in a hotel banquet hall and attended by some of New York's most prominent families—felt antithetical to the holiday's spirit.

Keeley had always disliked these affairs. In the early years of their marriage, she'd argued that Thanksgiving was about family and that she wanted to be with her father.

He should have listened to her. Anything would have been better than this, especially with Lacy Knighton directly across from him, constantly attempting conversations he repeatedly squashed. It was infuriating.

Aiden hadn't found evidence of Lacy blackmailing Dr. Rothman, but Aaron still distrusted her completely. He knew better than anyone what she was capable of.

This dinner was utterly pointless. He didn't care about anyone here. His only business contact in the room was his dummy shareholder, Alice, and she was preoccupied with her husband's family.

Keeley used to attend these events with him, hating every minute. He shouldn't have subjected her to these "piranhas."

What was she doing now? Probably enjoying a normal holiday with her father.

Aaron opened his phone to text her, but a new Instagram notification appeared. He only followed Keeley and his two inept subordinates—because they (mostly Aiden) had begged him after discovering he had an account.

He wouldn't post anything until he was with Keeley again. Then, he'd only post pictures of her and their family. This account wasn't linked to his name or email; it was secure.

Keeley had posted a picture: she was sandwiched between two beaming friends in front of her father's bookshelf.

He liked and commented as usual, then frowned. One girl was the Peruvian roommate Keeley had mentioned, but who was the guy? He looked vaguely familiar.

Aaron searched Keeley's older posts. Most were selfies, pictures of her cat, or group shots. Her roommates appeared frequently, but other people—especially in older photos—were unfamiliar. But that guyhe was in almost as many pictures as the roommates!

Scrolling back to 2006, he found pictures of the man dating back to Keeley's freshman year of college. So, she'd met him then.

Feeling nauseous, stuck in the stuffy banquet hall, Aaron texted his contact labeled "Wife" to remind her of his existence: "Are you having a nice Thanksgiving?"

He received no reply. She'd probably gotten busy after posting and set her phone down.

Returning to Instagram, he investigated posts by valenovela, rythescienceguy, and jenny_benny—frequent companions on Keeley's page.

The man's name was Ryan Bradley. Aaron would need to ask Aiden to investigate. Then, something on Jennica's page caught his eye: a group photo from a Halloween party last month. Ryan was in it, along with Cameron. He'd met Cameron? Why hadn't he mentioned it?

Aaron composed an angry text to Aiden, demanding an explanation.

Cameron thoroughly enjoyed deceiving Jennica's mother. In the 24 hours at the Stevens' house, he'd had ample opportunity to put his arm around her, kiss her cheek, or the top of her head.

He was a hit with little Benny, thanks to his experience as an uncle. Anna adored him because of his job (how she'd raised a woman like Jennica was a mystery to him).

Brian was tougher. He played the protective older brother, but his wife seemed to like Cameron, which was a plus.

This family was tolerable; he could visit a couple of times a year. Worse in-laws existed—Alistair and Roslyn Hale immediately came to mind; Keeley wouldn't stand a chance if Aaron ever won her over.

Aaron, ever omniscient, texted while they were eating pie: "Why didn't you tell me about Ryan Bradley?" The chill radiating from the message was palpable; Aaron was furious.

Jennica noticed something was wrong. "What's wrong?" she whispered, taking another bite of pie (mostly whipped cream).

"Hurricane Aaron."

She snorted whipped cream out of her nose. Unexpectedly cute. "What does he want? You're on vacation!"

He couldn't tell her his boss was hopelessly obsessed with her roommate. Besides being weird, she might think he'd pursued her to get close to Keeley. That wasn't true; their meeting at the Halloween party was coincidental, and he'd liked her instantly.

"It's hard to explain…"

"Short version."

"He's jealous of someone and taking it out on me." That was the simplest explanation.

"Jealousthis isn't about that girl he's obsessed with, is it?"

Cameron sprayed pie. "He told you about that?!"

"He didn't name names, but yes. One conversation, and I got the feeling he's really in love with her. It's kind of sweet," she admitted.

He wondered how sweet she'd find it knowing the girl was her best friend. "Nothing about that guy is sweet, trust me."

"What are you whispering about?" Brian barked.

"Nothing!" they said in unison.

"Nothing important," Jennica amended. "We were talking about a friend—nobody you'd know."

"You have the same friends?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

"Of course! We've been together a while," Cameron said casually.

He enjoyed riling Brian. He'd never dealt with an overprotective brother before.

"Then why isn't it Facebook official?"

"I'm not on Facebook much. We should change that, shouldn't we?" he winked at his soon-to-be-not-fake girlfriend.

Jennica gaped; this wasn't the plan. He knew what she was thinking: how would they explain changing it back to single in a few days?

He subtly nodded 'trust me,' and she complied. Their relationship status was updated; comments poured in.

Cameron pocketed his phone and hummed. Everything was proceeding as planned.

After finishing the pie, he suggested a walk to aid digestion, despite the 45-degree Fahrenheit temperature. They needed to talk.

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