Keeley couldn't take it anymore. She finally blurted out what had been increasingly on her mind.

"If you noticed all these things about me from the beginning, why didn't you ever say anything?"

Aaron looked at her blankly. "I already told you, I didn't know how to love somebody back then. Now I realize I kept too much to myself."

"Like what?"

He shifted nervously, refusing to answer. She sighed. "Just tell me. I won't get weird about it. I've been wondering about this for a long time."

His hands gripped his bowl of melted ice cream. He refused to meet her eyes.

"A lot of things. I should have told you how much you meant to me—how you brought warmth into my cold world, how much I loved having you drag me around, experiencing new things through your eyes. Your excitement has always been contagious.

"I never made it clear, but you were my first real friend, my best friend. I didn't even know I could care about other people until I met you. I should have told you how brilliant, beautiful, and funny you were; how simply seeing you could make everything better.

"Most importantly, I should have told you I loved you. Because I did, more than anything. I was just an idiot who couldn't get the words out because I'd never heard them from anyone else before you."

Well, she had asked for it. But that was way more information than Keeley bargained for!

Aaron still wouldn't look at her, but she could hear the sincerity in his voice. For once, he wasn't speaking monotonously. There was more emotion than she'd ever heard from him.

He truly did love her the whole time. Unbelievable. He had said it before, but she hadn't really believed it because his actions contradicted his words.

With everything she'd seen lately—realizing he was an awkward, lonely person unused to dealing with people—she could almost believe it now. This was crazy. Everything she thought she knew was wrong.

She'd said she wouldn't make it weird, so she decided a casual approach was best.

In an overly dramatic, teasing tone, she said, "You really never said it. I have no idea why I even married you, since you never once told me you loved me."

He caught her tone and seemed relieved. He teased back, "Probably because I'm so handsome."

Keeley laughed. "And full of yourself, too! I can't deny it though; I did call you beautiful the other day."

"So you only married me for my looks? I'm wounded."

"Hey, it's better than only marrying you for your money."

Aaron sobered instantly. "I know you're not like that. I'm only messing around."

"I know."

A commercial played in the ensuing silence. She'd nearly forgotten she was supposed to be watching TV. She fumbled for the remote to skip it.

"In all honesty, since I was such an idiot, why did you marry me?" he asked.

She wouldn't have answered if his tone hadn't been slightly curious. She'd asked him a personal question; it was fair game.

Keeley looked straight ahead at the TV. "You were my best friend, too. I didn't care about things like that back then; I was just happy to be with you."

He sighed and finally turned to face her. "Keeley, where did we go wrong? We were happy at one point, weren't we?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

"I do, but I want to hear it from your perspective."

That was a surprise. Even more surprising was that they were having a civilized conversation. Well, he was mentally in his sixties. That had to count for something.

"I didn't belong in your world. You tried to force a square peg into a round hole, and I was a doormat who let you, without saying anything. And then you kept it a secret that people were actively trying to hurt me. That sucked."

Aaron sighed. "That's what I thought, though I'd have used different words. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not really a part of that world anymore. It's easier for me to fit into yours."

Keeley hadn't thought of it that way, but he had been fitting into her world: eating non-gourmet food, hanging out with her dad, participating in silly Christmas traditions, adopting a rescue pet. They even had some of the same friends now.

She knew where he was going. He believed their problems were fixable. Were they? The biggest obstacles had always been communication and the people in his life who were against her.

They were communicating now, but that didn't change anything. Even if she wanted to try again—and she didn't—she wouldn't put herself in danger again.

"Just because you aren't an active part of it doesn't mean it isn't there. You're still related to your parents. There are still people like Lacy Knighton trying to get a piece of you. I saw her at the bridal salon with Jennica. She told me she was picking out a dress to marry you."

Aaron scowled. "I wondered why you thought I was getting engaged to her. She's completely insane. My father set me up, which is why I had to ask Aiden for that ridiculous favor."

She cracked a smile. She still couldn't believe he'd faked a proposal to a man in drag just to get Lacy to back off. It was too ridiculous.

But that posed another problem. Alistair would expect him to marry that fake fiancée eventually, or get engaged to someone else.

"Your life is too complicated. You still have to deal with your father."

"Not for much longer. I'm confident I can kick him out of the company within the next two years. Then I'll never have to deal with him again."

Keeley wouldn't have wondered how someone could talk about their father so callously if she wasn't aware of what that monster did. Aaron's reaction was perfectly justified.

But no matter what he believed, he was still one of the most sought-after men in the city. She wanted a normal life. Those two things couldn't mix.

"You'll always be Aaron Hale," she said simply.

He gave her a small, sad smile. "You didn't used to think that way. You were the only person who saw me as just Aaron."

"That was before I suffered because I shared your last name."

Aaron didn't say anything, which probably meant he understood. They finished the episode in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. That little talk was oddly freeing.

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