Run, Girl (If You Can)

Alice tried to shield Keeley as best she could but the crowd pressed in on them further and further. She was about ready to simply curl up like an armadillo with her arms over her head on the ground until a familiar voice yelled out.

The crowd buzzed frantically, whispering to each other because they recognized the person who had spoken. He drawled, "Can't we all give my sister-in-law and her friend some space?"

She had very mixed feelings seeing Gray. On the one hand, she was grateful for a timely intervention. On the other, Aaron was positive he had murdered Lacy and she was pretty sure he was right.

Whatever he had done, he still helped her just now and she needed to be gracious about it. She couldn't let him know they were suspicious.

"Thanks, Gray," she said as he cleared some space for her on the sidewalk.

"You two know each other?" somebody dared to ask.

"Why yes, of course. Aaron and I have been aware of each other's existence for quite some time. In fact, I was having dinner with them when Keeley had to go to the hospital to give birth. My niece and nephew are quite lovely."

He gave off an air of casual elegance with his hands in the pockets of his designer suit. His words were simple but they gave off a very clear meaning—mess with my family and you mess with me.

Gray wasn't cold and frightening like his brother but beneath his five layers of charm there was a definite darkness that people could sense in this moment. The crowd backed off a little bit after his speech.

"Let's get you ladies home, shall we? It's a bit late for such beautiful women to be wandering the streets alone," he said in a suave tone, offering each of them an arm.

Well, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She accepted and nodded for Alice to do the same. The three of them made their way to Gray's car in a nearby parking garage.

Keeley didn't exactly want to get into his car but she was fairly certain he wouldn't do anything to her for Aaron's sake. Especially since Alice was with her.

"Dearest sister-in-law you really need to watch out for yourself," he clucked. "Aaron would be devastated if anything happened to you. You can't let the rabble plow over you like that."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "It caught me off-guard, that's all. I didn't expect people to be able to recognize me on the street."

"You might want to lay low for a while until this all blows over," Gray suggested. "By the way…who is your lovely friend?"

"Alice Wheatley," she said quickly.

Keeley shot her a look. Introducing herself by her maiden name before she had changed it back showed that she had some interest in the guy. This wasn't good.

Not only was Gray a suspected murderer, he was a known playboy. The last thing Alice needed while she was lonely and vulnerable was getting involved with a man like that.

He cranked up the charm. "The pleasure is all mine Miss Wheatley."

Alice had already removed her wedding ring because she didn't want the reminder. She wasn't outside in the sun often enough to have a noticeable ring tan line. Right now she looked as single as could be.

And she was just Gray's usual type too, according to the tabloids. She had long legs and a face that could grace the cover of magazines. What was a non offensive way for Keeley to tell him that she was off limits?

It was time to get the attention off Alice. "Gray, I appreciate the save but what were you doing there?"

"I was at the auto parts store next door. One of my taillights went out and I needed a replacement bulb. You're lucky I happened to see you in the crowd as I was leaving."

Keeley could tell he was itching to ask how Aaron had reacted to sharing the truth about his parentage to everyone but didn't want to while Alice was in the car. His question ended up being a bit simpler.

"How is Aaron these days? I haven't heard from him in weeks."

"Probably because he's so busy. He's had a lot to do regarding the handover. He doesn't like staying late at the office though so he's been doing a lot of work from home," she explained.

Gray showed off his most debonair smile. "I wouldn't want to stay late either if I had a beautiful wife waiting for me at home."

Alice bought his line but Keeley rolled her eyes. Ugh. No wonder Aaron didn't really like him. He was as fake as they come.

Still, she had to remain civil because he had already proven himself to be a formidable enemy once. Keeping him on their side was crucial. She had to squash down her true feelings and be as friendly as possible.

"You better not let Aaron hear you say that or he might get the wrong idea," she said lightly.

He seemed pleased by the teasing because his smile became a bit more genuine. The guy really was desperate for familial relationships.

"Heaven forbid that," Gray laughed. "I've already seen how protective he is of you; I'd hate to see what he's like when he gets jealous."

Keeley had seen it before and it wasn't pretty. The funny thing was that if Aaron hadn't originally gotten jealous about seeing her with Ryan on Valentine's Day last year, her life right now would be very different.

His jealousy prompted her to try and end things earlier than she thought she would and she repeated one of the last things he ever said to her in their first life back to him. If she hadn't done that, would either of them ever realized the truth about their rebirth?

She was starting to like him back then already so they might have still ended up together eventually but the twins wouldn't have been born. Even if they had developed a relationship without knowing the truth, they wouldn't have the solid relationship they did now.

Going through all those months of pain led to some very necessary conversations that helped them grow back together. It had been a long and difficult road but looking back Keeley didn't wish things had happened differently.

Things happened exactly how they were supposed to. The concept of fate had grown on her after all.

"I wouldn't recommend it," Keeley said back with a slight smile on her face.