Was he angry about Lacy Knighton? Looking at it from Aaron's perspective, he probably thought they were plotting against him together. Graydon would never truly help that boorish woman but Aaron didn't know that.

"If this is about Lacy Knighton, she's just a p.a.w.n. Not even a useful one at that. I have no intention of helping her achieve what she wants," he said lazily with a wave of his hand.

"I don't care what you do with that woman. Stay away from my wife."

Graydon sighed. So much for their first interaction going well. Aaron was furious.

"As you wish. I do hope you'll reconsider. We have so much in common; a friends.h.i.+p would benefit both of us."

"Hand the phone back," he said in a deadly tone.

Doing as he was told, Graydon gave the phone back to Keeley, who seemed relieved. She whispered words of comfort that she was fine and would be going home right away into the phone before hanging up.

"Are you happy now?" she asked wearily.

"Quite."

It wasn't entirely true. That conversation had left much to be desired but at least he had been able to hear Aaron's voice clearly for the first time. He seemed much more real now.

Graydon stood and gave her a charming smile. "It was such a pleasure seeing you again. I'm sure we'll be in touch."

There was no way he was about to let these two go after discovering how entertaining they truly were. He would find a way to win them over.

He made it about half a block away when Keeley cautiously exited the café. When she turned to the side to get into a black car their defensiveness suddenly made a lot more sense. She was obviously pregnant.

Graydon couldn't tell how far along she was but that didn't matter. Alistair was very particular about who he allowed into his family. There was no way he would accept Aaron's child with an ordinary woman. That baby was in danger.

No wonder Aaron was so overprotective! Since he seemed to think Graydon was an enemy, of course he wouldn't want him near his wife and child.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Lacy Knighton tapped him on the shoulder angrily from behind. Had she seen? Did she know?

"h.e.l.lo, I've been trying to get your attention for the past minute," she said in an annoyance.

"Lacy, what are you doing here?" he asked in a less pleasant tone than usual. This new revelation was too shocking; he didn't have time or patience to deal with her right now.

"My father said Aaron's fiancée is going to be out of the country for a few more months. Now is the time to try and get him!" She frowned, noticing his distraction. "What were you staring at?"

"Nothing."

Forget Alistair; if Lacy knew Keeley was pregnant with Aaron's child she would probably turn into a feral animal. She had already drugged the poor woman once simply for eating lunch with him at school. What would she do if she knew they were married?

Graydon used to be jealous of Aaron's life as a Hale. Now he didn't want to be in his shoes in exchange for anything in the world.

No wonder he had left high society. He wanted to live his life in peace with his little family. Graydon used to dream of the same thing as a child without a home. Now his ambitions primarily consisted of crus.h.i.+ng those who took his family away from him.

"Was that Keeley Hall I just saw? She's gained a lot of weight," Lacy said with disgust. "What a loser."

Was she really that stupid? The only weight she had was on her perfectly rounded stomach. Only pregnant people looked like that. He knew she wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree but could she truly be that dense?

He got his answer ten seconds later. A lightbulb practically came on over her head and she made an ugly expression. "She has to be pregnant. You don't think it's Aaron's, do you?"

"Ridiculous," Graydon said derisively. "He has a fiancée he's madly in love with. At best those two are acquaintances who happened to be in the same wedding. I saw Keeley with her boyfriend the other day."

Well, he was a boy and used to be her friend. It counted. He couldn't let Lacy discover the truth. They may not trust him yet, but this was the least he could do for Aaron and his wife.

Lacy cooled her jets, having no reason not to trust his words. She clung to Graydon's arm as they walked back to his office, babbling about how she was going to try drugging Aaron again at his mother's Christmas party.

Nice try. He was willing to bet his entire fortune that Aaron would be spending the day at home with his wife. She wouldn't even get the chance.

===

Keeley was so exhausted from her encounter with Graydon Meyer that she fell asleep shortly after arriving home. She barely changed into a more comfortable outfit and turned on a Christmas movie before conking out.

Aaron found her asleep on the couch underneath a mountain of blankets and both of the cats when he got home. She was alright. He could breathe again.

Hearing Graydon Meyer's voice on the phone earlier nearly gave him a heart attack. He was certain he was involved in Keeley's death so why was he simply chatting with her now? And he dared to claim he had nothing against either of them!

He wasn't happy about what happened at all. He had been ready to angrily demand what on earth she thought she was doing talking to that man until he saw her peaceful sleeping face. This probably wasn't her fault.

It wasn't like she purposely sought out the man. She did the best she could given the situation. At least he didn't seem to know she was pregnant. Aaron was sure he would have said something over the phone if he knew.

Why exactly did he seem so happy to be talking to him anyway? If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Graydon actually liked him and had a sincere desire to be his friend.

At least it was over now. Keeley survived the encounter unscathed.

Aaron sat down next to her and gently brushed her hair away from her face before kissing her forehead. All that mattered was that she was okay.