It was around midnight when Aaron got up from his chair. I followed him to the door, not ready for him to leave just yet but also unable to keep him any longer. However, just as he reached for his coat, he spun around and said, “How about a Christmas movie?”

I exhaled in relief, then nodded as eagerly as a little kid.

We started watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and I guess I drifted off at some point, too cozy between my knitted throw blanket, my dogs sleeping at my feet, and Aaron’s body heat next to me. He sat far enough that it was appropriate, but close enough that I felt pure comfort. I’d rarely felt this good, but coupled with the stress of the day, I passed out after the opening scene.

With a big stretch of his arms, Aaron gets up from the couch, careful not to untuck me from my covers. “Well, guess it’s time for me to get going.”

I follow him to my feet. “You’re not going back to Sonder Hill at this hour, are you?”

“Nah, I’ll crash at my place,” he says while walking to grab his coat.

I swallow, rooted to the side of my couch. Poor him. It’s so late. He’s still here because of me. I’m sure he somehow felt my need for him to stay a little longer earlier, and now he has to drive home in the middle of the night.

As I watch him put his boots on, it’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him to forget it and just stay. It’s not even a big deal. He could stay on the couch, or I could give him my bed. Friends do this all the time. We just spent hours sleeping side by side, and everything was fine.

Still, even I can feel some lines were blurred.

So in the end, once he straightens himself, all dressed up to face the cold outside, I stay where I’m standing and say, “Thank you again for tonight. You have no idea…” My voice dies in my throat, emotion clogging it.

He smiles softly, which leaves my chest feeling ablaze. “It truly was my pleasure.”

And for some strange reason, I believe him.

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Aaron

I can hear her before I even see her.

I haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that she’s here. Ma told me she’d invited her to celebrate New Year’s Eve with us—after learning that she’d been alone for Christmas, my mother was out of her mind—but I still couldn’t believe that she’d said yes. That Wren, who’s closed off most of the time, had agreed to come celebrate with us tonight, for something completely unrelated to her work, even if she knew we had guests.