Page 52 of Holly Jolly Heat
"It's not simple. But it's possible." I squeezed her hand. "We're possible, Michelle."
A knock on the doorframe made us both jump. Janet stood in the hallway, trying and failing to look innocent.
"Just checking that door-open rules are being followed," she said cheerfully.
"MOM."
"What? I'm being responsible. Also, Lucas, Ro wants to know if you're planning the Saturday stream or if he should."
"I'll come down," I said, reluctantly releasing Michelle's hand and standing. "Thanks, Janet."
"Oh, I'm sure you're very grateful for the interruption." She winked at Michelle. "Don't stay up too late, mija. You need your rest."
She left, and Michelle buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry about her."
"Don't be. She's amazing. Your whole family is amazing." I headed for the door, then paused. "Michelle? Tonight meant everything to me. Just so you know."
"It scared me," she admitted.
"I know. But you did it anyway. That's what makes it mean everything."
I left before I could do something stupid like kiss her, and headed downstairs to find my pack.
Ro and Dex were in the kitchen, apparently coordinating Saturday's streaming schedule while eating leftover gingerbread cookies.
"How'd it go?" Ro asked.
"Good. Complicated. She's scared but trying." I grabbed a cookie. "She broke her own rules tonight. Jumped on camera for me."
"We saw," Dex said. "The whole internet saw. It's already trending."
My heart dropped. "What?"
Ro pulled up his phone, showing me Twitter. Sure enough, clips from the stream were circulating—Michelle jumping into frame, her hand on my shoulder, her fierce defense of the community.
#CozyCrewProtection was trending.
"Best manager ever defending her streamer" compilation videos were being made.
Fan accounts were analyzing every micro-expression.
And yes, there was speculation about pack dynamics.
"Oh no," I said. "Michelle's going to panic."
"Michelle's going to see that it's overwhelmingly positive," Ro corrected. "Look at the comments. People love her. They love that she protected you. They're calling her goals."
He was right. The vast majority of comments were supportive:
"This is what good management looks like"
"The way she jumped in without hesitation"
"I want a manager who cares this much"
"The hand on his shoulder killed me"
"Pack goals honestly"
