Page 20 of Holly Jolly Heat
"I'm not trying to be cool, I'm freaking out!" Josh turned to me. "Your stream last week where you built the gingerbread village? The architectural design was insane. How did you get the icing to hold the structure at that angle?"
Despite everything, the nerves, the high stakes, the fact that my omega was watching me with guarded eyes, I felt myself relax slightly.
This was familiar territory. Talking about content, about building techniques, about streaming. This I could do.
"Trade secret," I said, grinning. "But if you want, I can show you while we're here. I brought my setup."
Josh's eyes went huge. "Really?"
"Lucas," Michelle said, her voice slightly strained. "We should probably talk before you commit to streaming from my mother's house."
"Oh, please stream from here," Janet said immediately. "The house needs some excitement."
"Mom."
"What? It's a beautiful house. Show it off."
I watched the family dynamic play out, Michelle trying to maintain control, her mom gently bulldozing, Bill being supportive but amused, the kids clearly team chaos. It was warm and loving and loud, and I could see why Michelle had fled here when she needed space.
This was her safe place. Her nest, in a way.
And she was letting us into it.
"How about," Dex said diplomatically, "we get settled, have lunch, and then we can talk about schedules and plans?"
"That's a wonderful idea," Janet said. She turned to Michelle. "Mija, why don't you show them to their rooms while I help Bill finish lunch?"
Michelle looked like she wanted to argue but nodded. "Fine. Come on."
She led us upstairs, and I tried not to notice how her hand trailed along the bannister like she'd done it a thousand times, or how family photos lined the walls showing her at different ages, or how the house seemed to exude peace and safety.
"Okay," Michelle said when we reached the second floor. "Guest rooms. Mom put Lucas in the blue room, Ro in the green room, Dex in the study." She pointed to different doors. "Bathroom's there. My room is at the end of the hall if you need anything. Though please don't need anything between midnight and six AM because I'm not a morning person."
She was nervous. Using information-dumping as a shield.
"Michelle," Ro said gently. "This is good. Us being here. Thank you for letting us come."
She looked at him, really looked at him, and some of the tension in her shoulders eased.
"You sent really good gifts," she said quietly. "Thoughtful ones. Like you'd been paying attention."
"I have been," Ro admitted. "For months."
"Me too," I added. "The tea thing, you mentioned it once, on our first call. You said your favorite thing about working from home was making peppermint tea exactly how you liked it without office judgment."
Michelle's eyes widened slightly. "You remembered that?"
"I remember everything about you."
The words came out more intense than I'd intended. Michelle's breath caught, and I could see her fighting with herself, wanting to move closer, wanting to run, wanting to maintain her professional armor.
"Right," she said finally. "Well. Get settled. Lunch soon. And then we'll... talk. About all of this."
She fled down the hall to her room, closing the door firmly.
The three of us stood in the hallway, looking at each other.
"She's terrified," Ro observed.
