Her Christmas Redemption by Toni Shiloh

Author:Toni Shiloh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-09-03T01:21:28+00:00

* * *

“Thanks for scaring her away.” Michael twisted his lips as he glanced at Jordan.

“I didn’t scare her.” Jordan threw her hands up in the air.

“Yes, you did,” Pippen and Chuck stated.

“See?” Michael popped a piece of fudge in his mouth.

As they had in the past, they’d ordered a bunch of desserts to snack on while building their gingerbread house. In fact, the whole night had seemed reminiscent of old times. They’d laughed, joked and razzed each other over their gingerbread creations.

“Fine,” Jordan huffed. “I didn’t realize she was so skittish.”

“She’s not, really,” Michael started, trying to think of how to explain Vivian. “I’d say she’s more cautious than anything. She waits to see how a person acts before she lets her guard down.”

“Is that what she did with you, dear brother?” Jordan asked.

Michael bit back a sigh. “Like I told you earlier, we’re just friends.” After all, Vivian had said he was in her contact list and let him decorate cookies with her. So what if he kept wondering about being more than friends?

“Do you want there to be something more?” Pippen asked.

“I...” Was she a mind reader? He thought about all his reasons for not wanting a relationship. How much turmoil Alicia had caused and how much better his life was without her. Did that mean saying no to all relationships? Was he better off alone?

“That’s a long pause there, Big Mike,” Chuck said with a jut of his chin. “You ever think you’re protesting too much?”

“I’m not protesting. I’m stating facts. We’re friends. We’re working together on a church project. That’s it.”

Chuck turned toward their sisters. “Yet he decorated two Christmas trees with her and baked cookies together.”

“No, she just let me help decorate the cookies.”

Jordan raised her brows while Pippen crossed her arms.

“What? I know those looks mean something.”

Pippen laughed. “Of course they do. Just like y’all decking the halls together means something.”

“Oh, like we’re friends?”

Chuck laughed. “Y’all walked right into that one.”

“True,” Jordan commented. “But that doesn’t mean there’s not something more there. Take a chance.”

A contemplative look crossed her face. Michael thought of the guy she’d mentioned who had come between her and her roommates. Did Jordan have no regrets?

He rubbed his beard. “Look, I’m not going to take the what-if road. I’m keeping our relationship strictly surface level.”

“So you don’t have to worry about getting hurt again?” Chuck asked quietly.

Michael wanted to deny it but couldn’t. Alicia had done a number on him, and he had no desire to repeat that experience. “Look, coming out of a bad, toxic relationship is draining. Add the fact that Pop died on the heels of that, and I’m just taking it one day at a time. No need to look for something or make hasty judgments.”

Like the one where he assumed Vivian Dupre would be another Alicia. But all the time he’d spent with her, the laughter they’d shared over kitchen mishaps, had told him she wasn’t even in the same league as Alicia. Vivian Dupre was definitely someone special.

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