Holiday in Your Heart by Susan Fox

trying to make both of them happy. Me, I wasn’t going to twist myself out of shape like that. They didn’t want to see who I really was and they didn’t care what I wanted. So why should I care what they thought? I rebelled and went my own way.” He shook his head. “How did I get onto this? I was gonna tell you about Brooke.”
    â€œWe did kind of get off track,” she agreed. Still, she’d found this glimpse into his past fascinating.
    Mo rested his hands on his jean-clad thighs. “First thing Brooke did, which blew me away, was apologize. So then”—the humor was back, around his mouth and eyes—“we kind of had this competition over who could apologize the most.”
    â€œI guess that’s better than railing at each other.”
    â€œYeah, for sure. There was a point where she started to laugh. It caught me off guard, but then I saw that she was right, we were being ridiculous. So I laughed, too.”
    â€œThat sounds good. You cleared the air between you?”
    â€œWe made a start. An awkward one. I asked if we could talk some more and she said she wanted to, but she needed a little time. She didn’t just, you know, listen to my apology and then tell me to get out of her life. So that’s good.”
    â€œIt is.” Maribeth hoped Brooke and Mo could find a resolution that was comfortable for both of them. But there was a third party to consider. “What about Evan?”
    He sighed. “Brooke said she needs to think about that. Whether it’d be good for him to see me or not.”
    If it was good for Brooke, why wouldn’t it be good for Evan? Maribeth frowned slightly. “It’s not up to her to decide,” she said gently, feeling a tug of disloyalty to Brooke. But Evan and Mo had rights, too. As far as Maribeth could tell, Mo had been doing penance for years and years—far longer than if he’d actually been convicted of an offense and sent to jail. He had earned a second chance. And Evan had a right to hear his father’s apology and learn what kind of man he’d become. “Evan’s an adult,” she pointed out.
    â€œI know. But I don’t want to hurt him any more than I already have. And I figure his mom’s probably the best judge of how he’d react.”
    â€œThe longer you’re in town, the more chance he’ll find out anyway. And if he does, and you haven’t been in touch, he might think you don’t want to see him.”
    His mouth tightened. “I know. But I gotta trust Brooke on this.”
    Maribeth tried to be optimistic. “She loves Evan. She’ll do what’s best for him.” And if Brooke didn’t do it soon, Maribeth might have another chat with her. Sometimes people benefited from an outside perspective, and Maribeth had never been shy about giving her friends advice.
    â€œI’m going to believe that. Tonight was good. A good start.” Mo smiled across at her. “And this is good. Thanks for letting me come over. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important.”
    Only hunting for a sperm donor. She glanced at her computer, waved a hand, and said, with a private grin, “Just some online shopping.” In fact, she’d been happy to get Mo’s call, and when she’d opened the door to the wet man holding a bunch of flowers, her heart had given a jump of pleasure. Sitting here watching his attractive, expressive face, listening as he revealed himself to her, she felt so drawn to him.
    How did he feel? He’d made that comment about “reconsidering” dating. Was he serious? She decided to test him out with a little flirtation.
    She uncurled her legs slowly and sensually, and this time his gaze did hook onto her. She slipped out of the chair and, barefoot, went to the fireplace and tossed in another chunk of wood. Returning, she ran a finger over the orange petals of a gerbera daisy. The bouquet