Page 24 of Tangled up in You

"It will be," Becca had said, pulling Alyssa in for a tight hug, then whispering in her ear, "I just have a feeling about it."

Minutes later, a smiling Becca had left Alyssa’s house, giving her a quick wave before she’d driven off in her BMW 430i.

That had been hours ago, and five o’clock had come and gone as Alyssa had sipped her glass of wine in the bar slowly filling with Christmas partiers. The brothers were giving their staff Christmas Eve day off, and they wouldn’t open again until New Year’s Eve. It was nice to see them giving their people time off to be with their families.

They were good men.

"Still waiting on Becca?" Jake Laverty had asked over the live band playing country versions of Christmas songs. He’d leaned on the bar toward her—his muscular arms bunching beneath his black dress shirt, dark brown hair kind of mussed, and gorgeous, clear hazel eyes staring straight into her soul.

Well, that last soul staring notion thing had been more like wishful thinking on her part. But still.

And more wishful thinking—well, more like a heated fantasy—had been to have the nerve to meet him across the bar and kiss his firm, full lips. Heat had crept up her neck as she’d flicked her gaze toward his brothers standing close by having an intense conversation. But not just Jake. The last year had been filled with dreams of having the Laverty triplets all to herself.

Not just one, but all three.

At the same time.

Yeah, like that would ever happen. But ever since finding out the three sharedeverything, she couldn’t help being a little curious. What would it be like to have all their focus on her, while they…

Improbable or not, a shiver raced up her spine in the heated confines of her car at whatthatwould be like all the same.

"Yes," Alyssa had said, as her gaze had flown to the bar’s door opening for about the hundredth time since she’d sat down, only to let out a low sigh of disappointment when it wasn’t her friend bustling in amid flurries of snow. "I guess I need to go look for her."

That distracted mutter had barely left her mouth before heat had pressed up against her back and a low growl of "No," had filled her right ear, while a gentler, but just as firm, "I don’t think so, Alyssa," had filled the other, while she’d faced Jake. The youngest Laverty had slowly shaken his head while leaning over the bar—close enough to do that kissing she’d wanted—and murmuring, "That’s not happening."

She still had no idea how the other two could have possibly heard her.

However, they’d managed hadn’t mattered as her breath had caught at the sensation of being encircled by the objects of her deepest desires—men she was already halfway in love with. A cocoon of big, hard, heated bodies she didn’t want to leave shielded her from the crowd, somehow even subduing the music and laughter until it was just the four of them.

But irritation at their highhandedness had overridden the pleasure of being the filling in a Laverty sandwich. She’d had to wonder, who had they thought they were?

"Excuse me," she’d groused, while swiveling her stool to her right. Her vision had filled with bulging arms crossed over a broad chest straining another black dress shirt, while her knees had pressed against a set of hard, jeans-clad thighs. It could have only been…

Her gaze had lifted to find a scowling, scruffy-faced Jonah staring down at her. Of course, it had been the oldest Laverty.

Hard hands had fallen on her shoulders, squeezing, while Josh had pressed against her back and his warm breath hadcoasted over her ear, raising the hair on the back of her neck. "It’s getting too bad out there."

Just like then, her nipples pebbled at the memory. Just like need once more flooded her core and heat suffused her face when reliving the thrill of Josh’s touch kneading her shoulders, while Jonah’s undivided attention had held her just as firmly in place where he’d crowded into her space. But that had nothing on having the intensity of his eyes on her as he’d leaned down until they were nose to nose.

"Baby," he’d basically growled, sending her pulse skittering. His gaze had dropped to her lips before lifting and snagging hers once more. "Your beautiful ass is staying right where it is."

A hard gust of wind battered against her car, forcing her frowning gaze out the windshield into the winter storm. Had the snow gotten heavier? She blew out a harsh breath. It had. Her car wasnotintended for this kind of driving.

"Pay attention, Alyssa." Getting sidetracked on thoughts of having been the focus of the three men wasn’t a distraction she could afford. Not when she had to slow her speed down to what amounted to a crawl. Even on a clear night, driving this mountain road could be an iffy proposition.

In this crap?

She put on her high beams. All that did was turn her view into a sheet of white, so she flipped them back to low. What she needed was some sort of plow attached to the front of her car so she could go perhaps more than…

She hazarded a quick glance down at her speedometer, then immediately lifted her gaze out toward the whiteout that was getting worse by the second. Seven miles per hour was going to get her nowhere.

Fast.

Not for the first time since she’d started on this rescue mission, she questioned her decision. Maybe sneaking out ofLaverty’s by way of the back door next to the bathroom hadn’t been such a good idea after all. And maybe?—

"Whoa."

Another burst of wind buffeted against her car, bringingallher concentration to the road—the road that wasn’t as clearly defined as it had been moments before—while she strengthened her grip on the steering wheel. True fear set in when another harsh wind forced her to jerk on her steering wheel to keep straight.

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