Page 128 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

“Sure. And I’m the Virgin Mary. You’re pathetic, by the way.”

I didn’t argue. Mostly because she wasn’t wrong.

She took a bite of her own donut and kept walking around as if she hadn’t just sucker punched my whole defense system.

Then Riley spotted me. Anddamn.

That smile she gave me? It hit like a freight train. No warning, no brakes.

She walked over slowly, hands tucked into her sleeves, that sweater doing all kinds of damage, and gave me a smile that didn’t belong to the girl who used to be everywhere, all armor and polish.

It was small. Real. A little unsure.

“Hey,” she said, soft enough that I leaned in without even thinking.

“Hey, yourself.” I held up the donut as if it was a peace offering. “You look like someone who could use fried sugar.”

She laughed and took it. “Ifeellike someone who needs fried sugar. Is it weird that I’m nervous about a Christmas tree?”

“Terrifying,” I said, straight-faced. “Last year, it almost crushed the mayor’s Prius. It’s a known menace.”

She laughed again, and God help me, I stepped closer.

Just a little.

But it felt like everything around us faded out—the lights, the music, Lucy’s snark. All of it. Just her and me, and this weird electric silence humming between us.

“You okay?” I asked, quieter now.

Her smile slipped, only for a second. And that, right there, was the part that killed me. She always tried to keep it together.

Even when she was unraveling.

“Yeah,” she said, soft and a little too careful. “I think so.”

And I believed her. But I also knew better.

Yet I didn’t get a word out before the countdown hit.

“Three! Two! One!”

The whole damn crowd lit up like someone flipped a switch, cheering, clapping, oohing and aahing as if they’d never seen a tree wrapped in string lights before.

Okay, fine. EvenImight’ve gasped a little.

The tree was glowing gold, thousands of bulbs reflecting off the snow like something out of a snow globe. People were losing their minds over it.

But not her.

Riley stood there, face tipped toward the light, eyes wide, mouth parted slightly like she was letting herself feel it.

No phone. No posing. No filter. Just her and the moment.

And I swear, the whole town could’ve disappeared, and I still wouldn’t have looked away.

She turned toward me, that light catching in her eyes, soft and warm. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

“Yeah,” I replied, but I wasn’t looking at the damn tree.

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