Page 48 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

The air was thicker, charged, and intense. The clatter of forks, the low hum of conversation, the occasional crackle of the fire. All of it was wrapped in something electric.

And Ishouldhave been on edge.

I should have been spiraling, overanalyzing every glance, every brush of fingertips when they passed me the bread, every flicker of something that felt dangerously close tomore.

Because these weren’t just any men. These were Lucy’s brothers.

But instead of spiraling, I felt wanted.

Not the glossy, polished kind of attention I was used to. The hearts, the likes, the validation served up on a glowing screen.

No.

This felt solid. Weighty. Real.

Garrett’s eyes lingered on me when he thought I wasn’t looking.

Beckett wore an expression I’d never seen before.

Asher’s teasing grin, his easy touch at the small of my back when he slipped behind me to grab a drink. It all felt intentional. Intimate.

I found myself laughing more that night than I had in months. Real, belly-deep laughter that surprised me every time it bubbled out.

After dinner, when the plates were cleared and the rain whispered against the windows, Garrett was the one to break the tension.

His voice was rough, careful. “We should probably talk.”

My pulse kicked up, but I nodded. “Okay.”

What was going on?

Garrett cleared his throat, glanced at his brothers, then fixed those intense brown eyes on me. “We’ve been here before.”

I frowned. “Here?”

Asher’s smile tilted. “Attracted to the same woman.”

Oh.

Whoa.

Garrett’s jaw worked. “It was messy. We thought we could handle it, that we were above jealousy, above the ugly parts.” His mouth had flattened. “We weren’t.”

Beckett’s voice was low, almost a rumble. “It nearly broke us.”

The room went still, the weight of that confession sinking in.

Garrett exhaled. “We’re not looking to repeat old mistakes.”

Asher leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “But this… you,” His grin softened, genuine. “It’s different.”

My throat tightened. “Different how?”

The silence that followed wasn’t awkward. It was full. Heavy with memory.

“We said we’d never let it happen again,” Garrett added. “That we’d protect what we have.”

I nodded slowly. “And now?”

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