Page 30 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies

Which left Garrett.

And me.

Alone.

In a kitchen that was suddenly way too quiet.

I hovered awkwardly near the fridge, pretending to look for something. Anything. Maybe I’d discover a hidden stash of oat milk and a sense of dignity.

Nope. Just a sad bag of spinach and what might’ve once been a lemon.

Garrett was focused on refilling the wood pile beside the fireplace. He stacked the logs with calm, competent movements, all biceps and flannel and that annoying, stoic energy that made him look like a cursed lumberjack from a romance novel I would absolutely not admit to reading.

I turned too fast and immediately slipped on something slick on the tile.

“Shit!”

In a split second, I went sliding, arms pinwheeling like a malfunctioning windmill, crashing straight into Garrett’s very solid body.

We collided with athud.

My hands landed somewhere between his chest and his shoulder, and his hands instinctively shot out to catch me. One landed on my waist, the other braced my back.

Time slowed.

Our faces were close.

Like,close, close.

I could smell cedar and clean laundry and the tiniest hint of coffee on his breath. His jaw clenched. My heart did a backflip.

My dignity packed its bags and left the building.

“You good?” he asked, voice low.

I nodded. Or tried to. It came out more like a panicked bobblehead motion.

“Totally fine,” I squeaked, still gripping his shirt. “Just testing the floor’s friction. For safety.”

“Mmm.” His brow quirked. “You planning a slip ’n slide?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

He didn’t let go right away. And neither did I. Which made it worse.Wayworse.

Because now I was very aware of how close his hand was to the small of my back. And how warm he was. And how intense his gaze felt this close up.

I cleared my throat. “Okay. Um. Boundaries. Gravity. Personal space. All important things.”

And then I bolted.

Up the stairs, two at a time, like my life depended on it.

Because if I stayed down there one second longer, I was going to do something really stupid.

Like kiss him. Or worse,catch feelings.

Which, obviously, was out of the question.

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