Page 23 of Stuck with my Mountain Daddies (Men of Medford #4)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Riley

There were exactly three things I swore I wouldn’t do when I agreed to come with Lucy to the Winter Lantern Parade:

And yet, there I was.

Under the brightness of hanging lanterns and fairy lights, standing behind a table draped in red velvet with little paper hearts taped to the front, next to Sadie, the woman who could weaponize friendship, motherhood, and glitter crafts all in one terrifying smile.

“Don’t give me that look,” she said sweetly, handing me a stack of cocoa order slips shaped like snowflakes. “You and Lucy promised to help if someone bailed when I asked you earlier. And someone bailed.”

“You’re lucky James spit up on your first choice,” I muttered, scanning the names on the clipboard. “This is so middle school. Secret admirers? Notes on cups?”

“Middle school worked ,” she shot back. “At least people said what they meant. These days, y’all just pine and make each other sad playlists.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but she handed me a cup instead.

“First one of the night. For you .” She grinned. “Seems you’ve got a fan.”

I blinked. “What?”

Sure enough, on the side of the cup, written in tidy, angular handwriting, was my name. Just Riley .

No message. No number.

Just the drink: spicy dark chocolate cocoa with a homemade cayenne marshmallow melting into a swirl of cinnamon.

Spicy. Subtle. A little too aware of itself.

For some reason, that reminded me of Beckett.

I took a sip and almost groaned. Of course he’d choose the kind of hot chocolate that burned a little going down.

“Another one,” Sadie announced, slapping a second cup down beside me like she was emceeing a raffle. “Wow. Two admirers already? You might just win this year’s prize.”

“There’s a prize ?”

She ignored me.

Cup two had sparkles. Literal edible glitter. Whipped cream was piped in a perfect swirl, topped with a peppermint bark heart.

The cocoa itself was ridiculous—white chocolate caramel with a hint of almond and an aggressively flirty candy cane balanced on top like a wink.

Under the cup was a Post-it note, folded into a heart.

Your laugh is better than this cocoa. And this cocoa is insane.

I didn’t need a handwriting analysis to know this was Asher. He couldn’t flirt without performing. It was his thing. And this was a lot.

I blinked at the drink. At the heart. At Sadie, who was suddenly very invested in reorganizing the marshmallow display.

“You’re kidding me,” I whispered.

She said nothing. Her cheeks were pinker than the strawberry whipped cream on the Valentine’s in December special.

I reached for the cup, hesitated, and took a careful sip, only to immediately regret it. The sweetness hit my tongue and turned my stomach before I even swallowed.

I blinked, swallowing hard past the sudden queasiness. Dang, again?

That weird, off feeling had been creeping in more and more lately. It didn’t matter what I tried to tell myself, a tiny, traitorous part of my brain wouldn’t stop whispering one word:

Pregnant .

No. No, I wasn’t going to go there. Not right now. Not here.

I shoved the thought aside, buried it, and focused on the next cup.

It was plain. No frills. But the cocoa? Rich. Decadent rich. Dark, with a hint of hazelnut, barely sweet, and somehow, infuriatingly, perfect.

The lid was off already, and a tiny piece of peanut butter chocolate rested against the rim.

Taped to the cup was a single line, scribbled in quick, messy writing:

Still your favorite?

I stared at it. Then I stared across the square.

Because I knew this one, too.

Garrett.

Before I could say a word, a familiar voice piped up right behind me.

“Wait. Are all of those for you ?”

Lucy. Of course.

I turned to see her staring at the lineup like I’d just pulled off a sleight-of-hand magic trick.

“They’re hot chocolates,” I said weakly.

She grinned. “I can see that. Matchmaker hot chocolates. Riley, you have been making a splash! How have you managed that? We’ve spent most of our time in my suite at the inn.”

“I don’t know,” I lied, because I was a coward and definitely not ready to explain how every single one of them made my stomach flip for entirely different, emotionally compromising reasons.

Lucy leaned closer, inspecting each cup, hunting for clues. “This one has glitter. This one smells like it could melt steel. And this one has a garnish. Riley, what is happening? Are you in some kind of cocoa-based love square?”

“Absolutely not,” I said, way too fast.

Lucy’s eyes narrowed. “Is this some kind of weird town game? Are you supposed to guess who sent what? Is it a competition?”

I gave her my best please-drop-this look.

She ignored it completely. “I want three cocoas from mystery men. How do I make that happen?”

All of a sudden, Sadie dropped a marshmallow tong and gasped dramatically. “Oh no.”

We both turned.

“Lucy, look at my dress. It’s a mess.” Sadie’s wide eyes stared desperately. “Will you help me?”

“But what about the stand?”

Sadie smiled and winked at me, making me wonder if she was causing a distraction on purpose. If so, thank goodness.

“Riley has it.”

I nodded as Sadie looped her arm through Lucy’s and led her away.

Then I looked down.

Three cups. Still there. Still waiting. Still them .

And all I could think was…

This isn’t subtle. This isn’t staying hidden.

This isn’t over.

But for now, I was in charge of the matchmaking hot chocolates. It wasn’t a place I ever thought I’d be.

I decided to make myself useful by trying to organize the slips by name… still not touching any of mine because what was I supposed to do, pick one like this was a warped Hallmark Bachelor?

But before Lucy and Sadie could return, a bark caught my attention.

My heart sank. I’d already been knocked off my feet once.

This time, though, Biscuit wasn’t coming for me. He let out a bark and launched himself onto the table.

“Biscuit!” I hissed, reaching to grab his collar, but it was too late.

His paws landed squarely on the tray of cups waiting to be delivered, sloshing cocoa everywhere. Marshmallows hit the velvet. A candy cane snapped in two and shot into the crowd.

“Biscuit, no! Off!” I tugged him down, mortified.

But then…

“Oh no,” Lucy groaned, half laughing as she and Sadie reappeared. “What do we do ?”

I followed Biscuit’s enthusiastic beeline across the snowy square just in time to see him leap into the arms of a woman in a dark plum coat and heeled boots, who caught him like he weighed nothing.

“Oh, wow,” I breathed, because the woman was stunning .

Not only beautiful. Commanding. Someone who knew every eye was on her and didn’t care, because she already knew exactly who she was.

Hair piled into a loose updo that somehow looked both effortless and expensive. Perfectly winged eyeliner. A silk scarf that probably cost more than my rent.

And beside her? Not one, not two, but three gorgeous men, all utterly focused on her.

One of them, the tall one with the sharp jaw and hand on a stroller, was already shaking his head fondly as Biscuit climbed into the woman’s arms.

“Biscuit,” the woman crooned. “What are you doing to me?”

Lucy, returning to my side, nodded. “Oh, that’s Lila. The graphic designer, with the firemen.”

I blinked. “Fire men ?”

“Yep, three incredibly hot, completely devoted partners and the most perfect baby in the entire town.”

Wow.

The Wolfe brothers had mentioned sharing before, but I didn’t know it was common.

“That’s Jaxon,” Lucy added, practically narrating like we were in a nature documentary. “The one holding Jace is Colt. And the tall one is Ryan.”

All three of them clearly doted on Lila as though she was a queen and they were the royal guard. She kissed Colt on the cheek and said something that made Jaxon laugh, while Ryan reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her gloves for her.

It should’ve been too much. Over the top. A fantasy.

But it wasn’t.

“They live in that big blue house on Pine,” Lucy said, watching my face. “You wouldn’t believe how happy they are. All of them. You know, it’s not weird.”

“I didn’t say it was,” I said too quickly.

She raised a brow. “But you’re thinking it.”

I looked away. “It’s strange, that’s all."

“In Medford, no one cares how many people you love. Only that you’re happy and kind, and you bring your neighbor soup when they’re sick.” Lucy reached for one of the abandoned cocoas and took a sip.

I didn’t say anything. But it hit me somewhere deep and soft.

Because I had been judged. Scrutinized. Torn apart by a million strangers with WiFi and opinions. Because of a mistake. A misstep.

And to be perfectly honest, everything I did before that.

“There’s Aurora, as well.” Lucy smirked. “With the Grady brothers. And obviously, Sadie has her harem of men, too. Medford is just… built different.”

That it was.

And I was starting to find myself liking the way it was built.