Chapter 4 Morning After
When I woke up, the first thing I realized was that I was trapped.
Like… actually trapped.
Josh had me locked against his chest, one arm under my pillow and the other wrapped around my waist like he was afraid I’d roll off a cliff in my sleep. Jake was glued to my back with one leg thrown over mine like a human seatbelt. Drew was sideways at the foot of the bed, taking up a ridiculous amount of space. Mike was passed out in the chair beside the bed, mouth open, looking like he had lost a fight with gravity. And Patrick wasn’t in the room, but his jacket was draped over the chair arm, so he had absolutely been here doing his silent guardian thing before disappearing like Batman.
Memories from last night rushed back. The food. The teasing. The cartoons. The way Josh carried me like I weighed nothing. The soft goodnights. The warm, too-big feelings I still didn’t know how to process.
I wiggled just enough to see Josh’s face. His eyes were still closed, but somehow his thumb started rubbing slow circles at my hip.
“Are you awake?” I whispered.
His voice came out low and sleepy. “Barely. You okay, baby girl?”
“Yeah. Just… stuck.”
He smiled against my hair. “Good. Stay stuck.”
Before I could respond, Jake kissed the back of my shoulder. “Mornin’, sweetheart.”
I snorted. “Morning.”
Drew made a grumpy noise from the foot of the bed. “Too early.”
“It’s nine,” Jake said.
Drew groaned louder. “Too early.”
Mike jerked awake in the chair, blinking like he forgot where he was. “Why am I in a chair?”
“Because you snore,” Jake said.
“I do not snore,” Mike muttered.
All four brothers: “You do.”
I laughed, and Josh squeezed me gently. “How’s the head?” he asked. “Any dizziness?”
“No,” I said. “Just hungry.”
Jake perked up instantly. “Breakfast!”
“No,” the rest said in unison.
Jake gasped. “Why do you all hate joy?”
Josh sat up, still holding my waist like he thought I might fall off the bed if he let go. “Give her a minute to stand before you start planning a feast.”
“Well, excuse me for caring,” Jake said, offended.
Drew sat up too, hair sticking in ten different directions. “You don’t care. You just want pancakes.”
Jake glared. “Maybe I love pancakes. Maybe pancakes love me.”
I covered my face, laughing. “Can everyone calm down? I need like five minutes to reboot.”
Josh kissed the side of my head. “Take ten.”
I slid out of bed slowly, stretching as I stood. The room instantly went quiet. All four sets of eyes followed my every move.
“What?” I asked.
Josh shrugged. “Just looking at our fiancée.”
My face heated instantly. “Okay, stop saying that in the morning. My brain can’t handle it yet.”
Mike smirked. “It handled it last night.”
“MICHAEL,” I said, mortified.
Even Drew laughed at that.
Patrick appeared in the doorway holding a mug. “Who’s traumatizing her before breakfast?”
“Mike,” everyone said.
Patrick handed me the coffee with zero hesitation. “Morning, love,”
I swear my knees almost gave out. “Morning.”
Josh narrowed his eyes slightly at Patrick but didn’t comment. Patrick ignored him and walked in fully like he lived here. Spoiler: he basically did.
Jake jumped out of bed. “Breakfast time!”
Patrick caught his shirt. “No. If you start cooking before someone supervises you, the house will burn down.”
Jake gasped. “That happened one time.”
“One time too many,” Patrick said.
Drew got up and took the whisk from the drawer. “I’ll do the eggs.”
Mike stretched and yawned. “I’ll make the bacon.”
Josh linked his fingers with mine. “Sit. I don’t want you standing too long.”
“I’m not going to pass out,” I said.
He raised a brow. “Baby girl.”
Okay. That tone again. I sat.
Jake leaned on the counter. “I will make toast.”
Mike looked horrified. “No.”
“Yes!”
“No.”
Patrick stepped between them. “Jake, just… watch the bread.”
Jake lit up. “I can do that!”
Josh shook his head. “This is going to end badly.”
I laughed and took a sip of the coffee. “He’ll be fine. Probably.”
“Probably?” Drew echoed.
Mike glanced over at me. “How’s the ring? Still fit fine?”
I instinctively covered it with my other hand. “Yes. Still not used to seeing it, though.”
“It looks good on you,” Patrick said simply.
Josh gave him another look. Patrick didn’t react. Typical.
Jake suddenly froze. “Oh my god. I forgot. We have to tell my mom.”
“No,” Josh said immediately.
“Yes,” Jake insisted. “She’s going to kill us if she finds out secondhand!”
“Later,” Drew said.
“But—”
“Later,” all four repeated.
Jake sighed dramatically. “Fine. But after breakfast, we’re calling her. She’s going to scream.”
Mike groaned. “She’s definitely going to scream.”
Josh handed me a plate once everything was finished. “Here. Eat.”
I took a bite. “Oh my god. This is so good.”
Jake pressed a hand to his chest. “It’s the toast. I did that.”
“You watched the toast,” Mike corrected.
“And I did it really well!”
Drew slid into the seat beside me. “How are you really doing?”
“Still overwhelmed,” I said honestly. “But in a good way.”
Josh nodded. “Good.”
Mike leaned on the counter. “Because it’s only going to get more overwhelming. You know that, right?”
Jake smacked his arm. “Don’t scare her!”
“I’m not scaring her,” Mike said. “I’m preparing her.”
“I already knew what I was getting into when I said yes,” I said.
Patrick’s gaze softened. “You chose us.”
I shrugged, cheeks warm. “Yeah. I did.”
Drew rested his chin briefly on my shoulder, something soft and warm in his voice. “We won’t let you regret it.”
“I won’t,” I whispered.
Josh brushed his knuckles along my jaw. “Eat, baby girl.”
Jake raised his fork. “To our fiancée!”
Everyone groaned.
I laughed.
And deep in my chest, where the nerves and chaos lived, something settled.
Safe.
Steady.
Real.
This was my life now.
And I wanted every messy, ridiculous second of it.