Page 6 of Pretty ’n Peak

That had been Mateo’s nickname as a child, the chubby kid with his nose buried in a book while his brothers were out scraping their knees and kicking a soccer ball around.

He knew Andrés was using it affectionately, but sometimes it still hurt.

Ian clutched a hand over his heart. “Tus ojos son como las joyas más brillantes. Tu boca…”

Mateo ignored him, as he kept spouting bullshit about some hypothetical woman’s eyes like jewels and mouth like the reddest rose. When he got to something about her ears, Mateo gave him a shove. “There isn’t a girl. I’m going mountain climbing.”

Maria José snorted. “There are mountains out here.”

“Oh, but it’s a bigger mountain,” his mother laughed. “You know how men are.”

Diego wandered back into the room. “You going climbing? Where?”

This was what it was like with his family. The same conversation got passed around like a party balloon. “Mount Hood.”

“This whole weekend? Can I come?”

“Uh, no!” Shit. This was going to make the whole thing worse. His mind raced, but somehow he couldn’t think of what to say. He was such a crappy liar. “I have a pass. Like, for a whole… thing.” He waved his hands around vaguely, hoping that it would look like he was indicating climbing paths and shared meals, not… other things.

He knew his face was red under his terracotta skin, because now the only thing he could think of was whips and handcuffs, and his brother finding out.

That would be mortifying.

Especially because he didn’t even really know if he was into this stuff.

The only reason he’d even signed up for the kinky singles weekend was because there was a pop-up advertising a contest for a free trip. It was just one of those things you did—it only took a few clicks to find the three destinations within a day’s drive—and he’d forgotten about it as soon as he entered.

And then he’d won. Impossibly, fantastically, he’d won. He’d never won anything in his life, if you didn’t count a few childish blue ribbons for his drawings in high school.

But ever since he’d gotten the message telling him to book his free trip, it seemed like all he could think about.

It felt almost like a sign. The push he needed to finally see if all of the bizarrely arousing things he’d found in porn were actually what he wanted.

If they were even real, which he wasn’t too sure about either.

“A pass?” Andrés’s dark eyes squinted as he studied him.

“See! I told you it’s a girl!” Maria José interrupted gleefully.

“It’s a pass for three days of climbing, with all the food and hotel included,” he put in desperately. “It was a… special discount.” Actually, the climbing pass had been discounted as part of the registration. “And they’re booked now. I’ll be back on Tuesday.”

Andrés gave him a strange look. He didn’t even want to glance in Maria José’s direction. Why were sisters such brats?

If she hadn’t said anything, no one would have even noticed he was gone.

“Teo, you be good to her,” Mamá scolded warmly, invoking his childhood nickname. “And make sure she’s good to you.”

Great. Even his mother didn’t believe him.

“If you like her, we want to meet her,” Maria José added.

“Can we please just unload the truck?” Mateo asked. Or, fuck. Maybe he should just do it after everyone left.

Though he was itching to hit the road. The first event was starting in just over three hours, and he needed to go home, shower, grab something to eat, and then make the two-hour drive.

“Sure, hermano.” Ian gave him a hearty slap on the back. “Let’s do this.”

With all three of his brothers hauling the ladders, tools, and buckets, the truck bed was empty in a few minutes. He’d be driving his work truck up to the Cuffd event, but what choice did he have?