Page 115 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

Kai’s lips curled. “By distracting you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “That sounds suspicious.”

Adam’s grin turned wicked. “Good. That means it’s working. Let's see, what's the best way to get your mind off the storm?”

Yes, the storm still raged outside, but in here, with them, I wasn’t so scared.

Warmth slowly seeped back into my bones. Not just from Kai’s hoodie or the warm blanket wrapped around me. Not just from the fire crackling softly in the hearth.

From them.

Kai, still crouched in front of me, his knee pressing lightly against mine, watching me with quiet, steady focus.

Adam, stretched out beside me on the couch, one arm slung across the back.

Samuel, standing nearby, solid and unshaken, his watchful gaze flicking between the storm and me.

I curled my fingers into Kai’s hoodie, feeling small but safe.

And I didn’t know what to do with that.

“Story time,” Adam said at last, clapping his hands together.

Samuel made a sound that was almost a groan. “Adam…”

“No, no, don’t try to stop me. It’s happening.” Adam turned to me with way too much enthusiasm. “Now, sugar, do you want to hear about the time I accidentally set my pants on fire in high school or the time Kai got his ass kicked by a goat?”

Kai sighed dramatically. “You’re really gonna do this?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Samuel exhaled slowly, like he was bracing himself.

I raised a brow. “I mean… I feel like I have to go with the goat story.”

Adam grinned. “Excellent choice.”

Kai rolled his eyes, but there was a small, almost sheepish smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Alright, fine. But in my defense, that goat was a menace.”

“Sure, buddy,” Adam said, smirking. “A menace. Tell me, how does one lose a fight to a farm animal?”

Kai huffed. “I was five. My mom took me to some rodeo thing, and there was this little petting zoo. Normal, right? Just some goats, a couple of chickens, a sad-looking pony. Nothing exciting. But then there was this one goat. This tiny little asshole with a mean streak a mile wide.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “And what did tiny Kai do to piss it off?”

Samuel shifted, arms crossed, and murmured, “He tried to hug it.”

I snorted. “You did not.”

Kai sighed. “Look, I was five. I thought it was cute. I wanted to be friends. So I went in for a hug, and the little bastard?—”

“—launched him into a hay bale,” Adam finished, grinning. “Like, full on headbutted him into next week.”

I lost it. A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it, my whole body shaking as I doubled over. “Oh my god.”

“Glad my childhood trauma amuses you,” Kai muttered, but he was grinning.

“Wait, wait,” I gasped, wiping at my eyes. “What did you do? Did you cry?”

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