Page 34 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

But this?

This was something else.

Her hair was loose, falling in soft waves around her shoulders. She wasn’t in her usual jeans and tee, but a fitted little number that hugged her curves in a way that made my jaw tighten. She had sleek heeled boots on, and her lips were painted some deep shade I didn’t have the words for.

It hit me all at once.

And from the smug look on Adam’s face, he fucking knew it.

“She’s here for us, by the way,” Adam said, way too pleased with himself. “Thought it’d be fun to have a little moral support.”

Moral support.

Yeah. Right.

Sadie’s gaze swept the room before landing on me. Her lips twitched.

“You okay, Samuel?” she asked, all innocent-like. “That was a rough shot.”

Jaxon chuckled. “Yeah, maybe you need to sit this round out, man. Regain your composure.”

I rolled my shoulders back, straightening. “I don’t sit rounds out.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

The rest of the teams were watching now, eating this up.

The Grady brothers looked amused, Aurora was smiling behind her hand, and even Beckett Wolfe—the human embodiment of a thundercloud—had the hint of a smirk.

I turned back to Adam. “You invited her.”

He grinned. “I sure did.”

I exhaled sharply through my nose, leveling him with a glare before looking at Sadie again.

She just raised a brow, waiting.

Fine.

I stepped back to grab my ball, schooling my expression as I lined up another shot. This time, I blocked everything out.

Adam’s smugness.

Jaxon’s taunts.

Sadie’s goddamn everything.

I took the shot.

Strike.

The room erupted in cheers, and I turned back to Jaxon, smirking. “Guess I just needed a warmup.”

Jaxon groaned. “Oh, it’s on now.”

I tried to keep my focus on the lane, but it was useless. I could feel her. Like the pull of gravity. Like the hum of a live wire just beneath my skin.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed, either.

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