Page 51 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

Right?

I let out a dry laugh, pulling out a chair at the counter. “Something like that.”

Samantha grinned while pouring me a coffee. “Welcome back to Medford, where you can’t sneeze without someone hearing about it. Not that I’m complaining… small-town gossip is what keeps this job interesting.”

I forced a chuckle, but my chest tightened.

Gossip.

That was the last thing I needed.

If Samantha made a habit of keeping tabs on people, what were the chances she’d pick up on me? On last night?

On my night with Samuel, too?

Icouldn’tlet that happen. Not with the risk of something getting back to Hayley.

The last thing I wanted to was bring any drama to her life.

I smiled, taking a sip of my coffee, but a knot had already settled in my stomach.

I needed to be careful.

Samantha stirred her own latte lazily, her gaze never leaving me.

She was studying me now, and I knew that look. It was the same one Samuel had given me earlier.

The one that said she already had a story pieced together in her head and was just waiting for me to confirm it.

I wasn’t about to give her that satisfaction.

“So,” she said, drawing the word out. “You and Kai, huh?”

I nearly choked on my coffee. I set my mug down carefully, swallowing past the burn in my throat. “What about me and Kai?”

She smirked. “Oh, come on, Sadie. You’re telling me you have no idea what people are saying?”

A muscle in my jaw ticked.

Of course, people were talking.

This was Medford. I’d spent the past decade trying to forget just how quickly rumors could spread here.

Samantha arched a perfectly shaped brow. “It’s not every day a girl leaves the infamous bowling nights with Kai Byrne. And now you show up here looking like…” She gestured at me. “Well, let’s just say you’re giving off‘I had a very interesting night’vibes.”

Heat crawled up my neck. “People seriously have nothing better to do?”

“Not really,” she said cheerfully. “And honestly, can you blame them? People still talk about you and Kai—like, everyone knows the story.”

I stiffened. I hated how easily those words slid under my skin, burrowing deep.

Peopleremembered.

They rememberedus.

I forced a scoff. “Let me guess. Someone’s got a betting pool going?”

Samantha grinned as she tied her apron around her waist. “Oh, I’m sure somewhere! So, are you two back on, or was last night just a… reunion?”

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