Page 61 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

“You know,” I called up to him, hands on my hips, “there’s a perfectly good ladder right there.”

Adam glanced down from where he was balancing on the second shelf, a bag of sugar hoisted over one shoulder. “Ladders are for people who don’t live dangerously.”

“Or for people who enjoy having unbroken bones,” I countered, stepping closer just in case he actually did fall.

Adam smirked. “That sounds like quitter talk, Collins.”

Before I could argue, he dropped the bag straight into my arms, forcing me to stumble back a step from the unexpected weight.

“Damn it, Adam!” I huffed, shifting the bag to get a better grip. “A little warning?”

He landed gracefully on his feet, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Where’s the fun in that?”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t fight the small smile tugging at my lips.

Adam had that effect on people.

He made things easy, even when they weren’t.

We worked side by side, moving deliveries onto shelves and restocking ingredients, the simple rhythm of the task helping me quiet the mess in my head.

For a little while, I wasn’t tangled up in thoughts of Kai, Samuel, and whatever the hell I was doing here in Medford.

I was just... working. Existing.

And that felt nice.

“You good?” Adam asked after a while, tossing a stray apple into the air and catching it one-handed.

I sighed, pressing my palms to my lower back. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“You sure?” He grinned, biting into the apple. “I’m a good listener, you know.”

If he’d told me that when I first started working here, I would have laughed. He was a playboy and a flirt.

But that was only on the surface, and I’d actually opened up to him a lot.

I hesitated, then shook my head. “Nah, I don’t need to pile on today.”

Adam studied me for a second, but before he could push, a voice called from the front.

“Sadie! You out back?”

I wiped my hands on my apron and shot Adam a look. “Saved by the bell.”

“For now,” he teased.

I left him behind and stepped through the swinging doors into the front of The Foundry, only to spot Aurora Bennett leaning against the counter, looking effortlessly put together in high-waisted jeans and a flowy blouse that screamed casual perfection.

Her eyes lit up when she saw me. “There you are! I was starting to think Adam was hoarding you back there.”

I blinked. “Oh hey, Aurora.”

We’d chatted at bowling, but this, coming here to see me, was a bit out of the blue.

“What’s up?” I asked, untangling my apron strings.

She grinned. “Well. We’re having a girls’ night at Lucky’s tonight, just a few of us. Thought you might want to come.”

---