Page 80 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

“Adam,” he greeted as I grabbed my water bottle and stepped over. “Did you see they’re finally fixing that pothole near Grady’s Auto Shop?”

I huffed a laugh, wiping sweat from my forehead. “It’s about time. Thought I was gonna lose a tire in that thing the other day.”

Garrett smirked. “Mason has really started making an impact at town meetings, hasn’t he?”

“More like they finally had the budget after pouring money into that new welcome sign.” I shook my head. “Who even notices those damn things?”

Garrett chuckled. “Tourists, I guess. Not that we get a ton of them.”

“We might soon, for the Harvest and Heath,” I said, taking a sip of water. “It’s bigger this year. Town’s been pushing more advertising for it.”

Garrett nodded. “I heard. A couple of folks from out of town already called about renting cabins. Might be good for local businesses.”

I shrugged. “Could be. As long as the diner doesn’t run out of pancakes again like last year.”

Garrett wiped his hands on a towel, then shot me a look. “So, what’s going on with you and Sadie?”

I froze, his words settling heavier than any dumbbell in here.

Garrett was observant. That was part of what made him a good leader in his line of work.

And he must’ve seen something, maybe the way my eyes tracked Sadie whenever she was in the room, or the way I leaned in just a little too much when she laughed.

I exhaled through my nose, forcing a shrug. “Nothing.”

Garrett raised an eyebrow. “Bullshit. I was there at bowling night. Besides, people talk.”

I clenched my jaw, rolling my shoulders like I could shake off the tension settling there.

I guess I wasn’t very discreet with my feelings at bowling.

Before things happened with all of us.

But she wasn’t a repeat of Penelope, the woman Samuel, Kai, and I had tried to hold onto, only to watch her slip through our fingers because the small-town whispers had been too much.

And she sure as hell wasn’t Emily Carter, my first love, the girl who had once held my heart in clumsy teenage hands before handing it back without so much as a second thought.

This was different. More dangerous.

Because no matter how much I tried to play it cool, no matter how many times I told myself we were just having fun, there was no pretending now.

Not after the way she’d come apart in our arms, her body trembling, her lips forming our names in the dark.

Nothing had ever felt like that.

Nothing had ever made me want to burn the whole damn town down just to keep something safe the way I did with her.

And that scared the hell out of me.

I forced out a breath, tossing my towel over my shoulder before meeting Garrett’s knowing gaze. “There's nothing going on.”

Garrett smirked. “If you say so.”

But I could see it in his eyes. He didn’t believe a damn word of it.

And if I was being honest with myself, neither did I.

The smell of fresh coffee and warm bread hit me the second I stepped into The Foundry, chasing away the lingering chill from outside.

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