Page 76 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

“If there’s more…” Mom said cautiously. “Maybe it can still work.”

I cocked my head to one side curiously.

What the hell did she know?

“You managed it before, right? With Penelope.”

My stomach tightened.

I should’ve known she’d bring that up.

Dad gave a slow nod. “You, Samuel, and Adam… you made that work for a while, and it seemed to be good, right?”

“Yeah.” My voice came out rough. “For a while.”

Mom sighed. “She wasn’t right for you three. We could all see that.”

I exhaled through my nose. It was true.

Penelope had been fun, adventurous, open to sharing. On the surface, it seemed like the perfect setup.

But it had never been more than that.

No real foundation, no depth. And when things got serious, she ran. Not just from one of us, but from all of us.

“I thought it was what I wanted,” I admitted. “But it never felt… real.”

Mom nodded. “And this? With Sadie?”

I didn’t hesitate. “It’s different.”

Dad studied me for a long moment before speaking. “Then figure out why. Figure out if you can handle it.”

I knew why.

Because I never stopped loving her.

Because sharing Penelope had been an experience, but this? This was my heart on the line.

And I wasn’t sure what scared me more—that I wanted this, or that I didn’t know if I could handle it.

Mom shifted the conversation then, sensing I needed a break.

“The Harvest and Hearth Festival is coming up,” she said lightly. “Are you three running the usual food stalls?”

I nodded automatically, but I barely heard her.

Dad hummed. “Big event this year. The firehouse is going all out in the cooking comp. They’ve got some new faces to deal with this time.”

Mom shot him a look. “You mean the lumberjacks?”

I forced a smirk. “Garrett and his brothers don’t mess around.”

They kept talking, discussing the logistics, the town’s excitement, the inevitable rivalry between The Foundry and the firehouse.

But the words barely registered. I had too much to think about.

Sadie.

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