Page 22 of Stuck with my Boss Daddies

I swallowed, my chest tightening. “Yeah?”

His gaze softened. “Yeah.”

Silence stretched between us, the air buzzing with feelings I wasn’t sure I was ready to name.

I turned my head slightly, watching him out of the corner of my eye. The years had been good to Kai. His jaw was sharper, his shoulders broader, but his eyes—those warm gray eyes—were still the same.

I looked away before I got caught staring. “You ever think about leaving?”

He shrugged. “I used to, before The Foundry. But Medford’s home.” He nudged my arm playfully. “Used to be yours, too.”

My heart clenched. “Yeah.”

Kai stopped walking, and suddenly, I felt the absence of his warmth. When I turned to face him, the look in his eyes nearly knocked the breath out of me.

“I meant what I said, you know. I missed you.”

Something inside me cracked wide open.

I opened my mouth—whether to argue or agree, I wasn’t sure—but before I could get a word out, Kai was closing the distance between us.

His hand brushed my cheek, his thumb tracing the edge of my jaw.

My pulse roared in my ears, and my breath came short and fast.

And then he kissed me.

It was slow at first, hesitant, like he was waiting for me to pull away.

But I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

The second I kissed him back, everything else fell away.

My fingers curled into his jacket, tugging him closer. His hands slid to my waist, gripping me like he was afraid I’d slip away.

It was familiar and new all at once.

Sweet and aching and full of the years we’d lost.

When we finally broke apart, I was breathless.

Kai rested his forehead against mine, his hands still warm on my waist.

“Still feels the same,” he murmured.

I swallowed hard. “Yeah.”

But that was the problem, wasn’t it?

Because it wasn’t the same.

And we weren’t kids anymore.

The past was gone, and I wasn’t sure if I could let myself believe in the future.

Kai exhaled, his hands slipping away slowly like he was reluctant to let go.

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