15. Sadie
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sadie
A few more days had passed, and The Foundry was a pressure cooker of emotions—some simmering, some boiling over, and some (okay, mine) teetering dangerously close to making a mess all over the floor.
I tried to stay focused on work, but my brain? Yeah, it had other plans.
Like replaying the nights I’d spent with Kai and Samuel on an endless loop.
The way Kai had looked at me like I had always been his.
The way Samuel had kissed me, slow and deep, like he was trying to rewrite my DNA.
It was a lot.
Too much.
I needed a distraction, and preferably one that didn’t involve intense eye contact and life-altering tension.
Unfortunately, that ruled out both of them.
And then there was Adam.
If Samuel and Kai were walking storms whose emotions were hard to read at the best of times, Adam was a perfect, no-pressure summer breeze.
He flirted shamelessly, never pushed, and always made me laugh when I needed it most.
Yeah, we’d kissed, but it never felt like a weight pressing down on me.
“Sadie, can you help Adam with the new delivery?” Samuel’s voice cut through my thoughts like a knife through butter, or maybe through my last bit of self-control. “He’s being too slow.”
“I heard that,” Adam called from the back. “And I’m deeply offended.”
I nodded quickly, wiping my hands on my apron before heading toward the back. I could feel his gaze following me, but I refused to turn around.
The Foundry’s back storage room smelled like flour, spices, and something vaguely metallic… probably from the massive shelves Adam was currently climbing like some kind of reckless daredevil.
“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.”
I hesitated. It had been so long since I’d been invited to a girls’ night, it felt a little foreign.
My god, I really didn’t live it up much in the city, did I?
“Lila will be there too,” Aurora continued. “Samantha and Morgan…”
I exhaled, then finally nodded. It sounded fun. “Alright. I’ll come.”
Aurora’s smile widened. “Good. See you at seven.”
As she strolled out, I leaned against the counter, rubbing a hand over my face.
A girls’ night could be exactly what I needed. No complicated emotions. No broody men. Just some drinks, some laughs, and maybe—if I was lucky—a break from the absolute disaster that was my love life.
Feeling oddly accomplished for saying yes to something normal, I turned back toward the kitchen, only to immediately lock eyes with Samuel.
Of course.
He was standing near the pass, arms crossed over his broad chest, his ever-present scowl firmly in place.
But it was the way he was looking at me that sent a jolt straight to my stomach.
Like he could hear every thought I’d just had about avoiding my drama and was personally offended by the idea.
My skin prickled under his gaze, and suddenly, the air in The Foundry felt a little too thick. I swallowed hard, deciding, wisely, to break eye contact before I did something ridiculous, like spontaneously combust.
Unfortunately, in my haste to escape Samuel’s attention, I turned too quickly.
And ran straight into a wall of solid muscle.
A very warm, very familiar, very grumpy wall of muscle.
Kai.
For a second, I just stood there, forehead pressed against his chest, my brain short-circuiting as I registered exactly who I’d crashed into.
Then, slowly, I tilted my head back.
Kai’s stormy gray eyes met mine, his brow cocked in what I could only describe as deeply unimpressed amusement.
“Well,” he drawled, voice low enough to make my stomach flip, “that’s one way to get my attention.”
“Oh my god.” I groaned, slapping a hand over my face. “I need a do-over. Can I get a do-over?”
Kai’s lips twitched. “No take-backs, S.”
I gritted my teeth, stepping back and crossing my arms. “I wasn’t trying to get your attention.”
“Mmm.” He glanced over my shoulder… right at Samuel. “Sure about that?”
I scowled. “I was not ?—”
“Sadie.”
I jumped slightly at the sound of Samuel’s voice.
Great.
Now both of them were watching me like I was some kind of puzzle they were trying to solve.
“You done running into people, or should we clear a path?” Samuel asked dryly, his mouth curving just enough to tell me he was enjoying this way too much.
I exhaled sharply, throwing my hands up. “I hate this place sometimes.”
Kai smirked. “No, you don’t.”
Damn him. He was right.
But I wasn’t about to admit that.
“Whatever,” I muttered, brushing past him and finally making it back toward the storage room.
Adam looked up from where he was stacking boxes, taking in my frazzled state with a knowing grin.
“Run into some trouble out there, Collins?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Shut up, Adam.”
“Careful. At this rate, you’re gonna need hazard pay.”
Hazard pay.
Honestly? Not the worst idea.
By the time I finished my shift and made it home to change, I was still half considering backing out of girls’ night.
Not because I didn’t want to go, but because my track record with social outings in this town usually ended with me entangled in some kind of romantic disaster.
But then Aurora texted me.
Aurora: Don’t even think about ghosting, Collins. I’ll send Lila to drag you out.
Lila: And I’ll bring Biscuit. You know he’ll make a scene.
I huffed a laugh, shaking my head.
It was weird, this feeling of being included. Like I was a part of something instead of just passing through.
So I sucked it up, threw on a casual but cute outfit—because if I showed up looking like a gremlin, I’d never hear the end of it—and headed to Lucky’s.
As soon as I stepped inside, I was met with the sight of Aurora, Lila, Samantha, and Morgan, already deep into their drinks and laughter.
“There she is!” Aurora called, waving me over. “Medford’s newest menace.”
I scoffed, sliding into the seat they’d saved for me. “What did I do now?”
Lila smirked. “Oh, nothing yet. But given your current track record with Medford’s most eligible bachelors, I figured it was only a matter of time before something juicy happened.”
Samantha leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. “Please tell me you’re gonna spill some details. I live for this stuff.”
I rolled my eyes, but the warmth in my chest surprised me. They weren’t prying—they were just having fun.
And they genuinely wanted me here.
So, for the first time in what felt like forever, I let myself relax.
We drank, we gossiped, we laughed until our stomachs hurt. Aurora told the story of how her harem practically tripped over themselves to win her over.
Lila dramatically recounted how Jaxon, Ryan, and Colt had nearly set a fire station on fire fighting over her. A slight exaggeration, but the mental image was hilarious.
Even Samantha, ever the town’s coffee queen, had some dating horror stories from before she moved to Medford.
And somewhere between my second drink and Lila reenacting a particularly embarrassing encounter between Aurora and Owen, I realized…
I was having a blast.
I wasn’t overthinking everything. I wasn’t stuck in my head, obsessing over the past or worrying about the future.
This was really nice.
I laughed until my ribs ached. Lila and Morgan had me practically in tears with their dramatized reenactment of Medford’s annual Fall Festival disaster, which apparently involved a runaway hayride, a rogue goat, and a very unlucky mayor.
Aurora nearly snorted her drink when I admitted I’d once locked myself in The Foundry’s walk-in fridge for a solid five minutes before figuring out the release handle.
And when Samantha stood to get another round, I grabbed her wrist. “Nope. I got it.”
She raised an impressed brow. “Look at you, stepping up to the plate.”
“I’m thriving,” I announced grandly, standing up a little too fast.
Okay, thriving was a strong word, but I was definitely buzzed and happy, which was close enough.
I wove through the crowd toward the bar, grinning when I spotted Todd Rivers already lining up our drinks before I even made it to him.
He was there.
That thought hit me ice-cold.
I didn’t know his name at the time, but he was the bartender the night I went home with Samuel.
Did he remember?
As his eyes met mine, I could sense the knowledge in his all-too-mischievous grin. “So… how’s life over at The Foundry?”
The way he said it—low, teasing, with just enough implication to make my stomach clench—made my buzz wobble.
I swallowed. “It’s, uh… good?”
“Good,” he echoed, like he was testing the word. “I’ll bet. Not every day a girl finds herself working alongside three of the most sought-after men in Medford.”
I stiffened.
Todd must’ve noticed because his grin widened. “Not that I’m judging. Just saying, people talk .”
Heat prickled at the back of my neck.
My heart, so light and carefree moments ago, suddenly felt heavy.
I shouldn’t care. Lila didn’t. Aurora didn’t.
But still…
For all the progress I’d made tonight, for all the genuine joy I’d felt with these women, this was exactly what I’d been afraid of.
The whispers. The sideways glances. The talk.
Because he was right. People did talk.
And I wasn’t sure if I was ready for what they were saying.
Todd must have seen the way my expression shifted because he leaned in, that knowing glint in his eye turning sharper.
“Relax, Sadie,” he said smoothly, propping an elbow on the bar. “I think it’s kinda impressive, honestly. Three of them? And those three?” He let out a low whistle. “Damn.”
I froze.
The playful din of the bar seemed to dull beneath a sharp, ringing noise in my ears.
I knew Todd wasn’t trying to be cruel. Apparently, this was just how he was—quick-witted, effortlessly charismatic, toeing the line between teasing and trouble.
But this? This felt like too much.
Like all the things I’d been overthinking, all the complications I hadn’t quite figured out yet, were suddenly laid bare for the entire town to pick apart.
I barely heard whatever Todd said next—some offhanded joke about me being the town’s “most valuable player”—because I was already moving.
I needed air.
I spun away from the bar, my pulse a wild, uneven drumbeat in my ears, and shoved through the crowd toward the door.
And that was how I ran face-first into a wall of solid, unmovable man.
“Oof—”
I grunted as I bounced back, barely catching my footing before making an even bigger scene.
A strong hand shot out, gripping my elbow to steady me.
“Jesus, Sadie,” Samuel rumbled, his voice warm and rich and entirely too grounding. “Where’s the fire?”
Of course.
Of all the people to run into right now, it had to be him.