Page 81 of Stuck with my Brother's Firefighter Besties

Colt stopped pacing, turning to face me, his gray eyes softening just a fraction. “That’s not what I meant, Lila.”

“Then what did you mean?” I asked, sharper now. I couldn’t help it.

The tension in the room, the pressure building in my chest, it was all too much. “Because from where I’m sitting, it feels like everyone thinks I need saving. Like I’m some kind of charity case who can’t handle her own life.”

Jaxon leaned forward, his hands gripping his knees.

“That’s not what we think,” he said firmly. “We just… we care about you. That’s all this is, Lila.”

I shook my head, tears stinging the corners of my eyes. “I don’t even know what this is. Any of it. Nate hates me, half the town probably thinks I’m a joke, and now I’m here, hiding out like some kind of coward.”

“You’re not hiding,” Ryan said, his deep voice cutting through the chaos.

He finally looked up, his green eyes steady and unflinching. “You’re giving yourself space to figure things out. There’s no shame in that.”

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat making it almost impossible to speak.

“It doesn’t feel that way,” I admitted.

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Jaxon stood, crossing the room to sit on the coffee table in front of me. He rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward so he could look me in the eye.

“You’re not a coward, Lila,” he said softly. “What happened tonight with Nate wasn’t your fault. He’s angry, yeah, but that’s his problem, not yours. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Didn’t I?” I whispered, my voice cracking. “He’s furious because of… because ofthis.” I gestured vaguely toward the three of them. “Because I’ve been spending so much time with you. All of you. He thinks I’m making a fool of myself.”

Colt snorted, shaking his head. “If anyone’s a fool, it’s Nate for treating you like that. Drunk or not, he was way out of line.”

“Agreed,” Ryan said resolutely.

Jaxon nodded, his gaze unwavering. “We’ll talk to him. When he’s sober and calmed down, we’ll make him see reason.”

I looked at him, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “You think he’s going to listen to me? Or to any of you? He already thinks you’re the problem.”

“Then we’ll prove him wrong,” Jaxon said simply. “We’ll show him that all we want is what’s best for you.”

I stared into Jaxon’s piercing blue eyes, and for a moment, the world shrank down to just him and me. His words, firm and steady, broke through the chaos in my head like sunlight through a storm cloud.

He wasn’t just saying what I wanted to hear. He meant every word.

My fingers trembled as I tightened the blanket around me, but Jaxon noticed. His warm, callused hand covered mine, grounding me.

The sparks that always seemed to ignite when he touched me were there, just below the surface, ready to consume me.

“I mean it, Lila,” he said, his voice low but filled with certainty. “We’re here for you. No matter what.”

The intensity in his gaze sent a shiver down my spine. My walls, the ones I’d been desperately trying to rebuild since Nate’s outburst, began to crack.

I couldn’t hold it all in anymore… not with him looking at me like that. Not with Ryan and Colt nearby, their silent support radiating through the room.

“I don’t know how to let this go,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “I don’t know how to stop feeling like everything’s falling apart.”

Jaxon didn’t say anything right away. Instead, he shifted closer, his hand cupping my cheek.

His thumb brushed against my skin, soft and deliberate, and the tension in my chest started to ease. Then he leaned in, his lips capturing mine in a kiss that stole the breath from my lungs.

It wasn’t hurried or frantic. It was deliberate, a reminder of the connection we’d shared from the moment we met.

His mouth moved against mine with just enough pressure to make my pulse race, and I melted into him, my hands gripping his arms as if he were the only thing keeping me tethered to the earth.

---