Page 79 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
“Yeah,” I mutter, taking another sip of whiskey. “It is.”
We sit in silence again, each of us lost in our own thoughts. My mind drifts back to earlier, to the way Emily had looked at me when I told her she was beautiful. The way her lips had parted, the way her breath had hitched. I’d felt it then—that connection, that pull. And I know she felt it, too.
I swirl the whiskey in my glass again, my mind wandering further, to places I haven’t let myself go in a long time. Toher—my ex-wife, Amelia.
We were young when we got married. Too young, probably. I thought I had it all figured out back then. I thought I was building the perfect life—the career, the house, the marriage. But life doesn’t work that way. It falls apart in ways you never see coming.
She wanted more from me—more time, more commitment. But I was married to the job. I thought I was doing it for us, for our future. But the more time I spent away, the more distant we became. Until one day, I came home, and she was gone. No note. No explanation. Just gone.
I haven’t thought about Amelia in years, but sitting here now, thinking about Emily, I can’t help but wonder if I’m doomed to repeat the same mistakes. If I’m even capable of making something last. Of keeping someone like Emily close.
Because she’s different. She’s not just some fleeting thing. She’s the kind of woman who makes you want to be better. Who makes you think, maybe, just maybe, you could build something real. Something lasting.
“Axel,” Ben says, his voice cutting through my thoughts. “You’ve been quiet.”
I glance up, meeting his gaze. He’s watching me carefully, like he knows I’m holding something back.
“I’m thinking,” I mutter, taking another sip of whiskey. “About all of this.”
“And?” Tanner prompts, raising an eyebrow.
I set my glass down, exhaling slowly. I shrug. “Well, it’s not really our decision, is it? It’s hers.”
There’s a beat of silence. “She’s not going to choose that asshole.”
Tanner leans back in his chair, a scowl tugging at his lips. “She’s not going to choose that asshole,” he says.
“You sound real confident about that,” I say, turning to face him.
“I am,” Tanner shoots back, his eyes flashing. “Whit doesn’t deserve her. Not after what he did. She’s not stupid—she knows that.”
“Maybe,” Jace mutters, swirling the last of his drink in his glass. “But he still showed up. That’s all that has ever mattered to her. And if he’s a changed man?—”
“People don’t change overnight,” Ben says.
“Yeah, whose side are you on anyway? I thought you liked her,” Tanner says, scowling.
“Well, I do. And it’s definitely more than like, always has been, even though I never told her that. But Emily is quick to forgive,” Jace says. “She forgave me.”
“That’s different. He cheated on her,” Ben says.
“Wow, you know a lot about that,” I say.
“Well, we talked after we…” He trails off, an awkward silence resumes. It’s safe to say that we’ve all been with her in some way or the other.
“Axel is right. It’s not about what he deserves. It’s about what Emily wants.”
And that’s the crux of it, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter what we think. It doesn’t matter what we feel. In the end, Emily is the one who has to make the call.
Tanner lets out a low growl of frustration, slamming his hand down on the bar. “Still doesn’t mean we have to sit here and let Whit waltz in like he’s some goddamn knight in shining armor.”
“We can’t control what Emily decides,” I say quietly. “But we can show her who we are. What we can offer.”
Jace looks at me, his expression unreadable. “And what’s that?”
I shrug, leaning back in my chair. “Honesty. Loyalty. Hell, I don’t know. A chance at something real.”
“And what happens when she does choose?” Ben says.
