Page 40 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
Why can’t I just tell him? Why does the idea of him knowing the truth make me feel like I’ll lose something I didn’t even know I wanted until now?
Why does it matter to me how he feels about it?
The thing is, I don’t understand it myself. I’ve only just met him. So why do I care so much about how he sees me?
“Well, something happened…” I trail off. He waits for me to finish. “It’s just…things got a little…intense with Axel earlier.”
He raises an eyebrow, but his expression softens. He takes a step closer but doesn’t press me for more. “Intense, how?”
I look down, fidgeting with my fingers, unable to meet his eyes. “We were talking, then…things kind of escalated. It wasn’t…it didn’t go too far, but…” I let my words trail off, hoping he’ll understand the missing pieces. My face burns just thinking about how close Axel and I came to crossing a line.
Tanner’s eyes narrow slightly, but there’s no judgment there. Just curiosity mixed with something else. Maybe understanding.
“I see,” he says, his voice calm. “And you’re feeling…what? Embarrassed about it?”
“Yeah,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t expect it to happen. I didn’t want it to happen like that. And now with Jace and Axel fighting over it…now everyone thinks that I’m this and that.”
“Hey, don’t worry about what that girl or anyone else thinks,” Tanner says. Obviously he doesn’t know Chloe well enough to say that.
I let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling like a complete idiot, standing there while they argue...like I’m some prize to be fought over. It’s humiliating.”
Tanner takes a step closer.
“You’re not a prize, Emily. And I’m pretty sure that’s not what Axel or Jace meant, either. They’re just...well, they’re both feeling something, and they don’t know how to deal with it.”
I glance up at him, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. “I didn’t want them to fight, Tanner. Especially not over me. It’s just...it’s so messed up.”
“I get that,” he says quietly, sitting beside me. “But you didn’t do anything wrong. You don’t control how they feel or how they act. They’re grown men—they should know better.”
I nod, but the knot in my chest doesn’t loosen. “I just...I feel like I’ve caused this whole mess, and now I don’t know how to fix it.”
Tanner gives me a reassuring smile as he sits on the bed beside me. “You didn’t cause anything.”
I look away, trying to swallow the guilt that’s been gnawing at me since the hallway scene. Tanner’s trying to make me feel better, but it’s hard to shake the embarrassment.
And why the hell did it have to happen in front of Chloe, of all people?
“You’re a good friend,” I say softly.
He shakes his head. “Well, you’re wrong there. I want to be anything but your friend.”
I gaze up at him, and I see something there, something burning that makes me lean towards him almost instinctively. “Emily, I—” Tanner begins as my eyes flutter shut. It doesn’t matter that I was kissing Axel not even an hour earlier. I need to kiss Tanner.
Then there’s a knock on the door. A rapid, almost frantic knock.
Hailey bursts into the room like a whirlwind before I can even stand up to answer it.
“I totally forgot about the cake!” she exclaims, her voice high-pitched with panic. “Did the reception confirm anything? Did it come in last night?”
I sit up straighter, knowing exactly what’s coming next. “Hailey…” I start, trying to gently break it to her. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but Collie confirmed earlier that the cake delivery is canceled too.”
I watch her expression shift, the hope draining from her face as the weight of it all hits her. She looks so defeated, her shoulders sagging as if the wind’s been knocked out of her.
“The cake, too?” she whispers, more to herself than anyone else.
I stand and reach for her hand, pulling her into a hug. She clings to me like she’s holding on for dear life, and I can feel thetrembling in her arms. The damn cake. Of course, this would be the thing to break her.
“I’m so sorry, Hails,” I murmur into her hair, trying to comfort her, but knowing there’s only so much I can do. “We’re going to figure something out, okay? You’re still getting married tomorrow. Cake or no cake.”
