Page 78 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
I can’t breathe. I can’tthink. My entire body has gone numb, my heart hammering in my chest.
This can’t be real. This can’t be happening. Not here. Notnow.
I hear Jace mutter something under his breath, his arm tightening around the back of my chair, but I can’t even look at him. I can’t look at anyone.I’m too busy staring at the man kneeling in front of me—the man who once broke me and is now proposing to me like I’m some prize to be won.
“I love you, Emily,” he says. “I have always loved you.”
“No,” I finally manage to whisper, my voice cracking. “Whit, get up.”
His eyes flicker with surprise, and for the first time, a crack appears in his confident mask. “What?”
“I said get up,” I repeat, louder this time, my voice shaking but firm. “This…This isn’t happening.”
Whit starts to frown. “What are you saying?—”
Without another word, I bolt from the table, my heart pounding so hard in my chest that it feels like it might burst. The sounds of the room—murmurs, gasps, and chairs scrapingagainst the floor—fade into the background as I push through the doors, my feet carrying me blindly down the hall.
I don’t even know where I’m going. I just need to get out.
CHAPTER 22
AXEL
I’m staringinto my whiskey, watching the amber liquid swirl as I turn the glass in my hand.
I take a slow sip, letting the burn slide down my throat, but it doesn’t help. It never does.
Emily.
The thought of her has been circling my mind since the second I saw Whit get down on one knee. Hell, it’s been longer than that—since I first pulled her up the ledge, and she opened her eyes in my arms.
I don’t know how I got here, howwegot here, but what I do know is that I can’t give up.
The door swings open, and I glance up just as Jace walks in, looking as torn up as I feel. He spots me, his jaw tightening, and makes his way over without a word. He slides onto the stool next to mine, signaling the bartender for a drink.
“Long night,” he mutters after a beat, his gaze focused on the rows of bottles behind the bar.
I snort. “You could say that.”
The bartender slides Jace his drink, and he downs half of it in one go, his eyes narrowing as he sets the glass down with a heavy thud. “You think she’s okay?”
I don’t answer right away, because honestly, I don’t know.
Whit just threw a grenade into everything we had going on, and none of us know how it’s going to turn out.
The door opens again, and this time, it’s Ben and Tanner. They walk in together, both of them looking tense. I see the way Ben’s jaw is clenched, the way Tanner’s hands keep fidgeting like he’s trying to shake off the restlessness crawling under his skin.
They spot us and head over, taking the empty stools on either side. It’s silent for a moment, all of us staring into our drinks.
None of us are saying it, but we’re all thinking the same thing: What the hell happens next?
“I don’t know about you guys,” Tanner finally says, breaking the silence, “but I can’t lose her. Not to Whit. Not to anyone.” He gives us a sweeping glance.
I’m too tired to even argue so I just focus on the drink.
Jace snorts, shaking his head. “Like hell.”
Ben glances between us, his brows furrowed. “This is a mess. Abigmess.”
