Page 89 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
I look up at him, and for a moment, I can see how sincere he is, how much this is weighing on him. But even though his words are softening the edges of my anger, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still hurt—still confused.
“I don’t know what to think.”
“Don’t think, just know. Emily I love—” Ben’s voice is shaky. “I think I’m in love with you.’
I inhale sharply. “Ben…”
“You don’t have to say anything back right away,” he says.
“I need some time,” I say quietly, stepping away from him, not meeting his gaze.
He nods, though I can see the disappointment in his eyes. “I understand.” With one last look, he turns and leaves, closing the door softly behind him.
I sit down on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. I can’t believe how complicated everything has gotten. This isn’t how things were supposed to go. It wasn’t supposed to turn into a mess of feelings.
But it has. And now I don’t know how to make sense of any of it.
After sitting in silence for a few minutes, I decide I need to get out of the room. I can’t just sit here stewing in my thoughts. Maybe throwing myself back into the wedding prep will help. At least it’s something I can control—something I can focus on that doesn’t involve Axel, Jace, Tanner, or Ben.
I grab my notebook and head downstairs, my heart feeling heavy as I step into the hallway. The moment I reach the hall, though, I realize something’s wrong. It’s…empty. The workers are gone.
I blink, scanning the room. The tables are half-set, the decorations I’d been planning to hang are still in boxes. Where the hell is everyone?
Just as I’m about to go looking for someone, I hear footsteps behind me. I turn to see Collie approaching, her face drawn with concern.
“Emily,” she says, her voice low. “I was just about to come find you.”
“What’s going on?” I ask. “Where is everyone?”
Collie hesitates, her expression tight. “We have a situation. Whit and Sam are missing.”
I stare at her, my stomach dropping. “What do you meanmissing?”
“When the snow stopped for a period they decided to go out skiing, and now we have another god-awful storm. We’ve tried radioing them, but there’s been no response.”
I clap my hand to my mouth. “Oh, my God.”
I stare out the window, watching the swirling snow come down fast. The sky has turned dark, and I can barely make out anything beyond the lodge. My stomach twists with worry. Where can they be?
“We’ve organized a search party with your friends leading it,” she continues.
My gaze whips to her. Is that where everyone has gone? Shit. What if something happens to them when they’re out there? No, no, that can’t be.
“Hey, you okay?” Collie asks worriedly.
“I have to go,” I say, running towards the stairs. I feel terrible about how I left things with them. Even when Ben showed up to apologize, I didn’t give him a chance to explain. Even worse, he professed his love for me, and all I did was turn him away.
What have I done?
But as I make my way down the hallway, something stops me in my tracks.
Axel’s voice.
I freeze, my heart skipping a beat. I didn’t expect to hear him, not here. I thought they’d already left.
The door to Axel’s room is ajar, and I can hear muffled voices inside.
My heart skips a beat. And then I see Raffle.
