Page 98 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
“And Hailey knows?”
“She’s upset. She thinks I’m playing you.”
“My sister is dramatic, but she’ll come around.”
Emily sniffs. “I’m not so sure. She wants Chloe, so does that mean I’m not in the wedding party anymore?”
“I’ll talk to her,” I say.
“Please don’t,” she says, rubbing her forehead. “No,” Emily says quickly, shaking her head. “It’ll just make things worse right now. I need to figure out how to explain this without making it sound like…like I’ve been playing some kind of game with all of you. Because that’s how it’s starting to look.”
I grit my teeth. “It’s not a game, Em. None of this is. I know you’re confused but, I’m sure you’ll choose someone you love more than the others.”
And I want it to be me, I think.
“I don’t even want to talk about it. And honestly, I’ve had too much of it. I just need to get everything ready for the wedding.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe it. Even after all of that, you’re still trying to show up for her. If Hailey doesn’t see it, she is blind.”
Emily cracks a smile, but I can see how tense she still is.
The sound of footsteps echoes down the hall, and I turn just as Tanner, Axel, and Ben stroll up, smiles plastered across their faces. I can see the love in their eyes clear for her, and it doesn’t scare me anymore.
Tanner, ever the charmer, grins widely and walks right up to Emily, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Well, look who we found. You’ve been hiding, huh?”
“I haven’t been hiding. Maybe you didn’t look hard enough,” Emily replies, breaking a small smile.
Tanner nuzzles her neck. “We missed you, you know. What do you say we take this upstairs?”
It’s like we’ve all silently agreed that this thing between us and Emily is happening. Is that how things will be from now on? I still don’t see it as a long-term thing even though everythingwent so well earlier. I’m sure the others feel the same. But one thing’s for sure—we’re a team, and that includes her.
But Emily—she’s not biting. She laughs softly, shaking her head as she steps out of Tanner’s loose hold. “I can’t think of anything else but the wedding.”
“Then let us help. We’ll get it done faster if we all pitch in,” Axel says. “Besides, we all promised to help you out.”
Her eyes widen. “No, I seriously couldn’t ask you to do anything. You’ve already been through a lot.”
“Come on,” Tanner says. “We want to help.”
“No way we’re letting you handle all that alone,” Ben chimes in.
She sighs, finally nodding. “I guess it will be faster this way.”
And just like that, we all get to work.
The night passes in a blur of activity. We string up lights, arrange name cards, and put together the centerpieces for the tables.
Emily shows us her sketches for the decor, and we follow her lead. Axel and Tanner move tables and chairs, setting up the space while Ben helps Emily with the smaller details—cards, centerpieces, and lighting.
I take charge of hanging the drapes and setting up the lights, making sure everything looks the way Emily envisioned. We work in tandem, stopping for short periods to gorge on the sandwich bites Collie sent over for us.
By the time we finish, it’s almost morning. The hall glows softly in the early morning light, a delicate shimmer bouncing off the walls as the first rays of dawn break through the tall windows.
I can’t help but admire how she’s pulled it all together. The wreaths are carefully arranged as centerpieces, decorated with candles and fairy lights.
Instead of real flowers, she’s used ornaments—bright red and gold baubles tucked into the greenery. Somehow, it works.
Ben is working with Emily on the small details, helping her arrange the floral garlands along the archway at the front of the room where Hailey and Sam will say their vows. The archway itself is draped in soft white fabric and tucked together with more Christmas decorations.
