Page 105 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
Tanner, standing closest to me, shifts his weight and breaks the silence. “What if she’s picking Whit over us?” he says.
Axel scoffs, folding his arms across his chest. “She wouldn’t pick that asshole. Not after everything he’s done. And besides, she called us to the room, not him.”
“Maybe she just wants to let us down easily,” Tanner says, earning him a scowl from Axel.
“It has to be one of us,” Axel says.
How’s that not bad, possibly even worse? It would kill me a little every time I see Emily with one of my friends—whoever she chooses.
“She’s definitely not picking that asshole,” Axel says, more to himself than anybody else.
“Wouldn’t she?” Jace cuts in, his voice calm but pointed. “She went to talk to him this morning, didn’t she? Maybe she’s thinking about giving him another chance.”
“She did say she already made a choice,” I add, remembering what I overheard earlier when she was talking to Hailey. “And after that, she looked over at Whit. What the hell does that mean?”
Jace shifts, running a hand through his hair. “There’s only one way to find out.”
We all exchange looks, a silent agreement passing between us. Without another word, we head toward the stairs, making our way up to her room.
When we reach her door, Jace knocks lightly, his face set in that calm, unreadable expression he always gets when he’s nervous but trying not to show it. We wait for a moment that feels like forever until we hear her voice from inside.
“Come in.”
We step into the room, and there she is—Emily. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands resting on her lap, her shoulders tense. Her eyes meet mine for a moment before she looks away, taking a deep breath.
“I’ve made my decision,” she says.
“It’s not Whit, is it? Not to rain on your parade, but I’m going to kill that dude.”
“What? No! Why would you even think that?” Emily exclaims.
“Well, Jace said—” Tanner begins before being elbowed by Jace.
Emily frowns. “What? That I went to talk to him? I turned down his proposal, and he took it surprisingly well. He could see I had already moved on.”
Relief floods through me, but there’s more questions.
“So, which one of us is it going to be?” I ask, trying not to hold my breath.
“That’s the thing,” she says, sighing deeply. “I can’t pick just one of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“Like a polyamory thing?” Tanner says.
Emily chews on her cheek before nodding.
“I don’t want just one,” she continues, her eyes flicking up to meet ours. “I want all of you. I don’t want to sound selfish, but that’s how it is for me. I didn’t want to lie to you or myself.”
Her words hit me like a freight train, and for a second, I don’t know how to process it. She wantsallof us?
She’s not choosing between us—she’s choosingus. All of us. Together.
“The polyamorous thing…” Emily begins tentatively. “Well, I don’t exactly expect you all to be exclusive with me.”
“That’s not even an option,” I say. “You’re the only one for me.”
“And me,” Axel says. Even though Tanner and Jace don’t say that, I know they feel the same.
