Page 52 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
I feel my frustration rising. “About us. There is no ‘us.’ We’re done. I don’t know how many more ways I can say it.”
Whit chuckles lightly, as if I just told him a joke. “Come on, Em. You’re upset. I get it. We’ve had rough patches before, but we always work through them.”
I shake my head, feeling my temper flare. “This isn’t a rough patch, Whit. This is over. For good.”
He leans back, his smirk faltering slightly. “You’ve been ignoring me for weeks. I thought?—”
“Exactly.” I cut him off. “I’ve been ignoring you because I didn’t want to have this conversation. But now you’ve forced my hand.”
His eyes narrow, and I see a flicker of something other than arrogance in them for the first time. “You didn’t think you owed me an explanation?”
I open my mouth to respond, but the bartender appears, interrupting. “Can I get you two anything?”
“No, we’re good,” I say quickly, hoping to get this over with.
“Whiskey,” Whit says smoothly, without missing a beat. He shoots me a look, like he’s daring me to react.
I glare at him. “You think I owe you an explanation? After you cheated on me.”
Whit’s face twitches, a flash of anger quickly masked by his practiced cool. The couple next to us at the bar pauses their conversation, glancing over, curious now. I see Whit’s jaw tighten, his hand gripping the whiskey glass tighter.
“Emily, come on,” he says, lowering his voice but keeping that irritating calm. He reaches out, his fingers brushing my arm. I flinch at the touch. “We shouldn’t be doing this here, not in front of everyone. Especially not in front of…” He glances toward the table where Tanner, Jace, Ben and Axel are seated. “Your bodyguards.”
I follow his gaze. The guys are still watching, and now, I can feel the tension radiating from them, their postures stiff, eyes locked on Whit like they’re ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble. Jace looks like he’s barely holding himself back, Axel’s jaw is set in a tight line, and Tanner…well, Tanner’s watching Whit with a dangerous calm.
I take a breath, forcing myself to stay composed.Don’t lose your cool. Not here. Not now.
Whit’s hand lingers on my arm, and it’s like he’s testing how far he can push me. His touch makes my skin crawl. He leans in closer, his breath hot against my ear, and I feel the bile rise in my throat.
“Come up to my room,” he murmurs, his voice laced with something darker, something controlling. “We can talk this out. You know you don’t really want this to be over. Let’s be real, Em.”
That’s it. I’ve had enough.
I yank my arm out of his grip, my heart pounding so hard I can barely think. “No.” My voice is clear, firm. Louder than before, catching the attention of more people at the bar. “I’m not going anywhere with you, Whit. Not now, not ever.”
CHAPTER 16
BEN
We takeour seats at one of the empty tables at the bar, but we keep Emily in our sight.
The waitress, a redhead with a bright smile, comes over to take our orders. She lingers a little too long near me, trying to flirt. I barely notice. My eyes keep darting over to Emily, still at the bar counter with Whit.
I hate this. Every muscle in my body is coiled tight, ready to spring, but I know I can’t do anything right now. She’s gotta handle this on her own, no matter how much I want to step in and shield her from whatever the asshole’s throwing her way.
The guy’s got his back to me, but I can see enough. His body language is all wrong—too close, too cocky, too familiar. It makes my skin crawl.
“Can I get you something, sweetheart?” the waitress asks, her voice sweet as honey. I glance at her and realize she’s been talking to me, her gaze expectant. She wants something.
I clear my throat, trying to focus, but it’s impossible. Emily’s at the edge of my vision, and she’s all I can think about—not the woman practically shoving her tits in my face.
“Uh, just a beer. Whatever’s on tap.”
She raises an eyebrow, noticing my lack of attention, but shrugs and moves on to the others. Axel and Tanner order without much thought, but Jace? He’s locked onto Emily too, just as tense as I am. I can see it in the way his jaw clenches, the subtle twitch in his hand like he’s dying to get up and march over there.
The waitress flits away, and I hear Axel mutter under his breath, “It’s gonna blow up if Whit doesn’t back the hell off.”
I nod absently, my eyes glued to Emily.
