Page 62 of Snowed In with Four Firemen
For a second, none of us react. The words hang in the air, suspended like a grenade that hasn’t gone off yet. Then it clicks, and my fists tighten at my sides.
“Youwhat?” I growl, the sound low and dangerous. I should’ve seen it, should’ve known from the way he was acting all cagey around her.
Tanner’s eyebrows shoot up. “You slept withEmily?” He blinks, looking genuinely surprised.
Tanner whistles low, leaning back and crossing his arms. “Damn, I had no idea you were interested in her, too.”
My gaze snaps to Tanner, and I see the flicker of something dark in his eyes, something unspoken. “Interested?” I repeat, voice strained. “You don’t justsleepwith someone you’re interested in, Tanner.”
Ben finally looks up, meeting my eyes. “It wasn’t like that,” he says quietly, his expression serious. “She was upset. She needed someone, and…I didn’t plan for it to happen, okay?”
I open my mouth to snap something back, but then I catch the look in his eyes. He’s not lying. It’s not that I believe him completely, but…he looks as torn up as I feel. Like this whole thing blindsided him as much as it did me.
“Great,” Tanner mutters, running a hand through his hair. “So now it’s four of us.”
I swing around to glare at him. “What are you talking about?”
Tanner shrugs, not missing a beat. “You, me, Ben, Jace—we’re all into her, man. Don’t pretend like you didn’t know.”
I open my mouth to argue, but…hell, he’s right. The thought hits me like a punch to the gut. It’s not like I didn’t know I had a thing for Emily, butallof us?
“Four of us,” Ben echoes, sounding almost resigned. “Wonder how Jace is going to take the news.”
“Where the hellisJace, anyway?” I ask.
Tanner rolls his eyes. “Probably brooding somewhere in a corner, working up the courage to tell Emily he loves her or some crap.”
Ben shoots him a look. “It’s not like that.”
“Uh, itislike that,” Tanner says, raising an eyebrow. “Come on, man. We’ve all been walking around pretending we’re just ‘looking out’ for her, but let’s be real here—each one of us has our own damn agenda.” He pauses, shooting a glance at me. “You’re just the worst at hiding it.”
I scowl, opening my mouth to snap back, but Ben cuts in.
“Okay, look,” he says, raising a hand. “It’s out in the open now. We’re all…whatever, interested in Emily. But we need to figure this out before we tear each other apart.”
“Figurewhatout?” I growl, my temper flaring again. “What, you think we’re just gonna sit down and share her?”
Tanner snorts, his grin a little too cheeky given the seriousness of the situation. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Shut up,” I mutter, glaring at him. But the thought lingers, unsettling and twisted. Four guys. One woman. This…whatever it is…can’t end well.
“Emily’s been through enough already. What happened between me and her—it wasn’t planned, it wasn’t some…strategy to stake my claim, okay?”
“Claim?” I snap. “She’s not someterritory,Ben.”
“Iknowthat,” he bites back.
“But we need to be careful. Because if we start turning this into a competition, she’s the one who’s gonna get hurt.”
There’s a heavy silence as his words sink in. I know he’s right, but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. We can’t all have her. Hell, we probably shouldn’t even be thinking about this right now. But the thought of stepping back, of giving up on her…it’s like a punch to the gut.
“So what?” I ask slowly, trying to rein in the anger simmering just beneath the surface. “What’s your big plan, then?”
“There is no plan,” Ben says quietly. “All I know is…I care about her. And I’m not going to pretend I don’t.”
“Same here,” Tanner says, surprisingly serious for once. “But hey, if this ends with me kicked out on my ass, then I guess I’ll bow out. Probably.”
I shoot him a look. “You’re not helping.”
