Page 40 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends

“Last day,” I repeat with a faint frown. “I wish it wasn’t.”

Emma’s expression softens as she nods. “Me either. I’d work with you guys for a lot longer if possible, but we all have to move forward.”

Does she only mean business wise? Or all across the board?

Do we need to prepare for a full goodbye?

“It was really nice while it lasted, though,” I say, our eyes remaining locked.

“Really nice,” Emma agrees, her voice dropping a little. She has every opportunity to say goodnight and head inside her apartment, but she stands there gazing at me with those captivating eyes of hers.

This is a perfect moment to kiss her. Again.

That first kiss ended way too quickly.

This one won’t.

I step toward her, hearing her inhale deeply like she’s preparing herself. Like she wants me to kiss her.

Fuck. I do.

I really do.

I lean forward, but before my lips can touch hers, Ethan and Andrew pop in my mind like a warning. I kiss her cheek at the last second before pulling away. I shouldn’t want more. But when I see her smile falter just before she hides it—like maybe she wanted more too—I know this is going to wreck me.

“Goodnight, Emma.”

Emma blinks in surprise, but she plasters a smile on her face a second later. “Night.”

I watch her walk inside and disappear behind the door, knowing I just left a piece of myself on the other side. And I don’t know how to get it back.

Chapter nineteen

Chapter Nineteen: Emma

Unrelenting, icy gusts of wind batter me as I trudge down the sidewalk to the office, my face stinging from the freezing assault.

A hard shiver rattles through my body as I pull the collar of my coat up as much as I can, attempting to shield myself. I knew the snow was picking up today, but I didn’t expect a full out winter storm.

Between the wild winds and the constant plummeting snow, I can barely see down the street as a white haze covers the city. So much for any outdoor Christmas Eve plans.

I rush into the building as fast as I can, my body stiff and trembling from the intense chill outside. The heat in the lobby envelops me like the warmest hug I’ve ever received, soothing away the stinging sensation in my ears and nose.

“Emma!”

I look up to see Ryan standing near the elevators with his phone in his hand. In what feels like a second, he crosses the lobby to reach me, his brow furrowed in concern. “Is everything okay?”

“We’ve been trying to call you,” Ryan replies. “We were going to tell you not to bother coming in today because of the storm.”

I dig my phone out of my purse that’s tucked under my coat, seeing more than a dozen missed notifications from all three of the guys. Whoops. “I didn’t feel it vibrate. I was hurrying here.”

Ryan sighs, his eyes flicking from the door to me like he’s been pacing. “You shouldn’t be out in this kind of storm. I was worried.” Despite the chill still lingering in my bones, a bloom of warmth grows in my chest as I gaze at him. He’s always looked out for me, but I always thought it was because he felt obligated to because of my brothers.

The care in his voice now isn’t from obligation, though. It’s too personal. Too emotional.

“Did Josh and Max make it here safely?” I ask him.

Ryan nods and slides his arm around my shoulders, leading me into the elevator and hitting the button for the right floor. “We’re all here now. The update goes live in fifteen minutes.”