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My jaw tightened. “I’ve been busy with Ember and work.”
“And maybe that’s the problem. She’s tired of waiting for you to make a move.”
I sighed, a sense of melancholy settling over me. “If she’s dating other guys, then she’s already made up her mind when it comes to me.”
“Can you blame her?”
This conversation was irritating. I thought I was playing it safe by waiting until I was more settled and Ember was older. Now that Hanna was living with me, I thought I’d have time to show her what she meant to me, to explore if there was anything between us. But it was too late.
She was the total package—beautiful, smart, and caring. It was ridiculous to think she’d want me, the nerdy Monroe brother, the one who wasn’t particularly athletic, despite my habitual workout routine.
She was obviously looking for something else, someone else. I didn’t fit into her picture of the future, no matter how much I wanted to.
Knox sighed, shaking his head. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s too late. You’re living with her. You have a unique opportunity to make her yours.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked sharply, my gaze flying to his.
“Look at Ireland and Emmett. It took them being snowed in together to give each other a chance. Remember how Heath moved Marley in, knowing she wouldn’t be able to escape? It made things easier in a way. You’re in proximity, forced to spend time together. I don’t know their stories, but I can assume you run into each other in various stages of undress. There are opportunities to spend time together without the pressures of dating.” Knox smirked.
“You’re saying I still have a chance,” I said as I looked at Ember.
A man approached Hanna. Her eyes were bright, her smile wide as she responded to him. Then she laughed at something he’d said. I doubted it was that funny.
“I think so,” Knox said, but I was already striding across the ballroom floor, eating up the distance between us. I wasn’t usually bold with women, but if I wanted a chance, I was going to have to be different than I’d always been. I moved between them, pushing the man back, using Ember as the excuse. “How’s my girl?”
“I love to dance,” Ember said as she twirled in circles, her dress flitting around her legs.
“I can see that.”
“She’s yours?” the man asked, and I couldn’t place him. He was about the same height as me but more filled out. I almost thought he was one of the brothers who owned a competing Christmas tree farm, Pine Valley, but I couldn’t be sure.
“That’s right,” I said, not caring if he meant Ember or Hanna. For his purposes, they were both mine and off-limits.
He looked at Hanna one more time, as if waiting for her to argue, and then he nodded. “It was nice talking to you.”
Once he was gone, Hanna leaned closer and asked, “What was that?”
I dipped my head toward Ember, who was now dancing and laughing with Addy. “I was checking on Ember.”
“I was talking to him.”
I grunted because there was zero chance that guy wasn’t coming onto her, whether she realized it or not. I felt a hint of guilt that I’d overstepped, but then I remembered my discussion with Knox. I was going after Hanna, and I wouldn’t let anyone get in my way.
Hanna tipped her head to the side. “Seriously, what’s gotten into you?”
I kept my eyes trained on the girls. “I just realized some things.”
She raised a brow. “And what’s that?”
“I’ve been holding back my whole life, letting other people step in and take what’s mine, and that stops now.”
Her forehead wrinkled as if she had no idea what I was talking about. But that was okay. She’d get it eventually. I meant every word I said.
Knox approached, an amused expression on his face. “I need to get Addy to bed. Want to extract them at the same time?”
“You got it.” We’d already learned it was easier to leave parties and gatherings together so that neither girl felt like they were missing out on anything.
Knox waved them over. “Come on, Addy. Ember’s leaving, too.”
