His rich laughter filled the office. Of the three brothers, Braxton was the most free with his emotions. Liam and Zach, on the other hand . . . she wasn’t even sure they had emotions other than anger and bitterness. Well, Liam only had anger toward Zach. Zach, on the other hand, seemed to be angry with the world.
“Sort of,” Braxton replied, crossing one ankle over his knee.
A knot settled in her stomach. “Sort of? You either do or don’t want to sell.”
“We don’t.”
As Martin’s girlfriend, she was a little upset at the decision. But, as Chelsea’s best friend and someone close to the Monroe clan, Sophie was elated.
She wondered what Zach had decided to do regarding Chelsea’s vision, but since he’d asked her not to say anything, she’d keep that to herself.
“So where does the ‘sort of’ come into play?” she asked.
Braxton eased back into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as he drew out a sigh. “Zach and I are going to buy Liam out so the house will just be mine and Zach’s.”
Sophie nodded. “I’m not surprised. Now both your brothers got their way.”
“As an added bonus, I didn’t have to break up a fight,” he told her with a sideways grin. “Liam is happy with working in an upscale, city restaurant and he doesn’t want another burden.”
“What are you and Zach going to do with the place?”
Braxton shook his head. “That’s what I came to discuss with you. Zach told me about the binders.”
Sophie couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “And?”
“A resort? What the hell would we know about running a resort?”
Shrugging, Sophie came to her feet and rounded her desk. “Who says you guys would have to run it? Fix it up the way Chelsea envisioned and then hire someone to run it.” She sat on the edge of her desk directly in front of Braxton. “It is a women’s resort. Would be a little silly to have you two brutes hanging around.”
Braxton massaged the back of his neck and groaned. “I know Chelsea is somewhere laughing at us. Leave it to her to have some harebrained idea we’re stuck with.”
“You loved her and her harebrained ideas.”
A sad smile stretched across his face. “Yes, I did. I wouldn’t expect less of her than to leave us this surprise.”
“So you two are going to fix it up?” she asked, hopeful.
“Yeah. We haven’t gone into any specifics, but that’s the goal in mind. I’ll be heading back to Savannah on Monday. We’re figuring I’ll be more of the financial backer and Zach will be the manual labor portion. We’re partners for now.”
Sophie couldn’t be happier to hear this plan. Although telling Martin wouldn’t be fun, she still was so excited that Chelsea’s brothers were moving ahead with their sister’s vision.
“Zach and I are planning to meet at the house Sunday morning to look over the structure and get a list of basic improvements to be done, to take to the zoning commission for a building permit. You can join us if you’d like.”
Sophie quirked a brow and smiled. “Did you run that by Zach before you invited me?”
Braxton eased forward, placing his hand on her knee. “You and I are friends, Soph. No matter what turmoil lives between you and Zach, that has never, and will never, affect you and me. Got it?”
Sophie nodded, knowing he was right. The issues she and Zach had were a world apart from her relationship with anyone else.
“So, you want to meet us there to walk through? I know you’ve seen it, since you sold it to Chelsea, but I’d like your opinion, now that you’ve seen her vision.”
Sophie smiled, reached down and squeezed his hand. “I’d love to.”
“Great. We’re meeting at nine.”
Coming to her feet just as he did, Sophie wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for seeing this through for Chelsea.”
Enveloping her in a brotherly hug, Braxton patted her back. “I’d do anything for my family.” Easing back, he looked her in the eye. “I include you in that, too.”