“Are you serious!” Liam asks, eyes popping out. “Wait, that means…?”
“That means we have a really good chance at saving the house and coming up with the money to buy it,” I say with a grin.
I glance over at Tom. His eyes are still closed, but there’s no mistaking the way his lips tugged into a quick grin.
“She’s going to get in contact with some of them tomorrow,” I add, pleased. “Nothing is set in stone, so don’t celebrate yet, but…it’s hopeful.”
“We don’t need much more,” Grant says. “Does Georgia know how much to ask for?”
“Of course, I’ve told her everything,” I say with a nod.
The two of them look at me, eyebrows raised.
“What?” I ask.
“Seriously, Ethan, when are you just going to fuck her and be done with it?” Grant asks bluntly.
My jaw drops.
“Are you kidding?” I spluttered. “You do know who we’re talking about, don’t you?”
“Yeah, Georgia, right?” Liam says with a nod. “About yay big, brown hair, big br…”
“Okay, I get the picture,” I say, scowling. “Come on, guys, I still remember when she was little Georgie and still wetting the bed.”
“She’s a grown woman, now,” Liam points out. He grins dopily. “A fine one, at that. If you don’t want her, I definitely do.”
The thought of Georgia sleeping with Liam, a known womanizer, makes me feel oddly uncomfortable.
“Whatever,” I huff. “All I’m saying is that it’s difficult not to remember the kid who used to run, naked and screaming, around our living room.”
“Where were you during all this?” Liam asks, eyebrows wagging.
“First, we were five,” I say, annoyed. “Secondly, I happened to be playing with my blocks while she was doing this.” I scowl. “She kicked one when she ran past and one hit me in the head. I got the corner and it split the skin, so I had to get fucking stitches.”
I’m not surprised when Grant and Liam laugh at the mental imagery. I frown at them both.
“Anyway,” I say loudly. “This time tomorrow, we might have the m
oney we need.”
“That’s awesome, Ethan, thank Georgia for us, yeah?” Liam says.
“It is good of her to put so much effort in for us,” Grant says seriously. “If she can pull this off, we’ll owe her big time.”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “Though I’m probably not going to let her live it down that she came racing in to be the hero at the last second.”
“It probably took some time to talk to all those people,” Liam points out.
“I know,” I assure him. I grin. “I just like teasing her.”
Grant snorts. “Uh huh. Speaking of… How is Lily’s mother-hunt going?”
I flush, glaring at him when he grins, unrepentant.
Lily is my only daughter. Her mother ran off several years ago and, while I could have tracked her down (one of my club mates is a detective, after all), I just never bothered. She didn’t bother sticking around, so why drag her back when she would likely just run again?
As such, it has been just Lily and I for ten long years. Georgia, admittedly, has been a godsend; she’s always over to help, and she babysits when I need to get out once every now and then.