Emmett barks a laugh. “You can say that again.”
Brody ignores him, gaze still fixed on Georgia. “This is going to be hard, you know. Out there. In the real world. People talk.”
Georgia nods, gaze steady. “Let them. We’ve already faced part of the problem head-on.”
I want to believe it’s that simple, but in my lawyer’s mind, I can see the hundred ways this could crash and burn. I cut in before Brody can continue. “We’ll need ground rules. And a plan.”
“Always a plan with you,” Georgia says, but she’s smiling, teasing me with her eyes.
Emmett plucks up a biscuit. “Here’s an idea. Maybe we all get an apartment together. Like one of those bad sitcoms, but with hotter people. And alotmore sex.”
Brody scoffs. “What about your lease? We all have places already.”
Emmett shrugs. “Fuck my lease. I want to be wherever you are, Georgia.”
“That’s certainly tempting,” Georgia admits, then looks at me. “What about your work?”
“I can do most of it from anywhere.” I surprise myself by how easily the words come out of my mouth.
Brody’s jaw clenches, like he’s working out a problem in his head. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to choose, Georgia. Not between us, and definitely not between this and whatever life you want. I know you have hopes and dreams.”
She turns in her seat, searching his face, then Emmett’s, then finally mine. “You guys are ridiculous,” she says, her voice softening. “I spent my whole life thinking I needed to pick one path. One dream, one man, one…everything. I don’t want to go back to that. I want all of it. I want all of you.”
I study her, trying to predict how this will end. It’s part of my nature. I can’t stop running the scenarios.
But there’s no precedent for this, no case law, no rules to cite.
All I can do is hope. And that feels dangerous.
Georgia looks at each of us in turn, as if daring us to challenge her. “I don’t care what my dad thinks,” she says. “I don’t care if my friends think I’m crazy. I want to try this.For real.”
Brody is first to respond, reaching across the table to take her hand in both of his. “Then we try,” he says. “And if it doesn’t work, we’ll just try something else.”
Emmett grins, wild and unashamed. “I was in at ‘more sex’ to be honest.”
She laughs and shakes her head. We all pile our hands together in the center of the table, a fucked-up, perfect little stack, fingers lacing tight.
It feels like a contract. A verbal one, at least.
“So we just… see how it goes? When we get there? In three days?” Georgia breathes in a long inhale and then exhales sharply.
“That’s all any of us can do,” I say, voice low.
There’s a beat of silence, and then Brody clears his throat. “We’ll need to decide where you’re going to live, Georgia. Get all your things. We’ll need to?—”
She stops him with a look. “Can we just eat breakfast for now?” She gestures at the food, her smile radiant.
“Of course,” Brody gives her a nod.
I dig into breakfast, but as take a huge bite of my biscuit, I can’t shake the knot in my gut.
This thing feels too good to be true.
And as life has taught me, if that’s how it feels…
Then it probably is.
Chapter 20
