Page 115 of Vain
“You’re sure? One hundred percent?”
She nods her head rapidly as I lunge for her, pulling her into my arms, swinging her around, and making her laugh.
“You’ve just made all my dreams come true.”
“Can I get in on this?” Kellen calls out, and we both laugh.
I pull back and hold an arm open to him so he can squeeze his way between us for a hug.
“This is what you were happy about in the car. The text, right?”
I nod. “With Tom having Alzheimer’s, we needed to make sure the lawyers found him competent enough to sell, in case anyone contested.”
“There’s nobody left to contest it,” I remind her.
“There’s always someone looking for a payday. Look at my mom, for instance,” she says gently.
“Good point.”
“Now can we celebrate?” Kellen asks.
“Yes! Order some champagne and see if Greyson and Marley want to join us.”
“They knew?”
“I needed advice.”
“Sneaky fuckers,” I grumble.
She laughs. “You know what this means, right?”
“What’s that?”
“That tomorrow, when we go to the house, we can start packing. I’ll need to have the place renovated, but I don’t need to be here for that. And then I’ll put it on the market.”
“Holy shit, we’re really doing this?”
“We really are.”
“What about Greyson and Marley?” Kellen asks.
“Um…about that. I just anonymously bought my mom’s place for a steal.”
Kellen looks at me for a minute before he bursts out laughing. “Oh, that’s fucking hilarious.”
“I’m going to gift it to Marley and Greyson so they always have a home here. But I thought we could build an annex for them up on Lavender Hill.”
“I think that’s a great idea, Tilly. You wanna go get changed while I grab the guys?”
“Yeah.” She gets up on her toes and kisses me before heading for our room.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you are one lucky fuck.”
“Tell me about it.”
Marley stands with his arm around Tilly, taking in the damage. Both of them are still feeling the aftereffects of too much champagne.
Greyson has been more subdued since last night. I know he’s happy for Tilly, but upset he’s going to lose her. I get it, so I don’t try to snap him out of it. I’m the man who stole what’s effectively his daughter. He probably wants to hug me with one arm and punch me with the other.
