Page 69 of Erik's Salvation
“Really?” His eyes glittered. “I got a call from Angelo Bonetti the other day.”
A shot of air sucked into her lungs. “He’s giving his property to you?”
God, she wanted to strangle this guy. It wasn’t his doing, of course, but she had to put the anger somewhere.
“If you can’t sell it within the month, then yes. And that month is just about up, isn’t it?”
She ground her teeth together. “Fortunately, it only takes one offer to sell a house. Excuse me, I have somewhere to be.” She had to grit her teeth as the man watched her walk into her friend’s lingerie shop.
She blew out a long exhale, immediately spotting Brigid at the back desk behind the computer. The second her friend’s gaze lifted, all thoughts of Ezra left her head.
“Coffee,” Brigid gushed. “Thank God. I need caffeine or I may kill someone. And when I saymay, I meanwill. You’d have to help me bury the body.”
Hannah’s lips tilted up as she set the drinks on the desk. “I’ve brought you a Black Bean macchiato and an iced latte.”
Double the caffeine, so double the softening of the blow, right?
Brigid reached for Hannah’s hand and closed her eyes. It almost looked like the woman was praying. “Thank you. You have just saved a life, my friend.”
Brigid grabbed her macchiato and took a big gulp before groaning. Christ, didn’t the woman burn her tongue? The beverage was steaming hot when she’d grabbed it.
The cup hit the counter as Brigid asked, “Okay, now that I have some caffeine in my system, tell me, how were your open houses today? You had two, right?”
“They went well. I had some very interested buyers.” She hadn’t shown Angelo’s home today, but she’d given a few people tours yesterday before happy hour at the office. She just had to pray one of them made an offer before she had to return the keys to Angelo. “I also had a couple of callbacks already from those mailbox drops this morning.”
Brigid’s features softened. “Oh, Han, that’s great.”
“It’s a huge relief. I might even go back to the office today and follow up on some leads.” It wasn’t like she had any huge plans. And she had time to kill before dinner with Erik, or she’d show up at his house three hours early. “How’s the shop?”
Brigid lifted a shoulder. “It’s fine. Business has been a bit slow, but nothing I can’t handle. It just sucks that both my and James’s incomes are short at the same time. I wish you guys had more houses to sell.”
Her heart thudded. Were they also having money issues?
Brigid leaned forward, eyes widening in excitement. “Have you heard about Henry’s new guy?”
She frowned. “When did he meet a new guy?”
“Last night, while we were at your office, he met a Tinder date. His name is Rob, and Henry says he’s cute.”
“Henry thinks a lot of guys are cute. But I’m glad and I hope it works out. That man needs a partner. He’s been on the lookout for too long.”
“I know. I hope he finds his James.”
Hannah cleared her throat, the familiar tingle of nerves running over her skin. “I actually have a question about James, and I hope it’s okay to ask.”
“Girlfriend, if it’s a sex question, you know I’m an open book.”
Usually, she’d laugh at that kind of comment. Right now, she couldn’t even muster a smile. “Last night, when Erik took that call, he went outside. James was on the phone, and Erik heard him say something about owing someone money.” She swallowed, rushing the last words out. “And when he glanced around the corner, he saw James holding a bag of white pills.”
Some of the color left Brigid’s face. “What?”
“He also said James looked…jittery.”
Brigid’s mouth opened and closed. It was the first time Hannah had ever seen her friend speechless. “Are you saying…you think James is doingdrugs?”
“No. I…” She shook her head. “I’m just telling you what Erik saw, in case you don’t—”
“In case I don’t realize my boyfriend’s hiding a drug problem.” There was a bite to her words now. “That’s he’s such an addict he owes money he can’t pay back?”
