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“You are such a dirty old man.”
“Just like you like me.”
When I stopped giggling, I added, “One more thing. We share the financial burden proportional to our incomes.”
“Totally fair. It’s a deal. Who’s your realtor?”
Holy shit, he was really doing this. “Uh, hold on, I’ll forward her info.” I scrolled through my contacts. “I can’t believe you’re serious.”
“As a motherfucking heart attack. I want to be with you every day, Zel. You inspire me. You make me fucking happy to be alive. You make me push my work to the next level. Babe, face it, you’re good for me, my ego, and my income.”
“Aww. You know that goes both ways, right? I’m so happy you came to Seattle and fucked the shit outta me.”
“Yeah, me too. Let’s do that again.”
“And again?”
“Ad infinitum.”
26
ME LOVING YOU
The first thingI noticed about Paulina Mazur was her figure. She was tall and curvaceous, just like me. The next thing was her personality. She was a force of nature swirling through Aithan’s hospital room, opening the blinds, arranging flowers, moving chairs to his bedside.
I stood in the open doorway, wide-eyed and holding a vase of plum and white calla lilies, watching her twist and flow around the room.
Aithan spied me. “Hi, beautiful.”
Paulina turned and smiled and, I swear, the room glowed from it. “How lovely!” She took the vase from me and added over her shoulder as she turned away, “And the flowers are beautiful too. You must be Zelda.”
Aithan laughed, but it turned into a painful, shallow cough that made me wince.
“Kurwa,” he gasped when he finally stopped coughing. Instead of being in bed, he sat in a chair beside it, dressed in gray sweats and a green tee shirt.
“Language.” Paulina cuffed him gently.
I snorted and poured a glass of water. “What does that mean?” The word sounded likekoorva. I handed him the water and sat beside him.
“It’s the F-word in Polish,” Paulina replied.
My eyes widened. Aithan didn’t curse. Ever.
As if reading my mind, she laughed. “Everyone thinks my brother is so sweet because he’s never vulgar. They don’t know he cusses like the devil in Polish.” She held out her hand. “I’m Paulina.”
I shook it. “Zelda.” She had perfectly manicured, pale-pink nails. “Aithan said you were coming. I hope your flight wasn’t too bad?”
She waved that away. “Too long when I knew my little brother was hurt.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
“Pauli … stop fussing.” He pulled in a labored breath. “I’m not dying.”
“Could’ve fooled me. You’re coughing like your lungs want out.”
“The right one was stabbed by one of my ribs, you know. It’s kinda mad right now.”
She sat across from me. “Let’s not talk about death. I need to update everyone at home. If it’s not a positive report, Mama and Babcia will be on the next flight to Seattle.”
He grunted. “Tell them to stay in L.A. Dr. Nathus swears I have the hardest skull she’s ever seen. There’s still no sign of brain bleeding and my concussion symptoms are already easing. As long as my lungs stay clear, I’ll be out in a few days. Then it’s just rest and breathing exercises for a few weeks. They don’t even wrap broken ribs anymore.”
